YouTube Pause ads are a new display ad format that appears when viewers pause the YouTube video that they are watching. This ad format helps you connect with viewers, capture their attention, and drive engagement without disrupting their viewing experience.
In this article, you’ll learn about YouTube Paused ads, the benefits of using them, how they work and how to create, and technical specifications.
On this page
- Benefits
- How YouTube Pause ads work
- How to create YouTube Pause ads
- Available assets
- Ad specifications
- Availability and limitations
- Reporting
- Policies
Benefits
- Complementary and non-intrusive ad format: Since YouTube Pause ads appear when viewers pause what they are watching, the viewing experience isn't disrupted and your brand, product, or service is visible in an ideal setting.
- Drive awareness and action: YouTube Pause ads give you the opportunity to capture viewers’ attention and encourage engagement through a clear call-to-action. This helps keep your brand, product, or service top-of-mind and your ad uniquely engaging.
- Leverage expanded reach: With YouTube’s wide reach, growing watch time, and advanced audience targeting capabilities, you can connect to your target audience and reach more viewers across connected TV devices.
How YouTube Pause ads work
YouTube Pause ads are static image ads that appear 10 seconds after the viewer pauses a video. A YouTube Pause ad is shown alongside the pause screen and remains on screen until the viewer resumes watching or if the viewer dismisses the ad.
How to create YouTube Pause ads
Follow the instructions below to create your YouTube Pause ads:
- Go to Campaigns within the Campaignsmenu.
- Click the plus button
, then select New campaign.
- Select Awareness and considerationas your objective.
- Select Videoas your campaign type.
- Select Reservationas your way to buy ads.
- Select Premier reachas your goal.
- Select Pause adsas your ad format.
- Click Continue.
- In the “Create your video ads” section, search for your video or enter the URL from YouTube.
- Under “Your pause ad image”, click + Imageto upload or select your image.
- Enter your “Final URL”, “Long headline”, and “Ad name”.
- You may click the preview button on the upper right corner to review your ad.
- When you’re done, click Save ad.
Available assets
- Maximum of 70 characters, should comply with all text ad policies
- Ad name: Maximum of 255 characters
- Reference Video ID: Must link to a unique, publicly available video (not used in other ad campaigns)
It should match what your ad promotes. Learn more about final URLs and tracking templates .
Ad specifications
YouTube Pause ads should be high-resolution static images with the following specifications:
- Width: 1080px - 1350px
- Height: 1080px - 1350px
Aspect ratio
Availability and limitations
YouTube Pause ads are only available on Connected TV devices and in select countries.
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- France
- Germany
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Vietnam
Reporting
YouTube Pause ads in Google Ads reservation campaigns include impression reporting in addition to the standard YouTube campaign reports:
Policies
YouTube Pause ads must follow Google Ads policies and YouTube policies .
