Creating a YouTube Campaign

A YouTube Campaign promotes one video from your channel to new audiences. Here's how to build one, step by step.

Before You Start

Verify these requirements before creating a campaign:

Requirement	Where to Check
YouTube connected	Platform Connections shows Connected
Ads link accepted	YouTube Studio has accepted Google Ads linking
Managed advertising active	Billing shows active managed-advertising billing

Note YouTube must be connected and the Google Ads link accepted before campaigns can run.

Create a Campaign

1. Open the wizard Go to Marketing and expand YouTube Campaigns, then select Create Campaign.

2. Choose a campaign strategy The Campaign Strategy step is first. Pick Organic Views, Subscriber Growth, Organic Views & Subscribers, or Revenue Optimization. Revenue Optimization requires a monetized channel, and Maximize Views is contact-support only. A default strategy is always selected for you.

3. Add a video and playlist Paste a YouTube URL or choose from YouTube Video Library. The dashboard flow needs the video to be part of a playlist (a &list=... link), with the promoted video near the top. Watch URLs with v=..., youtu.be/... links, and Shorts links are all accepted as the video.

4. Choose location targeting Select Global to target all countries, or choose specific countries from the list. Targeting fewer high-value countries (US, UK, Canada, Australia) often yields better results for monetized channels.

5. Add ad copy Write your own description or use Generate with AI to create ad copy automatically. Good ad copy highlights what makes your video unique and encourages clicks.

6. Set your budget and launch Choose Daily or Total budget type. Daily budgets have a $10/day minimum. Total budgets require an end date and have a minimum based on duration. Click Launch campaign to submit.

After you submit, the campaign enters Content Validation first, moves to Deploying while it is built in Google Ads, then becomes Active.

After Creating

Once your campaign is active:

What Happens	Details
Learning period	The campaign shows a Learning badge for its first 7 days while Google optimizes targeting. The launch panel frames the first 5 days as the most volatile window
View accumulation	Views start appearing in analytics within 24-48 hours
Budget spend	Daily budget is spent throughout the day, not all at once

Tip Avoid making changes during the learning period. The first 5 days are the most volatile, and the Learning badge clears after 7 days.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Campaign stuck in Deploying	Check that YouTube connection is active and the Google Ads link is accepted
No views after 48 hours	Verify managed advertising is active and budget is sufficient
Campaign rejected	Review video content for policy compliance, then resubmit