YouTube in Display & Video 360: from line item to channel report
Part of YouTube channel planning
The short answer
To buy YouTube in Display & Video 360, a partner accepts the Google and partner inventory terms, enables the advertiser, and creates a YouTube & partners line item inside an insertion order. The line item sets the goal, budget and bid; its ad groups hold the channel and video placements; and delivery by channel is read in a YouTube report.
Key takeaways
- No YouTube & partners line item, including instant deals, can be created until the partner accepts Google's inventory terms for that advertiser.
- Line items are built around a goal: Reach, Target frequency, TrueView views or Ad sequence, with guaranteed buys handled as instant deals.
- YouTube targeting lives at the advertiser, line item and ad group levels; insertion order targeting does not apply.
- Channel placements alone do not keep a line item on YouTube; video partners have to be excluded in inventory source targeting.
How do you buy YouTube in Display & Video 360?
Display & Video 360 buys YouTube through a dedicated line item type, YouTube & partners, rather than through the display and video line items used for open web inventory. Before the first one can be built, two access steps happen at the partner level. Google's YouTube & partners setup page (opens in a new tab) says the partner enables the "Google & partner inventory" checkbox in its advertiser configurations by accepting the terms, then selects the advertisers to enable.
The same setup page says "Bid and budget are controlled at the line item level", and that the insertion order's pacing must be Flight ASAP, Flight Even or Flight Ahead. The insertion order holds flight and pacing; the YouTube decisions sit below it. For the planning side, start from the YouTube channel planning hub.
Which YouTube line item types are available?
Google's line item creation page (opens in a new tab) has the buyer open an insertion order, add a line item and choose the YouTube & partners video type, with audio handled by a separate YouTube & partners audio option. The next choice is the optimization goal: Reach, Target frequency, TrueView views or Ad sequence. Within Reach, the subtypes are Efficient reach, which uses efficient ad formats, and non-skippable reach, which uses non-skippable formats.
| Option | How it buys | Planning note |
|---|---|---|
| Reach: Efficient reach | Auction, efficient ad formats | Google recommends a standard insertion order when the plan targets TV screens |
| Reach: Non-skippable reach | Auction, non-skippable formats | Same standard insertion order advice for TV plans |
| Target frequency | Auction, goal set on frequency | Covered in a linked Google article |
| TrueView views | Auction, goal set on views | Covered in a linked Google article |
| Ad sequence | Auction, under Show more | Google's SDF spec says ad group placement columns are not available for Video Sequence line items |
| YouTube & partners audio | Auction, audio ads | Separate guide |
| Guaranteed instant deal | Reserved impressions at a fixed CPM | Needs the guaranteed terms; flight of at least 24 hours |
Guaranteed buying sits apart from these auction line items. Google's instant deals page (opens in a new tab) says guaranteed deals "reserve a targeted number of impressions at a fixed CPM", that holds keep inventory and the quoted CPM "for 72 hours" with longer periods possible, and that the flight "must be at least 24 hours," except for CPH Masthead. Non-guaranteed deals, by contrast, state "Delivery not guaranteed, as inventory is not reserved for you." How fixed rate buying compares across platforms is set out in the YouTube reservation ads guide.
How do you add channel placements in DV360?
Channels go into the ad group. Google's YouTube & partners targeting page (opens in a new tab) lists the placement types as YouTube channels, YouTube videos, URLs, apps and collections, found by searching, and offers a bulk option that takes one entry per line, such as channel URLs, video URLs and domains. A line item holds one or more ad groups, and each ad group holds one or more YouTube ads.
Loading a channel plan into a YouTube & partners line item
- Split the plan by ad group. Group channels that share a creative and a message, since placements are set per ad group and line item targeting applies to every ad group under it.
- Paste the channels in bulk. In the ad group's placement targeting, choose the multiple items option and enter one channel URL per line.
- Download the composite list. Use "Download composite list" in the placement targeting editor and compare it line by line with the approved plan.
- Exclude video partners if the plan is YouTube only. Change the line item's inventory source targeting; Google says that without it "your ads may still run in eligible locations across Google Display Network."
- Use Structured Data Files for large plans. Google's SDF upload page (opens in a new tab) recommends CSV and an Upload step from the insertion orders page, and returns result files that list what failed.
- Record the version. Note the plan version, the ad group each channel went into and the upload date.
For bulk work, the SDF v11 Ad Group specification (opens in a new tab) defines a writable YouTube Channels Include column under placement targeting, described as a "List of YouTube channels to include", in the format "(YouTube Channel ID; YouTube Channel ID; etc.)", with matching columns for exclusions and videos. A plan kept as channel IDs drops straight into it; a plan kept as display names does not.
What controls differ from Google Ads?
The two platforms buy the same YouTube inventory, but the controls sit in different places. The biggest difference is levels. Google's targeting page says YouTube & partners targeting is set at the advertiser, line item and ad group levels, that "Targeting set at the insertion order level doesn't apply to YouTube & partners line items", and that line item targeting "can't be overwritten by ad group targeting."
| Control | Google Ads | Display & Video 360 |
|---|---|---|
| Channel and video placements | Ad group; Google says to add a minimum of 10 channels or videos or the campaign won't save | Ad group; no minimum stated on the targeting page |
| Keeping ads on YouTube only | Networks setting on the Video campaign | Inventory source targeting on the line item |
| Account wide exclusions | Account level placement exclusions | Advertiser level exclusions: up to 65,000 YouTube URLs and up to 15 YouTube TV channels |
| Overriding an exclusion | Account level exclusions override campaign and ad group settings | An advertiser level exclusion can't be overridden by an ad group inclusion |
| Guaranteed buying | Reservation campaigns | Guaranteed instant deals |
| Bulk editing | Google Ads Editor | Structured Data Files |
Two consequences follow for a trading desk. Advertiser level exclusions in Display & Video 360 "aren't shown in line item details", per the targeting page, so a planner checking one line item will not see them; read the advertiser settings before signing off on a plan. And in the older video action line items, the same page says "positive targeting of keywords, categories or placements is not available", while exclusions are still supported. The Google Ads side of placement setup is covered in the YouTube placement targeting guide, and website channels for display line items in the Display & Video 360 channels guide.
How do you check delivery by channel in DV360?
Delivery by channel comes from a report, not from the line item screen. Google's YouTube reporting page (opens in a new tab) says that when creating a YouTube report, a buyer can "select either the YouTube Standard or YouTube Conversion reporting template." Google's report dimensions table (opens in a new tab) defines Placement (All YouTube Channels) as "The URL of a YouTube channel where your ads can appear" and Placement Name (All YouTube Channels) as "The name of a YouTube channel where your ads can appear."
A channel delivery check after the first week
- A YouTube Standard report has been downloaded with the two All YouTube Channels placement dimensions.
- Each delivering channel URL has been matched to a channel ID on the approved plan.
- Channels with delivery but no match on the plan have been traced to a missing partner exclusion or a broad ad group.
- Planned channels with no delivery have been noted, remembering the reporting thresholds.
- The report has not been used as a billing record or as a complete placement list.
Google sets limits on what that report proves. The reporting page says "Placements are only shown if they meet certain minimum thresholds of impressions or interactions", and advises: "Don't use the report as an exhaustive list of placements for your ads, or as an accurate representation of billing." It also says a YouTube ad's metrics reset if the ad is updated after it starts serving, and that reports with YouTube specific dimensions are downloaded rather than viewed in the interface.
What does a DV360 YouTube setup look like for one brief?
Fictional example
A Manitoba tire and auto service chain books its fall changeover
A fictional tire and auto service chain with shops in Winnipeg and Brandon wants YouTube video before the fall winter tire changeover, in English, with a CAD budget. Its trading desk buys through Display & Video 360, and the agency has approved an 80 channel plan of car care, winter driving and auto review channels.
The desk confirms the partner has accepted the Google and partner inventory terms for this advertiser, then builds one insertion order with Flight Even pacing and two Efficient reach line items, one for the tire changeover message and one for brake and battery service. Each line item gets two ad groups, split by creative, and the channel IDs go into the SDF include column for each ad group.
Video partners are excluded in inventory source targeting, since the client approved YouTube channels only. After the first week, the desk downloads a YouTube Standard report with the All YouTube Channels dimensions, matches each channel URL to the plan, and records the gaps as partial data rather than proof of non delivery.
How does PlacementGraph prepare a YouTube plan for Display & Video 360?
Frequently asked questions
Can one insertion order hold YouTube and display line items?
Google's pages describe YouTube & partners line items as created inside an insertion order and say insertion order targeting does not apply to them. A separate YouTube insertion order keeps pacing and reporting easy to read, and Google recommends standard insertion orders for Efficient reach, non-skippable reach and video views line items on TV plans.
Why are ads showing outside YouTube when the ad group lists only YouTube channels?
Google's targeting page says adding YouTube placements does not keep ads on YouTube: ads may still run in eligible locations across the Google Display Network. Video partners are included by default in YouTube & partners inventory targeting, so exclude them in the line item's inventory source targeting.
Do advertiser level exclusions apply to new line items automatically?
Yes. Google says advertiser level targeting applies to all current and future YouTube & partners line items under that advertiser. These exclusions do not show in line item details, and an ad group cannot override them by including the same placement, so check the advertiser settings first.
Can a YouTube ad be edited without losing its reporting history?
Not fully. Google's YouTube reporting page says a YouTube ad's metrics reset if the ad is updated after it starts serving. If the creative must change mid flight, export the report first and note the change date.
Sources
- Initial setup for running YouTube & partners and Demand Gen line items (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- Create YouTube & partners line items (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- Targeting for YouTube & partners and Demand Gen line items (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- Create or edit entities with Structured Data Files (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- Structured Data, v11, Ad Group (opens in a new tab)Google for Developers
- Report on YouTube & partners line items (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- Dimensions in reports (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- YouTube Programmatic Guaranteed via instant deals (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- Create YouTube & partners on Connected TV line items (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- Add targeting to your Video campaigns (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Google video partners in Display & Video 360 (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- About placement exclusions (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.