Ready for Google Video?

With online video advertising building momentum among marketers, Google has gotten in the game with the introduction in May of click-to-play video advertising in the U.S., Canada and Japan.

"Publishers know that video ads are treated like content by users, and users enjoy interacting with video ads," says Gokul Rajaram, director of product management for Google AdSense. Ads are user-initiated and are priced on either a pay-per-click basis or on the level of website traffic. Advertisers can control where ads are shown by targeting with keywords or selecting sites that accept Google advertising. Ad campaigns vary in cost, but Rajaram estimates that $5 can get an advertiser about 5,000 impressions.

Emily Riley, advertising and marketing analyst at market research firm JupiterKagan Inc., says entrepreneurs should realize how Google's offering is different. "Google's video option is not in-stream video, but is instead in-banner video, which doesn't fall in the middle of a video clip from a show. It's a more advanced version of a rich media advertisement," Riley explains. She believes entrepreneurs should think carefully before jumping in-businesses with large budgets may be able to offer more per impression and bump out smaller competitors, although larger advertisers are more likely to use providers like FoxNews.com or YouTube, which offer in-stream options. "Even with geo-targeting, an entrepreneur often won't be able to purchase enough impressions to get a sufficient response," she explains. "But if you have a video you'd like to share, this might be an affordable option."

This article was originally published in the October 2006 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: And... Action.