YouTube begins testing advertising inserts in shorts

YouTube Shorts en Google’s response to the overwhelming success of TikTok among the youngest and, although perhaps to a lesser extent, also to Instagram reels. And it is that the short video format has been shown to be more than a temporary trend, given that the years go by and the numbers of both services are constantly growing, and they keep the competition awake at night. So much so that, in order to attract as many creators as possible to this new format, Google decided to create a fund with which to financially incentivize the creation of these videos for YouTube Shorts.

There is no doubt that the format is working well on YouTube, as every time we can see more creators make the leap to it, to the point that I am not surprised that Google has created a specific section for them, accessible from the menu of both its web interface and that of its apps. I am sure that, at least in the short and medium term, YouTube Shorts will continue to be a strategic bet for the company.

Now, once again we are faced with one of those situations in which it is necessary to make something profitable which is otherwise a success. And it is that users always appreciate news, but shareholders and investors have the habit of expecting a certain economic return from their shares. Thus, Google must start working on the profitability of YouTube Shorts, and it seems that they have found a way.

And it is that, as we can read in Bloomberg, Google has already started testing the insertion of advertising in YouTube Shorts views, a test that has been quite limited at the moment but that, according to the commercial director of Google, has had a good initial reception. This information was presented to investors on Tuesday, and based on how positive this first test seems to be, we can be sure that we will see how its deployment increases in the short and medium term.

It is true that, according to the data from that meeting, YouTube’s advertising revenue (the generic ones, not the specific ones from YouTube Shorts) has been below forecasts. However, this is still the main way of monetizing the platform, and tests to take it to other formats are, we can also count on it, the path that we will see the company follow. And not only because of their profitability, that of insertions, but also because they are, today, the main reason for many users to hire YouTube Premium.