YouTube Partner Program Review for Publishers

Review Information Last Updated on: September 9th, 2016

Introduction to YouTube Partner Program

YouTube Partner ProgramYouTube Partner Program is the monetization program available to YouTube video producers. By enabling the program through a YouTube account, a video owner can monetize his videos with two types of ads: overlay in-video ads and TrueView in-stream ads. It is important to note that in order to receive payment, having an account with Google AdSense is required.

Overall Rating: 4.00 out of 5.
  • What We Like: Simple integration with YouTube.
  • What We Don’t Like: Google AdSense account required to receive payment.

YouTube Partner Program Company Stats

YouTube Partner Program Support & Contact Information

  • Address: 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno CA 94066
  • Phone Number: 650-253-0000
  • Support Email: None

Publisher Requirements

  • Publisher Terms: https://support.google.com/…/1311392?hl=en
  • Traffic Minimum: None.
  • Publisher Language Requirement: None.
  • Prohibited Publisher Content: Sex and nudity, hate speech, shocking and disgusting, dangerous illegal acts, children under 18, non-permitted copyrighted material, privacy infringement, harassment, impersonation, and threats, plus all content prohibited under Google AdSense’s policy.

Advertisers & Offers

  • Advertising Types: Video.
  • Offer Types: CPC, CPM.
  • Verticals: All.
  • Network Size: Unknown.
  • Sampling of Publishers: CNN, NY Times.

Tech Implementation

YouTube Partner Program Tech Implementation Rating: 4 out of 5.

Example of YouTube Partner Program overlay ad
Example of YouTube Partner Program overlay ad
  • Creating an Ad Unit: To enable ads, you first need to have an account with both YouTube and Google AdSense. Next, enable monetization on your YouTube account by clicking the Monetization tab in the account and following the instructions. You can then enable or disable monetization on individual videos from within the Video Manager. After a review period, ads should begin running. You have the option of which ads to run on which videos. While easy to implement ads on videos, there is a lack of customization features.
  • Display Ad Unit Sizes Available: Overlay in-video (480×70) with optional companion overlay (300×250) and InStream video ads (pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll).
  • Implementation Technology: Proprietary YouTube technology.
  • Compatible with Google AdSense: N/A.
  • Mobile Ad Units Available: Yes.
  • WordPress Plugin Available: N/A.

Publisher Reporting & Admin Control Panel

YouTube Partner Program Publisher Reporting & Admin Control Panel Rating: 4 out of 5.

YouTube Partner Program Video Manager
YouTube Partner Program Video Manager
  • Control Panel: There is no YouTube Partner Panel control panel that is separate from the standard YouTube settings page. From the settings page, the Video Manager shows which videos are monetized and how they are monetized. Video publishers can click individual videos to turn monetization on or off, and select which type of monetization should be displayed for each one.
  • Reporting: Reporting is available within the Analytics section of the YouTube settings. The Overview displays key performance metrics, including total views, estimated minutes watching, and total estimated earnings. Publishers can view any of this data for any time frame. Estimated Earnings and Ad Performance sections are also available under the Analytics section of the YouTube settings, but an AdSense account is required to access these.
  • Control Panel URL: http://www.youtube.com/account_monetization

Payment

YouTube Partner Program Payment Rating: 5 out of 5.

  • Publisher’s Share of Revenue: 55%.
  • Payment Methods Available: Check, EFT, Western Union, Rapida.
  • Payment Terms: Net-30.
  • Minimum Payout Threshold: $10.

Account Help

YouTube Partner Program Account Help Rating: 3 out of 5.

Monetization Approval

Unfortunately, monetizing on YouTube isn’t as simple as clicking a button. It typically takes 30 days for YouTube to review an application. However, a backlog does build up from time to time. This is important to keep in mind since it means that you probably won’t be able to start generating revenue for at least 30 days.

All you can do is continue to hustle during this waiting period. Keep posting regularly (the YouTube algorithm rewards channels that post consistently), make sure you’re still focusing on SEO, and remain engaged with your audience. If you allow your channel to lag during this time, it could really hurt you in the long run. Your channel can always benefit from additional subscribers and watch time—both of which can open up new revenue streams in addition to monetization.


FAQ's

What are the YouTube Partner Program publisher requirements?

YouTube Partner Program does not have any publisher requirements from your existing videos.  There is no application period, however your content must abide by their rules and conditions. 

What does YouTube Partner Program charge?

YouTube Partner Program works on a revenue share monetization model with a 45/55 split. That means Youtube keeps 45% of the revenue generated by advertisers on your videos and you earn 55% of the revenue. 

What are the YouTube Partner Program payment methods?

The YouTube Partner Program works with Google Adsense to faciliate payments. Google Adsense allows you to setup your payment method on the account once you have earned your first $10.  The available payment methods are check, electronic funds transfer, rapida, western union quick cash, and wire transfer. 

What is the YouTube Partner Program minimum payment threshold?

The minimum payment threshold follows the same Google Adsense guidelines with a minimum payment threshold of $100. 


Editor's YouTube Partner Program Review

With the YouTube Partner Program, anyone with a YouTube account (in supported countries) can monetize their Web videos. And it's dead simple to get started, too.

Larger publishers may be interested in Google's enterprise solution, Google DFP Video. While logged in to you YouTube account, navigate your way to the account monetization page: http://www.youtube.com/account_monetization. Follow the on-page instructions to enable monetization. Then from the Video Manager, you can select which videos to monetize and how.

The YouTube Partner Program offers two types of ads for video creators to monetize with: the overlay in-video ads and TrueView in-stream ads.

The overlay video ad units are small banner ads that appear at the bottom of the monetized video some amount of time into the viewing. The viewer has the option to close the ad by clicking the little "X" in the top right of the ad unit. Presumably, YouTube uses Google AdSense technology to serve up ads that are relevant to the content, viewer's interests, or both. In my experience, the ads appear to be for products that I've previously shown some interest in.

The TrueView in-stream ads often display as pre-roll video advertisements (or, commercials), though they occasionally display mid-roll or post-roll. These commercials may be a few seconds to several minutes in length. Viewers usually (but not always) have the option to skip the ad after the first five seconds.

Upon first enabling monetization in your YouTube account, you have the option to monetize all of your eligible videos (more on eligibility later) or choose monetization for individual videos. You also have the option of monetizing with overlay in-video ads, TrueView in-stream ads, or both.

There are certain eligibility criteria that must be met for each video to be monetized. Besides adhering to the basic YouTube content guidelines, in order to be eligible for monetization, the video must also not contain any copyright-restricted content (e.g. music).

More information on video monetization eligibility criteria is available at https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/97527?hl=en.

Once video monetization has been enabled for a video, it may enter a review process. Usually within 24 hours (often times much less than that), ads will begin displaying on monetized video. It really is very simple to get up and running with YouTube monetization.

Unfortunately, beyond choosing between the two different types of ad units (overlay vs. in-stream), there is no additional customization that can be selected by the video publishers. For instance, it might be nice to select when and for how long overlay ads can appear; it would also be nice to be able to customize the colors of overlay text ads, similar to the functionality offered by Google AdSense.

Speaking of Google AdSense, another potential downside to the YouTube Partner Program is its reliance on AdSense for account support, reporting, and payment remittance. That's right: if you ever want to actually get paid by YouTube for the revenues you have generated, you are required to have an approved AdSense account linked to your YouTube account.

For most, this may not pose much of a problem, but for those without an AdSense account, it presents a little hurdle to jump. As far as support is concerned, there is an extensive knowledge base available at https://support.google.com/youtube/topic/1115890.

Unfortunately, getting one-on-one help from a real person is next to impossible, unless you have a large account with Google AdSense. That shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to anyone familiar with Google. Their tech is great, very intuitive, simple to use, but just don't expect any live support should you need it.

Reporting is very good and easy to use, except you cannot view any reporting (besides video view counts) from within your YouTube account. You'll have to login to your linked AdSense account to see monetization reporting.

Payment with the YouTube Partner Program is the same as it is with Google AdSense, since it's AdSense that actually processes the payments. Publishers have the option of getting paid via check, electronic funds transfer (EFT), Western Union, or Rapida.

Video publishers receive a 55% revenue share (compared to 68% for AdSense display), remitted on a Net-30 schedule, provided a minimum $10 payout has been met.

Overall, YouTube Partner Program is an excellent option for video publishers looking to monetize their content. In fact, unless you have a direct sponsorship deal, it is really the only option for network monetization if you're hosting your videos on YouTube. The integration is dead simple, and while a Google AdSense account is required to link for reporting and payment, that shouldn't pose a huge obstacle for most publishers.

References

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