The short answer
YouTube ads play your video before the videos people chose
Your video plays before the YouTube videos people already chose to watch, on phones, laptops and TV screens at home. It reaches the same people as your other ads. We count a view when someone watches 30 seconds or more. YouTube video ads come with Showcase and Luxury listing ads, and brand ads can add YouTube ads too.
Watch it in two minutes
How it works
You send us a link to your video on YouTube. For a listing, that's usually the property video you already paid your videographer for. For brand ads, it can be a short video of you talking about your market or your clients. We run your video exactly as you made it.
Your video plays as an ad right before the video someone picked. They see the first five seconds, then they can skip or keep watching. Anyone who watches 30 seconds or more counts as a view. Horizontal videos and vertical Shorts both work, so send both if you have them. Many views happen on TV screens at home, where your video plays like a short commercial.
The video goes to the same places and the same kind of buyer as the rest of your ads. The people who watch stay anonymous. Your Traffic Report shows how many people watched, and Showcase listings average 5,000+ YouTube ad appearances. If a listing has no video, we put that part of the budget behind your other listing ads.
The first five seconds decide everything. Open on the best shot of the home, like an aerial view, the water or the view from the terrace. Save the logos and the address card for the end, when the people still watching are the ones who care.
How Compass agents use it
- A Compass agent in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina ran Showcase on a $4.7M beach house that sleeps 40 and is on pace for $500,000 a year in rental income. The video played for people in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, the DC area and Atlanta, and the listing passed 34,000 ad appearances.
- A Compass agent in Thompson, Pennsylvania sent a custom video of a lakefront home a short drive from the ski slopes. It played for people in New York, New Jersey, Scranton and Philadelphia, where weekend buyers live.
- A Compass agent in Pacific Heights asked to put the whole Showcase budget behind the video for a penthouse. We ran display and video side by side, the way Showcase is built, so the video had the news-site ads working next to it.
- The strongest YouTube listing ad in a review we ran this summer opened like a movie trailer, with horns honking and a phone ringing, then cut to an aerial view of the house. The weakest ones opened on a logo and faded to black before the home appeared.
How to explain it to your seller
Sellers already know YouTube. Connect it to the video they helped make.
"The video of your home is playing on YouTube, right before the videos people sit down to watch, a lot of the time on the TV in their living room. It goes to the same kind of buyers as the rest of your ads. The report tells us how many people watched for at least 30 seconds."
- Remind your seller that the video they paid for now works twice, once on the listing page and once on YouTube.
- Share the watch count in your weekly update. Real people choosing to keep watching their home is a number sellers repeat to their friends.
Which packages include it
Listing ads: YouTube video ads come with Showcase at $600 and Luxury at $1,200 per listing, each for 30 days. Starter runs display ads. On Showcase, you can swap the YouTube video ads for custom geofencing or CRM retargeting at the same price.
Brand ads: YouTube ads run from your own videos. Plans start at $600 a month.