'Pull' videos only start when a user clicks the play button

Google has launched an advertising service that allows businesses to show videos online. An example can be seen on the Google Video Ads demo page.

The service only plays videos when a user clicks the 'play' button, which Google said is designed to protect the user experience and provide advertisers with genuine leads.

To simplify the process, once an advert of up to two minutes long has been uploaded by a company its management is handed over to Google.

Advertisers can then buy space on specific sites or spread the ads around related sites based on the context of the material.

Google said that the video ads will compete in the advertising auction with other text, image and Flash ads for placement on a site. Adverts are paid for on either a cost-per-impression or cost-per-click basis.

Advertisers can measure the effectiveness of their video ads by tracking play-back rates and click-throughs to their destination site, as well as how long users interact with the video.

Read more: vnunet.com