Advertising and targeting
In-Stream Ads or Discovery Ads: Which Should You Use?
Whether to use in-stream ads or discovery ads depends on your business, your brand and what your objectives and KPIs actually are, and in practice most campaigns use a mixture of both.
Last updated 31 August 2026
Running time 1:07Watch it
What does this video cover?
- 01The choice between in-stream and discovery ads depends on the business, the brand and the objectives and KPIs behind the campaign.
- 02One campaign was deliberately weighted 75% discovery and 25% in-stream because that client's only goal was building subscribers and pure awareness.
- 03In-stream ads are more targeted and refined, placing ads in front of people who are genuinely interested in what is being said, which tends to produce better click-through rates.
- 04Most campaigns end up using a mixture of both formats rather than choosing one exclusively.
Full transcript
There are two main ways to advertise on YouTube, in-stream ads and discovery ads, and the honest answer to which one to use is that it depends on the business, the brand, and the objectives and KPIs behind the campaign. One example given is a campaign deliberately split 75% discovery and 25% in-stream, because that particular client wanted to build subscribers and pure awareness above anything else, and it worked brilliantly for that goal. In-stream ads, by contrast, are more targeted and refined, placing ads in front of people who are genuinely interested in the subject, which tends to produce better click-through rates. In practice, most campaigns end up using a mixture of both, with the balance set by whatever the objectives actually are.
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