Written by - 3thirds Inc team
July 6, 2026
When you decide to run YouTube Ads, one of the first decisions you face is which format to use. Each format looks different, appears in a different location, costs you differently, and suits a different objective. Choosing the wrong format wastes creative budget and delays the time it takes to gather useful data.
This post maps every YouTube ad format, covers the key specs, and gives you a practical framework for matching format to goal. Whether you’re running a brand awareness push, retargeting website visitors, or driving direct response, at least one or more of these formats will suit your situation better than the others.
One point to clarify upfront: YouTube ad formats are configured when you create a campaign in Google Ads. The format you select determines placement, pricing model, and creative requirements. Getting this right before you produce your video saves you significant rework later.
The 6 Types of YouTube Ads (What Each One Looks Like and Where It Appears)
YouTube has six main ad formats available to advertisers in Malaysia. Here is what each one looks like and where it appears:
- Skippable in-stream ads: Play before, during, or after a YouTube video and can be skipped after 5 seconds. You pay when a viewer watches at least 30 seconds (or the full ad if it is shorter), or clicks through. Views where the viewer skips before 30 seconds cost nothing.
- Non-skippable in-stream ads: Run for up to 15 seconds and cannot be skipped. Priced on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis, regardless of engagement level. Used when guaranteed exposure to the full message is the priority.
- Bumper ads: Six-second non-skippable ads that play before a video begins. Short, punchy, and CPM-priced. Designed to drive recall rather than explain. They work best as a companion to a longer in-stream campaign.
- In-feed video ads: Appear in YouTube search results, the recommended video sidebar, and the homepage feed. They look like organic video results. The viewer actively clicks to watch. Priced per view when clicked.
- YouTube Shorts ads: Vertical video ads that appear within the Shorts feed between organic Shorts content. Full-screen, sound-on by default, and skippable. Suited for mobile-first creative targeting Malaysian audiences under 35.
- Companion banner ads: Display ads that appear alongside a video in the desktop sidebar during an in-stream ad. Not a standalone placement, they extend visual presence as part of an in-stream campaign.
Skippable vs Non-Skippable In-Stream Ads: Which Should You Choose?
The choice between skippable and non-skippable formats depends on your message length, your objective, and how you want to pay for reach. The two formats operate differently in practice.
Skippable in-stream ads let you run longer creative and only charge you when a viewer engages past the 30-second mark. The tradeoff is that most viewers skip within 5 seconds, which means your opening must either hold attention immediately or communicate the core message before the skip button appears. The budget spent on viewers who skip before 30 seconds costs you nothing.
Non-skippable ads guarantee that your full message is seen, but you pay for every impression whether or not the viewer is relevant to your business. They work well for reinforcing messages to audiences already familiar with your brand. For Malaysian SMEs with limited budgets, skippable in-stream typically delivers better cost efficiency at the testing stage.
Which Format to Start With
For most Malaysian businesses running their first YouTube campaign, skippable in-stream is the right entry point. The pay-per-view pricing model means you only pay for viewers who show genuine interest, and the format gives you time to communicate more than a bumper ad without the blanket CPM cost of non-skippable.
YouTube Banner Ads (Companion and Overlay): Specs and Best Practices
YouTube banner ads, also called companion banner ads or overlay ads, are display-format placements that appear alongside or over a video rather than replacing it. On desktop, a companion banner appears in the right sidebar during an in-stream ad. An overlay ad appears as a semi-transparent banner across the lower portion of the video itself.
These formats are not standalone placements. They run alongside in-stream campaigns and extend visual presence during ad breaks. When a viewer is watching your in-stream ad, a clickable banner also appears, giving two separate ways to engage with the same impression.
Key specs for YouTube companion banner ads: 300 x 60 pixels for display sidebar banners, maximum file size 150KB, accepted formats JPG, PNG, or static GIF. Overlay ads use a 480 x 70-pixel format. Both formats appear on desktop only and are not displayed on mobile or tablet devices.
For Malaysian businesses setting up YouTube Ads campaigns that include display placements, companion banners are configured within the same in-stream campaign settings and do not require a separate campaign to activate.
YouTube Ads for Shorts: What Advertisers Need to Know in 2026
YouTube Shorts has a substantial and growing audience in Malaysia. Users who scroll through the Shorts feed encounter ads that appear between organic Shorts content, similar to how ads appear on TikTok or Instagram Reels.
Shorts ads are vertical (9:16 aspect ratio), full-screen, and sound-on by default. Viewers can skip them after a short viewing period. They require separate creative from standard landscape YouTube ads and are set up as a distinct campaign type in Google Ads rather than as a sub-format of an existing campaign.
For Malaysian businesses with existing short-form creative, Shorts ads offer a way to extend reach into a mobile-native audience without building a new campaign infrastructure. For businesses without vertical video assets, standard landscape in-stream remains the more accessible starting point.
Creative Requirements for Shorts Ads
Shorts ads must be vertical at 9:16 aspect ratio, between 15 and 60 seconds long, and must feel native to the short-form viewing environment. Overly polished or landscape-cropped creative typically underperforms in the Shorts feed, where the viewing context is fast, casual, and mobile-first.
Frequently Asked Questions
YouTube offers six main ad formats for advertisers: skippable in-stream ads, non-skippable in-stream ads, bumper ads, in-feed video ads, YouTube Shorts ads, and companion banner ads. Each format appears in a different placement on the platform and is priced differently depending on the campaign type.
The format you choose is configured in Google Ads during campaign setup. It determines where your ad appears, whether viewers can skip it, and what pricing model applies. Most advertisers start with skippable in-stream ads as their primary format and add other formats as their campaigns mature.
Specs vary by format. Skippable and non-skippable in-stream ads should be 1080p resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, under 1 GB file size, and in MP4 or MOV format. Bumper ads follow the same video specs but run for a maximum of 6 seconds. Shorts ads require a 9:16 vertical format. Companion banner ads are 300 x 60 pixels, maximum 150 KB, JPG or PNG.
Google Ads will flag any creative that does not meet format requirements before the ad goes live, so it is worth checking specs before producing your video to avoid costly reshoots. For current specs, the Google Ads Help Centre is the most reliable reference.
For skippable in-stream ads, the practical target length is 30 to 60 seconds. This gives enough time to communicate a clear message to engaged viewers while keeping the experience concise. For non-skippable in-stream ads, the maximum is 15 seconds. For bumper ads, the maximum is 6 seconds. For Shorts ads, the range is 15 to 60 seconds.
The most important consideration is not length but front-loading: regardless of the total ad length, the most critical creative decisions happen in the first 5 seconds before the skip button appears for skippable formats.
TrueView is Google’s name for its skippable in-stream ad format (also called TrueView in-stream) and its in-feed video format (also called TrueView for Action or TrueView discovery). The defining characteristic of TrueView is that viewers have some form of choice: they can skip the ad, or they actively choose to watch it. Bumper ads, by contrast, are non-skippable 6-second ads priced on CPM with no viewer choice.
In practice, most advertisers use TrueView in-stream as their primary format for consideration and direct response objectives, and layer bumper ads on top for reach and recall reinforcement. Both formats run through the same Google Ads account and can be coordinated within the same campaign strategy.
Ready to Choose the Right YouTube Ad Format for Your Campaign?
You now have a complete picture of every YouTube ad format, where it appears, and which objectives each one serves best.
If you’re unsure which format suits your business goal or need help producing creative that fits the specs, 3thirds Inc builds and manages YouTube Ads campaigns for Malaysian SMEs from RM899/month. Find out more about our YouTube Ads service for Malaysian businesses.
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