Video Ads for Website Publishers: Make More – Spend Less [+7 Best Ad Formats Inside]

Let’s be honest, it’s over for our attention spans. Reading is slowly going underground, while our screen time spent on TikToks and Reels is creeping into dangerous territories. What does it mean for publishers? If you can’t fight it, join it.

The goldmine that video ad campaigns are should be obvious to any publisher. Then why don’t we see their massive implementation in traditional editorial content?

“It’s too complicated to deliver video ads,” “Video ad formats ruin the flow of the website,” “We can’t develop a comprehensive video ad strategy, ” – we’ve heard that from many of our clients, and successfully solved each of these.

In this article, we’ll discuss why video ads are on top of ad tech (with numbers), what you should know about them, how different ad formats keep engagement high without messing with user experience, and how to create a strategy that works for video monetization.

How Much Do Video Ads for Publishers Pay?

Let’s shoot the most troubling questions first. “How much do websites pay per 1000 views?”

On average, publishers can earn between $1 and $6 per 1,000 views from video ads on their websites. Surely, this varies based on niche, traffic quality, and platform.

For example, high-value niches like finance may yield $30–$50 per 1,000 views. On YouTube, creators typically earn $2–$12 per 1,000 views, taking into account that only about half of the views are monetized, resulting in an effective range of $1–$6.

Multiple video ad networks offer decent payouts, typically $10–$20 per 1,000 views, depending on content relevance and audience demographics. Once again, all of this depends on what ad types you use and how much they engage your viewer. We’ll talk about how to maximize each below.

Before we get to the theory & practice of optimizing video ad campaigns, just a couple more facts to boost your interest:

• Based on Epom observations, video ads are 27.4 times more likely to be clicked than standard banners, indicating superior user interaction.
• A positive video ad experience can boost purchase intent by 97% and brand association by 139%, skyrocketing campaign effectiveness.
• In 2023, global digital video ad spending reached approximately $176.63 billion, reflecting strong advertiser confidence in video ad inventory.
• Video ads typically command higher CPMs, often 3x to 10x higher than display ads. Surely, they are much more difficult and expensive to make, but the results are worth it.
• According to Statista, 82% of total ad spending in the digital advertising market will be generated through mobile in 2029. And where there’s mobile, there’s video.

What Are Video Ads for Publishers?

Ok, the numbers have probably persuaded you in video ads for publishers' supremacy. What now? Firstly, let’s tackle the basic definitions.

You already know that:

Video ads are promotional content in video format, typically displayed before, during, or after online content on websites, social media, mobile apps, or streaming platforms.

That much is obvious, so let's get straight to the pros and cons.

What Are the Pros of Video Ads for Publishers?

You’ve already read about the stats. But what exactly makes video ads such a hit in ad tech? We’d name:

• High engagement

Video ads are more likely to be watched and remembered, with 80% of viewers retaining ad information for up to a month. Surely, once their screen time on TikTok reaches 7 hours per day, they won’t remember it as good, but it’ll still be better than banners.

• Creative potential

Video is a liberating format. It enables compelling narratives that simply give the advertiser more chances to engage the viewer, and brings more money to you as a result.

• Mobile-friendliness

Obviously, mobile and video combine almost as well as bread and butter. With mobile video consumption rising, vertical video ads are effective across devices, reaching users on the go.

• Detailed analytics

Publishers can track ad metrics like watch time, peak engagement, CTR, and many more, allowing for great contextual targeting, higher ad revenue, and complete control over ad monetization. It’s not ideal, but it’s far more data than you’d get with a banner ad.

• Higher revenue

The users of ad servers and video DSPs report much higher CPMs. You essentially generate twice the revenue for a similarly sized ad unit.

What Are the Cons and Challenges of Video Advertising for Publishers?

As for the cons, industry heads name these:

• Higher revenue

Creating high-quality video ads requires significant investment in time and resources. It's a bit easier in 2025, but we'll get to that.

• Slow loading times

Large video files can increase page load times, potentially harming user experience. This isn’t much of an issue if you use the correct APIs. We’ll talk about that later.

• Ad blockers

Users may employ ad blockers, reducing the visibility and effectiveness of video ads. This is an issue in all of the ad tech, but it hurts the video ads even more. Although it’s not easy, there are some methods to bypass ad blockers.

• Intrusiveness

Poorly placed ads, such as autoplay videos, can disrupt user experience and lead to negative brand perceptions. Once again, this should be fixed with engaging and non-invasive video ad placements.

• Competition with Social Media

Gen-Z and millennials are used to high-quality video advertising on their apps, but not so much on traditional websites. To counteract this, your ad placements should be sharp, interesting, and as native as possible.

So, on one side, we have money, analytics, and user engagement (+ mobile video advertising), while on the other, there are challenges of intrusiveness, accurate implementation, and engagement.

As you can see, we haven’t made those up; these are quite valid concerns. To solve them, we need to dive deeper into:

• how video ads work on the system level
• how they differ
• how to create them without too much hassle (or attract advertisers that do)
• how to create a compelling strategy that would address the issues

We’ll start with what video ads there are, and mainly the most obvious division into: in-stream and outstream ads.

In-Stream vs Outstream: Which Video Ads to Use for Publishers?

Typically, ad businesses distinguish two types of video ads: in-stream and outstream.

Instream Video Ads

According to IAB’s latest guidelines, in-stream video is the type of video ad that plays with the sound on and is served inside the video player. When the instream ad launches, the main video player stops. YouTube video ads are the perfect example.

These are most effective when:

• You already have video content, like news clips, shows, tutorials, interviews, reviews, etc. The ad “rides” inside your own player.
• Your audience expects video: people are ready to watch, so they tolerate or even expect an ad before or during it.
• You want higher CPMs. In-stream typically commands a premium because advertisers know the ad is actually being watched in a video context.
• You can control ad breaks — e.g., mid-roll placements instead of pre-roll ads in long-form content.
• Viewability & completion rates matter — since the ad plays inside the content, viewability is often >90% and CTR is stronger.

What to look out for:

• You must have enough video inventory (otherwise, no ads will run).
• Some demand partners require strict VAST compliance and brand safety tagging.
• You need a player that supports VAST/VPAID or newer IAB specs like OMID.

Outstream Video Ads

On the contrary, outstream video ads are the videos that “live” outside of the main video player. They autoplay on mute as the user scrolls through a website. They also don’t require an HTML5 video player.

These work best when:

• You don’t produce video content but still want to monetize with video ads.
• You have strong written/image content, like blogs, news articles, galleries, product reviews, and want to embed a high-impact ad between sections.
• You want incremental revenue that video monetization adds without replacing existing formats.
• You want more flexibility in placement; outstream can be inline, sticky, in-feed, sidebar, etc.
• Your website doesn’t support HTML5 video players, or you simply want to avoid the hassle of implementation.

However, keep these facts in mind:

• Outstream CPMs are generally lower than instream, though still higher than display.
• Viewability depends heavily on placement (above-the-fold, sticky, etc.).
• If not well-integrated, it can feel intrusive and hurt UX.

It’s not as hard as it seems. For instance, at Epom, we’ve already helped Adera to use outstream ads and get almost immediate results.

So, which video type to use when?

If you have video content → go instream first (premium CPM, strong demand, better mobile user acceptance).

If you don’t have video content → go outstream (you’ll still tap into video budgets without producing videos).

Nobody stops you from using both, in fact, a vast majority of publishers do: in-stream inside videos, and outstream between articles for extra fill.

Now, let’s find out how both of these work in the real world.

How to Serve Video Ads for Publishers?

Most digital video ads you see online are served through VAST-based API frameworks, the invisible engines behind successful video ad delivery.

APIs inside VAST tags make sure everything works smoothly, loads correctly, and respects the publisher’s control. Without them, you risk broken playback, missing measurement, and user experience nightmares.

Wait, a minute, what is a VAST tag? Let’s tackle this first.

What Is VAST?

Video Ad Serving Template/VAST is the backbone of modern video ad delivery for publishers.

It powers roughly 90% of the video ads your audience sees online. Originally, it replaced the Digital Audio Ad Serving Template (DAAST), which the IAB eventually discontinued; however, some ad tech platforms (like our ad server) still support it.

How VAST Works for Publishers

From a technical perspective, VAST is simply an XML schema that organizes ad tags to facilitate their delivery to a video player. It sounds more complicated than it is.

At its core, VAST is a protocol carrying metadata about a video ad, passing it from your ad server to the player on your site.

That metadata includes:

• The media file with the ad creative
• Impression tracking links
• Information about the ad format

For publishers, this means your video player reads the instructions from the VAST tag and plays the right creative, tracks the impression, and formats it correctly for the user. It looks something like this:

Why VAST Versions Matter to Publishers

There have been four major versions of VAST so far. You might think version numbers are a minor detail, but for publishers, they define what features your player can support, and therefore what kinds of demand and ad creatives you can accept.

The VAST version supported by your setup is the framework you’ll work within, so here’s a rundown of each.

“VAST seems good enough. Why don’t we simply use VAST only?”

You could, in fact, a lot of publishers do. But you shouldn’t.

VAST, despite being the core of video advertising, is quite old and limited. The APIs build on its functionality and expand on it.

It’s like when buying an old car, you fit it with modern tires, wheels, and suspension components, giving it new life and enjoying the fruit of modern progress, while still having all the good stuff the platform provides.

What Is VPAID?

Now to the APIs themselves.

Video Player Ad Interface Definition (VPAID) is the OG of interactive video ad delivery. It added rich media controls on top of basic VAST capabilities, making it a go-to choice for publishers looking to offer more than just passive impressions.

Key VPAID features:

• Support for interactive creatives (overlays, buttons, dynamic CTAs)
• Ad resizing to match screen or container
• Playback auto-resumes after ad completion
• Timeout override to prevent endless loading

However, VPAID isn’t perfect, especially in direct deals:

• It has a high failure rate (up to 30%) when rendering interactive creatives
• Older implementations leave room for data leaks and insecure execution
• It wasn’t designed with today’s mobile-first world in mind

Still, for publishers working closely with direct advertisers, VPAID offers a level of creative control that can be worth the technical trade-offs, if properly sandboxed and served securely.

What Is SIMID? What Is OMID?

The IAB created Secure Interactive Media Interface Definition (SIMID) and Open Measurement Interface Definition (OMID) to replace VPAID, and they’re better suited for direct serving environments.

Why SIMID is a win for publishers:

• Playback logic stays with the video player, not the ad script
• Reduces rendering errors and increases playback consistency
• Adds stricter boundaries for what the ad can access

OMID, meanwhile, is advertiser-focused:

• It limits ad access to the video player only, avoiding the risk of poking into your page
• Ensures viewability tracking and measurement are handled cleanly and transparently

Like with all things in ad tech, the adoption is still slower than it should be, despite both of these being much better than VPAID. But for premium direct campaigns, both SIMID and OMID offer the performance and accountability that buyers increasingly demand.

What Is MRAID? What Is ORMMA?

When you’re directly integrating relevant video ads into apps, especially native apps on Android, iOS, or cross-platform SDKs, you’ll want Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definition (MRAID) or its less popular cousin, ORMMA.

Why? Because neither VAST nor VPAID was designed for mobile devices.

MRAID is the go-to framework for delivering video and rich media in mobile environments:

• “Write once, run anywhere” compatibility
• Handles gestures, sensors, and mobile screen resizing
• Ensures ads run properly across thousands of device/OS variations

ORMMA (Open Rich Media Mobile Advertising) is effectively an older version of MRAID, focused more on JavaScript-based apps. It integrates MRAID internally, so most modern setups use it as a fallback or support layer.

If your direct ad strategy includes mobile (and it should), these frameworks ensure smooth ad rendering across all screens and SDKs, without endless custom coding.

How to Generate Video Ad Creatives (or Attract Advertisers that Do It Well)

To be honest, creating engaging ad experiences is far more an advertiser’s concern than a publisher’s. But they are posted on your website, so if the user sees a cringey ad and leaves because of it, this is your problem now.

How to Generate Video Ads Cheaply

Curious about rolling your own video ads for cheap?

Skip hiring videographers and lean on AI magic. After all, it's 2025, and these tools crank out slick, high-engagement spots for pennies. Start with free trials to test-drive, then scale up. Here's the playbook:

• Product content

Tools like Creatify.ai let you paste a product URL, and boom: it auto-generates 5-10 UGC-style videos with lifelike AI avatars, perfect for social ads. Priced from $29/month, it's a steal for short-form clips that convert.

• Talking heads

Pair it with tools like Synthesia (free tier available) for talking-head videos; just input a script, pick an avatar, and export in minutes. This should be ideal for explainer ads without filming.

• Footage for short-form content

There’s also Predis.ai for Reels or Shorts. Feed it text prompts, and it spits out polished videos with music and effects, starting at $20/month.

Hack: Repurpose stock footage from free libraries (like Pexels) inside these tools to avoid originality issues, and A/B test avatars for audience resonance.

• Additional hacks for non-designers

For non-designers, integrate built-in AI in Canva or CapCut, add quizzes or CTAs via overlays for interactive twists that boost clicks without extra editing. Focus on 15-30 second lengths to maximize completion rates, and always optimize for mute viewing with bold captions.

This setup keeps costs under $50/month while delivering ads that rival big-agency stuff.

Unfortunately, nobody paid us for advertising these tools, so you can freely try their competitors too.

How to Attract Advertisers that Create High-Quality Video Ads

As a publisher, your main focus is your website content, not the ads placed on it. So to not screw things up, you need to partner up with advertisers that can deliver.

In direct advertising, it's all about positioning your site as a premium canvas for their top-tier videos. Focus on value alignment and data-driven pitches to snag those high-CPM partners.

Here's how to reel 'em in without spammy emails and annoying LinkedIn messages:

• Showcase your audience

Highlight granular data like viewer demographics and engagement metrics (e.g., 80% video completion rates) in custom pitch decks. Brands with killer creatives crave targeted reach, so offer bundled packages: "Pair your dynamic video with our in-article slots for 2x lift."

• Showcase your experience

Use case studies from past direct deals to prove that you improve ROI. Think "Previous partner saw 30% conversion bump via our mobile-optimized feeds." This attracts quality advertisers like e-commerce giants who invest in pro videos.

• Sweeten the deal

Pitch non-intrusive ad experiences (like the ones in the next heading) and guarantee brand safety through vetted placements.

To stand out, create "creative collaboration kits" like free templates or audience insights that help them tailor videos to your users. It’s time for networking at industry events or LinkedIn with tags like "video ad partnerships."

• Offer tiered pricing

Lower entry for testing, premiums for exclusives. Align with brands whose values match your audience (e.g., eco-friendly for green sites) to foster long-term deals, boosting revenue 15-25% via repeat business.

This approach turns direct sales into a breeze, letting you focus on content while premium advertisers handle the creative heavy lifting.

Top 7 Video Ad Formats for Publishers that Actually Work

We already feel your attention span fading, so let’s try to answer the last questions.

“What ad placements should I put on my website?”

1. In-Feed Outstream Video

What it is: A seamless video ad embedded in editorial feeds that auto-plays (muted) when 50% visible, no video player needed. Why it’s good for publishers: Blends naturally with editorial content to reduce user annoyance, being less intrusive than in-stream. It’s a good expansion of website inventory that can be served without a video player.

2. Outstream Video Slider
   What it is: A sliding video panel from the page corner, muted by default and dismissible, without requiring a video player.

Why it’s good for publishers: Adds premium ad inventory to non-video pages, improving viewability and revenue while being non-invasive.

3. VMAP Video Sequence
   What it is: A series of video ads played in sequence within a single placement, using VMAP tags—no video player access required.

Why it’s good for publishers: Maximizes earnings from one slot by stacking multiple ads, ideal for high-traffic videos, and has an easy setup for quick inventory scaling (without the need to code).

4. YouTube VPAID Video
   What it is: In-stream ads using YouTube videos as creatives, placed as pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll. Why it’s good for publishers: Leverages popular YouTube content for instant appeal, giving 5x higher CPMs than banners and allowing for easy setups.

5. Outstream Video Overlay
   What it is: A clickable video that overlays page or player content, starting on user interaction and closable after a set time. Why it’s good for publishers: Creates interactive ad layers on existing content, increasing clicks and revenue without disrupting user experience. VAST Video

6. VAST Video
   What it is: Standard in-stream video ads (pre/mid/post-roll) that pause main content, delivered via VAST tags. Why it’s good for publishers: Standardizes video monetization for broad compatibility, driving higher bids and earnings through targeted, high-visibility placements.

7. VAST Non-Linear
   What it is: A clickable image overlay on videos that stays visible without interrupting playback. Why it’s good for publishers: Adds subtle interactivity to videos, enhancing engagement metrics and unlocking extra revenue from clicks alongside views.

Conclusion: How to Monetize Video Ads for Publishers

If we were to compress this article into five ways to monetize video content effectively, you could take right now, these would be:

1. Match ad type to content – In-stream for sites with videos, outstream for text/image content. Use both for max revenue.
2. Use the right tech – VAST as the base, add APIs (VPAID, SIMID, OMID, MRAID) for features, security, and mobile support.
3. Ensure quality creatives – Produce with cheap AI tools or attract premium advertisers with strong audience data.
4. Pick high-impact formats – In-feed, sliders, overlays, VMAP sequences, YouTube VPAID, VAST standard/non-linear.
5. Use the right ad tech – All of the above steps won’t work if you don’t have the tech to match your goals. If you’re a publisher that deals with direct video digital advertising, then the Epom ad server is a no-brainer.