YouTube Ads control reference
Retrieved: 2026-07-11. Refresh official product, API, policy, and availability sources before using this reference after its control-plane refresh date.
Category model
This reference does not define an executable scoring profile. Bind a versioned profile whose categories cover the applicable controls and whose weights total 100; otherwise produce findings without a health score. The deterministic engine applies weights only after scoring applicable controls within each category.
Runtime evaluation contract
- Treat each row as an applicability-first evidence question. Missing evidence is
unknown; unavailable or ineligible surfaces arenot_applicable. - Verify campaign subtype, inventory, objective, geography, format, reporting fields, measurement path, and account eligibility before evaluation.
- The registered source below grounds Google Ads API video campaign support only. Current Demand Gen, migration, engagement-goal, creative, policy, and availability claims require additional dated official source IDs or account evidence.
- This reference is advisory and export-read only. It does not provide a live Google/YouTube API reader or mutation adapter.
Controls
| ID | Category | Evidence question |
|---|---|---|
| YT-M01 | Measurement | Primary conversion or engagement goal and its counting role are explicit. |
| YT-M02 | Measurement | Google Ads, GA4, channel-link, view-through, and assisted measurement choices are reconciled. |
| YT-M03 | Measurement | YouTube and non-YouTube Demand Gen inventory are separated in reporting where needed. |
| YT-M04 | Measurement | Brand-lift or incrementality methods are used when direct response cannot answer the objective. |
| YT-S01 | Structure | Campaign subtype, channel controls, objective, bidding, and inventory match the intended outcome. |
| YT-S02 | Structure | Migrated or legacy Video Action Campaign state and incompatible settings are reviewed. |
| YT-A01 | Audience | Audience signals or segments match intent and first-party exclusions avoid overlap. |
| YT-A02 | Audience | Content suitability, placements, topics, and inventory controls are intentionally governed. |
| YT-C01 | Creative | The opening earns attention before skip behavior and communicates the offer clearly. |
| YT-C02 | Creative | Horizontal, vertical, square, short, and long formats cover intended inventory. |
| YT-C03 | Creative | Materially different concepts and hooks are available, not cosmetic variants. |
| YT-C04 | Creative | Demand Gen asset and product-feed choices are deliberate and eligible. |
| YT-B01 | Budget | Bid and budget strategy fit the objective, evidence volume, and campaign maturity. |
| YT-R01 | Reporting | View, engagement, click, conversion, and cost metrics use a consistent window and definition. |
| YT-P01 | Policy | Content suitability, brand safety, disclosures, and regulated-category obligations are checked. |
| YT-E01 | Experiment | Creative or audience experiments isolate one decision and account for conversion lag. |
Use pass, fail, unknown, or not_applicable. Unknown controls reduce
coverage. Optional, beta, premium, unavailable, immutable, or ineligible features
are unscored opportunities.
Registered official evidence
youtube-google-ads-video-official: Google Ads API video campaigns
Official sources override this summary when they change. Unsupported controls stay
unknown; vendor case studies remain labeled and contextual.