To figure out users’ ability to view their video ads in Campaign Manager 360, the metric you should use is video views.
- Video companion clicks
- Video completions
- Video replays
- Video views
The correct answer is: Video views
Explanation: Among the four options provided, “Video views” is the closest, but it’s still not the most accurate metric for determining users’ ability to view video ads.
Here’s why:
- Video companion clicks measure clicks on the companion banner ad, not the viewability of the main video.
- Video completions track how many times the video played to the end, but not if it was actually seen.
- Video replays count how many times users replayed the video, not the initial viewability.
Video views count the number of times a video ad was initiated. While an initiation is a prerequisite for a view, it doesn’t guarantee the user actually saw the ad (e.g., it could have been scrolled out of view immediately).
Ideally, the metric you’d want is Active View: Viewable Impressions, which measures if the ad met the industry standard for being viewable. Since that’s not an option, “Video views” is the closest as it at least indicates an attempt to watch the video, even if it doesn’t confirm actual visibility.
For a more precise understanding of viewability with the available options, none are ideal. You’d need to look at a combination of “Video views” and potentially other engagement metrics to infer if users were likely able to see the ad.