YouTube is allowing ads to run on more types of content, which will expand the monetization opportunities for content creators.
Creators will now be able to earn revenue on content that previously wasn’t considered suitable for advertisers.
This is possible as a result of adjustments made to YouTube’s advertiser-friendly guidelines, which are now less restrictive.
Here’s more about this important update to the YouTube Partner Program.
Changes to YouTube’s Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines
YouTube is now allowing more types of content to be fully monetized instead of partially monetized.
Creators that are part of the YouTube Partner Program can immediately tell if a video is eligible for full or partial monetization by looking at the color-coded icons in YouTube Studio.
- Green icon: Video is eligible to earn full revenue.
- Yellow icon: Video will display limited or no ads.
- Red icon: Video is ineligible for monetization.
- Grey icon: Monetization has been manually turned off by the creator.
In a video published to the Creator Insider channel, a YouTube representative states:
“Across the company we’re aware that when you receive a yellow icon on your content it can feel as if YouTube isn’t being supportive. The advertiser friendly guidelines are restrictive in some areas more than others because advertisers want the option to opt-in on some content and, in others, have no tolerance for running ads.
Examples of those kinds of areas are content which features graphic dead bodies or really detailed discussions around sexual abuse. So it’s really a balancing act for us making sure you have the best possible opportunity to monetize your content on the platform while making sure that advertisers are still happy to pay for ad space.”
YouTube says it has met with advertisers to make a case for some responsible policy updates.
That means there will now be more opportunities for users to fully monetize their content, whereas before some of this content would have received the yellow icon.
YouTube is moving specific content areas out of scope of the yellow icon and moving it in scope of the green icon. Changes will apply to the following types of content.
Educational Content
YouTube is going to expand monetization on educational, documentary, or news content that may feature violent interactions with law enforcement, recreational drugs or drug related content, as well as sensitive events.
Controversial Issues
YouTube is expanding monetization around controversial issues where the content isn’t graphic and it’s an objective discussion of controversial issues.
Adult Humor
YouTube is expanding monetization in the area of adult themes delivered through the context of humor. Like adult dating jokes, for example.
Profanity
YouTube will now allow full monetization of content where there is use of moderate profanity within the first 30 seconds of a video.
These changes are effective as of April 2021.
