Advertising creatives in Yandex.Direct. Basic formats and technical requirements

Different advertising platforms have their own rules to publish creatives. There is no standard size or "one-size-fits-all" parameter that would be multifunctional and universal for all services. In addition, contextual advertising has additional requirements not only for images, but also for texts.

Let's take a closer look at the formats of creatives that can be used in Yandex.Direct. RMAA experts have made a short guideline with regard to it.

Working with creatives in Yandex.Direct

Contextual advertising in Yandex.Direct is divided into 2 main types: search advertising and ads in the Yandex Advertising Networks (YAN). In the first option an advertising publication looks like a text description that is displayed on a  search engine result page. In the second option there are various formats, from completely graphic and text and graphic formats to video one in mobile applications or on partner sites. But each of them has its own requirements.
 
Graphic images for a campaign can be in various formats. Except for search queries, where contextual advertising is presented textually.

Text creatives

Basic parameters for text creatives:

• title – 56 characters with spaces and punctuation marks and a limit of 22 characters per word;
• additional title – 30 characters and 15 punctuation marks, plus, as in the title, a limit of 22 characters per word;
• ad text – 81 characters and 15 punctuation marks with limits of 23 characters per one word, and the ad text can be cut depending on the parameters of the advertising platform.

 The example of a text ad in a Yandex search query

Images

Now let's talk about images. Yandex.Direct has the following technical requirements for them:
 

• quality – clear images without digital noise or blurring;
• maximum file size – up to 10 MB;
• additional elements – should occupy no more than ⅕ of the total area of the image (such as transition buttons, background, filling, gradient, etc.);
• format – JPG, PNG, GIF. Note that in the latter option the animated picture will not be shown entirety, only the first frame;
• size – depends on the type of advertising and devices. The following standards are applied for text and image banners: from 450 to 5000 pixels in the desktop version with acceptable aspect ratios of 1:1, 3:4 or 4:3; from 1080x607 pixels to 5000x2812 pixels for a mobile format with 16:9 ratio.

Image banners can be of various sizes for any device: 160×600, 240×400, 240×600, 300×250, 300×300, 300×500, 300×600, 320×50, 320×100, 320×480, 336×280, 480×320, 728×90, 970×250, 1000×120, 160×600, 960x640.
 
When displayed in the YAN (Yandex Advertising Network), ad blocks are optimized for a format of the displaying a specific partner site. That is, uploaded images can be cropped, reduced, etc. They can also be horizontal or vertical, depending on the advertising platform. It is necessary to keep this in mind when designing a creative. The formats are specified at the stage of uploading the image to the ad.
 
There are 3 possible options here.

1.The first one is:
When the ad format is set strictly according to certain criteria. Because of this, the aspect ratio and the size in pixels do not change. If the picture does not fit into the unit, it will not stretch or shrink.

2.The second one is the following:
Each ad is configured individually for specific sizes using a special constructor.
 

3. In the third option:

The image size may not be fixed, and the format adapts to the requirements of the YAN website (aspect ratio will change). Be sure to check the preview of the publication to see how the image looks like after reducing or adjusting the size.

Video format

Particular attention should be given to the video format.
 

It can be used instead of an image in text and graphic ads on websites where the placement of animated content is acceptable. And also it can act as a full-fledged Display Advertising in InStream modes (streaming video at the beginning, middle and end of the main video), InPage (between blocks of text), Interstitial (before content upoading or changing), Rewarded (for mobile versions for bonuses for users after watching the video), InBanner (native placement in applications).

Yandex.Direct has the following technical requirements for video formats:

• duration – between 5 and 60 seconds;
• maximum file size – up to 10 MB;
• format – MP4, WebM, MOV, QT, FLV, AVI;
• resolution – from 360 p;
• frame rate – from 20 frames/s;
• video codecs – H.264, VP6F, VP8, Theora;
• audio codecs – AAC, MP3, Vorbis;
• quality – from 44 kHz, 16 Kbit/s, stereo.

It should be noted that recently advertisers often show interest in video advertising, since it is easier to understand and remember. Nonetheless, it does not mean that other formats will be less effective.
 
Regardless of the selected creatives for contextual advertising in Yandex.Direct, the main task remains unchanged – the number of conversions. The more of them, the better the result. The same task is set for platforms from VKontakte developers. However, at the present moment the company's products are at an intermediate stage of transition to the new VK Advertising service, where the formats for creatives have changed.
 
Read about it in the next part of our material.

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