How connected TV advertising drives search demand

Capturing intent at the precise moment consumers are ready to take action has always been the goal in search. 

But there’s value – and real payoff – in influencing that intent before the search even begins. 

As customer journeys grow more complex and span multiple touchpoints, the need to reach audiences earlier continues to rise.

Connected TV (CTV) advertising offers that opportunity. 

It helps build brand awareness and consideration that drive downstream search behavior – all while maintaining the targeting precision and measurement capabilities search professionals expect.

What is connected TV?

Connected TV encompasses any television that offers digital streaming beyond traditional satellite and terrestrial programming. This includes:

• Smart TVs.
• Plug-in devices like Roku, Amazon Fire TV sticks, and Apple TV.
• Gaming consoles that stream video content.

Rising viewership across platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Paramount+, and YouTube has made TV advertising more accessible – once the domain of big-budget brands.

It has also transformed TV from mass-market targeting with little customization to a targetable, measurable digital medium.

Unlike traditional TV advertising, CTV ads are delivered programmatically, which enables them to target specific households or audience segments – similar to what’s familiar in social or display advertising.

Connected TV offers opportunities for non-skippable, pre-roll, mid-roll, and skippable ad formats.

How connected TV complements search advertising

Search marketers often focus exclusively on lower-funnel tactics, capturing demand that already exists. 

While this approach delivers strong ROI, it leaves a gap at the top of the funnel to build that demand over time.

This is where CTV can help. Video advertising drives considerable reach and has been shown to increase the level of brand searches. 

When consumers see compelling video ads on their connected TVs, they often turn to search engines to learn more, compare options, or make a purchase. 

CTV plants the seed. Search translates that into traffic and sales.

Here’s how they work together in several ways:

• Brand awareness that drives search volume: Audience targeting naturally has a wider reach than relying solely on those searching for your brand, product, or service.
• Retargeting audiences on the big screen: When run through specific platforms like Google and Microsoft Ads, you can not only build awareness but also re-engage audiences already familiar with your brand.
• Sequential messaging: You can use CTV for storytelling to build a picture of your brand, product, and service.
• Measuring incremental search impact: By comparing branded search volume in the locations where the CTV ads were delivered, you can quantify exactly how much incremental search traffic your investment is generating. This closed-loop measurement helps optimize both channels together rather than in silos.

How to access and buy CTV placements

CTV advertising is becoming more accessible through advertising platforms you may already be using, such as Google and Microsoft Ads. 

With CTV, you no longer need to navigate complex TV negotiations or commit large budgets to test the channel. Start small and scale.

YouTube via Google Ads

For search marketers already running Google Ads, YouTube represents the easiest entry point into CTV advertising. 

YouTube is the dominant CTV app, available on virtually every connected TV device and smart TV. 

More importantly, it integrates seamlessly with your existing Google Ads account, where you can:

• Run Video Action or Video Reach campaigns optimized for TV screens.
• Opt in to target only smart TVs if you want full control over placement.
• Use the same remarketing lists, customer match data, and in-market audiences you already leverage in your search campaigns.
• Track CTV performance alongside search metrics in the same reporting interface to better understand cross-channel impact.

YouTube offers extremely cost-effective targeting, with CPVs as low as $0.03 – making it easy to test with low-budget investments.

Dig deeper: Google TV: What you need to know about CTV buying in Google Ads

Premium CTV inventory via Microsoft Ads

Microsoft Ads has a significant advantage in CTV inventory through partnerships with leading streaming platforms such as:

• Netflix.
• Roku.
• Paramount+. 

Directly through the Microsoft Ads interface, you can gain access to this premium, ad-supported inventory.

When you run ads through these streaming services, they appear pre- or mid-roll alongside professionally produced content such as films and TV shows, rather than the user-generated content you find in other digital video spaces like YouTube and social media.

Microsoft’s CTV solution offers strong audience options for B2B marketers and brands targeting professional audiences through its integration with LinkedIn. 

The platform also offers solid measurement capabilities, including: 

• Brand lift studies.
• Standard conversion tracking.
• Standard view rates expected from digital video ads.

Dig deeper: Microsoft brings video and CTV ads (including Netflix inventory) to Advertising Editor

Other CTV platforms

Aside from Google and Microsoft Ads, several other options exist for accessing CTV ad placements.

There are programmatic platforms like Amazon DSP and others that offer CTV inventory.

This programmatic targeting, similar to what’s available when using YouTube and Microsoft, aligns with the choices we typically see as search marketers when running audience network campaigns.

There is also the option to negotiate direct partnerships with streaming services like Sky AdSmart, which offers a blend of traditional and CTV, though this can typically require larger budgets. 

Sky AdSmart’s great benefit is access to enhanced targeting options, such as Experian Mosaic audience data, business owners and decision-makers, and FMCG purchase behavior. 

Sky’s proprietary first-party data includes Experian, Mastercard, and Nectar.

For most search marketers testing CTV for the first time, starting with YouTube through Google Ads or exploring Microsoft’s premium inventory provides the most straightforward entry point.

Dig deeper: Amazon Advertising guide: How to reach customers and sell more

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Creative requirements for CTV advertising

If you’re accustomed to writing text ads, CTV creative will require a mindset shift. 

You’re working with video on the largest screen in the house, often with multiple viewers watching together. 

Quality matters.

Video specifications

Most CTV platforms require video ads in the following formats:

• Resolution: 1920×1080 (1080p) minimum; 4K supported on some platforms.
• Aspect ratio: 16:9 (horizontal).
• Length: Typically 15 or 30 seconds (some platforms, such as YouTube, support 6-second bumpers).
• File format: MP4 or MOV with H.264 encoding.
• Audio: Stereo or 5.1 surround sound mix.

Unlike social media video, which users often watch with the sound off, CTV ads play with audio by default. 

Your voiceover, effects, and music are critical components of the creative.

Quality expectations

CTV audiences expect television-quality production values. 

While you don’t necessarily need a Hollywood budget, low-quality, amateurish creative will naturally underperform.

Some platforms, such as Sky AdSmart, require the ad to be approved by Clearcast. 

Others, like Netflix, have stricter video quality requirements than YouTube, given the nature of the content the ads appear alongside. 

Microsoft uses a three-star rating system to evaluate video quality. 

A video must earn at least one star to meet the minimum standard, but it needs a full three-star rating to be approved for streaming on Netflix.

At a minimum, invest in:

• Good lighting and sound recording.
• Clean editing and motion graphics.
• Professional voiceover.
• Brand-consistent visual identity.

Many advertisers successfully repurpose existing video assets – such as brand films, product demos, or testimonial videos – for CTV by editing them down to the required length and optimizing them for the big screen. 

Others create CTV-specific creative that tells a complete story within 30 seconds.

Creative best practices

Strong CTV creative typically follows these principles:

• Lead with your brand: Establish brand identity in the first few seconds.
• Tell a story: Even in 15–30 seconds, create a narrative arc.
• Include a clear call to action: Tell viewers what to do next (visit the website, search for the brand, etc.).
• Optimize for sound-on viewing: Don’t rely solely on text overlays.
• Test multiple versions where possible: Like any digital channel, creative testing drives performance.
• Consider ending with a CTA: Use a line like “Search [Brand Name] to learn more” to explicitly drive the search behavior you’ll capture with your search campaigns.

Budget requirements for CTV campaigns

One of the most common questions from search marketers exploring CTV is, “How much do I need to spend?”

The answer depends on your goals, market, and chosen platforms, but CTV is more accessible than many search marketers and businesses assume. 

Unlike traditional TV advertising, which often requires large upfront commitments, CTV can be tested with much smaller budgets that can, in most channels, be adjusted up or down on any given day.

Minimum investment levels

For YouTube CTV campaigns through Google Ads, you can technically start with just a few hundred pounds or as low as a £5-per-day budget. 

However, you should allocate your budget in proportion to your audience size to ensure sufficient data collection.

Premium CTV inventory through Microsoft Ads typically requires higher minimums, and your actual placements can vary depending on the budget and bid levels you set. 

The minimum budget is effectively the same as the CPM bid. Typically, you are looking at £1,000 or more as a minimum.

Cost structure (CPMs)

CTV advertising is typically priced on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis. CPM rates can vary significantly based on:

• Platform: Premium streaming services command higher CPMs than general CTV inventory.
• Targeting: Highly specific audience targeting increases costs as you narrow the pool of users the platform can show the ad to.
• Geography: Larger cities and different countries can result in varying costs.
• Seasonality: Q4 holiday season prices can be two to three times higher than in Q1. This again depends on the audience you are targeting.

As a general guide:

• YouTube CTV inventory: £10–£20 CPM.
• Premium CTV platforms (Netflix, Paramount+, etc.): £20–£40 CPM.

These CPMs are higher than most search clicks, but the brand impact per impression is substantially greater. 

In some instances, such as with YouTube, when optimizing for consideration, you can also pay on a cost-per-view (CPV) basis.

Audience targeting options for CTV

One of CTV’s most powerful advantages is the ability to apply digital-style audience targeting to a traditional TV environment. 

Search marketers will find many familiar targeting options.

Demographic targeting

Basic demographic targeting includes:

• Age.
• Gender.
• Parental status.
• Geographic location. 

This works similarly to demographic targeting in search campaigns, allowing you to focus on your core customer segments. 

Household income targeting is also available on some platforms (such as YouTube and Sky AdSmart) and in certain locations (such as the U.S.).

Behavioral and interest-based targeting

CTV platforms offer extensive behavioral targeting based on:

• Streaming habits.
• Content preferences.
• Online behavior. 

You can target users who watch specific genres or have shown interest in particular topics. 

More advanced options around past purchasing behavior are also available through Sky AdSmart, due to its partnerships with Nectar Card and Mastercard.

Remarketing and customer match

Just as you remarket to website visitors in search, you can upload customer lists or create remarketing audiences for CTV. 

This allows you to reach existing customers or prospects who’ve already engaged with your brand, reinforcing messages or promoting new offerings.

In-market audiences

Target consumers actively researching products or services in your category. 

These audiences are valuable for search marketers because they represent users likely to search for solutions soon. 

CTV allows you to influence their consideration before they begin searching.

Contextual targeting

Place your ads within specific types of content or alongside particular programs. 

A fitness brand might target health and wellness programming, while a financial services company might target business news content.

If you’re aiming for mass reach, you can also use RON (run of network), which casts a wide net beyond specific targeting.

With this approach, there are few targeting levers beyond geographic location.

The key is combining multiple targeting layers to reach your ideal audience efficiently. Most successful CTV campaigns will layer two to four targeting criteria together to drill down to the ideal customer.

Making the most of CTV as a search marketer

Connected TV represents an opportunity for search marketers ready to influence the entire customer journey and build their own search demand. 

CTV is a powerful complement to search campaigns, combining the targeting precision and measurement capabilities of digital advertising with the impact and reach of television.

Start small, test thoughtfully, and measure rigorously. 

Track metrics like:

• Completion rates.
• Reach.
• Branded search volume.
• Search conversion rates.
• Overall customer acquisition. 

To quantify the incremental value of CTV, use: 

• Geographic holdouts.
• Sequential messaging.
• Brand lift studies.

As consumers continue shifting toward streaming and away from traditional TV, CTV advertising will only become more important. 

Search marketers who master this channel now will have a significant competitive advantage in building brands that drive sustained search demand.

The question isn’t whether to add CTV to your marketing mix – it’s when and how to start.