Is YouTube TrueView better than other formats?

For DTC: usually yes. Skippable formats select for engaged viewers; you only pay for true watch time. Non-skippable formats inflate CPV without raising buyer intent. Bumper ads (6-sec non-skip) work for brand recall but have ~0% direct CPA.

Should I include retargeting CPM?

If your video flow includes retargeting: yes, separately. Most successful video campaigns: prospecting at $0.03 CPV reaches new audiences; retargeting at $0.10-0.20 CPV converts them. Combined CPA is much lower than prospecting alone but the math gets complicated. Track separately.

What's a good completion rate?

YouTube TrueView 30%+ is decent. Reels 15-25% is strong. TikTok 10-20% is good. If completion is below platform median, your hook isn't working — fix the first 3 seconds before optimizing anything else.

Marketing · free calculator

Video ad CPV vs CPA calculator

Convert video ad cost-per-view (CPV) to cost-per-acquisition (CPA) — through view-completion, click-through, landing-page conversion.

Cost per view ($)

View completion % (50%+)

Of impressions; YouTube ~30%; Reels ~15%.Completer click %

Strong creative: 5-10%; weak: 1-2%.Landing → buy %

Cost per acquisition

Show the work

Effective cost per click$2
Acquisitions per 1,000 views0.5
Cost per 1k views$25

Video ad math — what cheap CPV actually costs you per buyer

Video ads are sold on cost-per-view (CPV) but what matters for ROI is cost-per-acquisition (CPA). The funnel from view to purchase has 3 multiplicative drops:

CPA = (CPV × 1000) ÷ (1000 × completion% × click% × convert%)

Default scenario: $0.025 CPV, 30% completion, 4% click rate, 4.5% landing conversion → 1,000 views deliver 0.54 acquisitions. CPA = $46.30.

Platform CPV ranges

YouTube TrueView: $0.02-0.10 CPV (skippable). Best ROI of video formats.
Meta Reels / Shorts: $0.005-0.03 CPV (cheaper but lower intent).
TikTok: $0.01-0.04 CPV. Strong for younger demos.
Programmatic CTV (Connected TV): $0.04-0.15 CPV. Premium but harder attribution.

What changes the math fastest

Click rate — strong CTAs + immediate offer copy double clicks. Going 4%→8% halves CPA.
Landing conversion — match landing page to ad creative. 5% standard; 8-10% achievable with focused PDPs.
View completion — depends on creative + length. 15-second cuts win on Reels; 30+ seconds work on YouTube with strong hook in first 5s.

Where video CPV is misleading

Not all 'completions' are real: TikTok counts 6-second views as 'completed'. YouTube counts 75%-watched as completed. Compare apples-to-apples.
Brand value of mid-funnel views: a non-clicker who saw the ad 3x is a future-funnel asset. Pure CPA math undervalues this.

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