YANDEX.DIRECT: Essential Formats and Technical Requirements for Advertising Creatives

Varied advertising platforms possess unique guidelines for publishing creatives. There is no universally applicable size or parameter that fits all services, rendering a standard or one-size-fits-all approach impossible. Furthermore, contextual advertising imposes additional requirements on both images and texts.

Now, let’s delve into the creative formats compatible with Yandex.Direct. Quarter Billion Agency experts have prepared a concise guideline specifically for this purpose.

Managing Creatives in Yandex.Direct

Yandex.Direct offers two primary types of contextual advertising: search advertising and ads in the Yandex Advertising Networks (YAN). In search advertising, the publication appears as a text description displayed on search engine result pages. On the other hand, ads in YAN encompass a range of formats, including graphic, text and graphic, and even video formats within mobile applications or partner sites. However, each format comes with its specific requirements.

When it comes to campaign graphics, various formats are supported, except for search queries, where contextual advertising is exclusively presented in text form.

Text-based Creatives

Essential Parameters for Text Creatives:

• Title: The title should be limited to 56 characters, including spaces and punctuation marks. Additionally, individual words should not exceed 22 characters.
• Additional Title: An optional additional title can be included, limited to 30 characters, including 15 punctuation marks. Similar to the main title, individual words should not exceed 22 characters.
• Ad Text: The ad text should be limited to 81 characters, including 15 punctuation marks. Each word should not exceed 23 characters. It’s worth noting that the ad text may be trimmed based on the advertising platform’s parameters.

Images

Let’s now shift our focus to images. Yandex.Direct has specific technical requirements for images, which are as follows:

1. Quality: Images should be clear, free from digital noise or blurring, ensuring high visual quality.
2. Maximum File Size: Images should not exceed a file size of 10 MB.
3. Additional Elements: Any additional elements within the image, such as transition buttons, background, filling, gradient, etc., should occupy no more than one-fifth of the total image area.
4. Formats: Accepted image formats include JPG, PNG, and GIF. However, note that animated GIFs will only display the first frame.
5. Size: The image size requirements vary depending on the type of advertising and devices. For text and image banners in the desktop version, dimensions can range from 450 to 5000 pixels, with acceptable aspect ratios of 1:1, 3:4, or 4:3. Mobile formats, on the other hand, require sizes ranging from 1080×607 pixels to 5000×2812 pixels, with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Image banners can be of various sizes for different devices, such as 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, and 960×640.

When displayed in the Yandex Advertising Network (YAN), ad blocks are optimized to fit the format of the specific partner site. This means that uploaded images may be cropped or resized accordingly. Additionally, the orientation of the images (horizontal or vertical) depends on the advertising platform. It’s important to consider these factors during the creative design process. The formats are specified during the image upload stage in the ad.

There are three possible options to consider:

1. The first option: In this scenario, the ad format strictly adheres to predefined criteria, maintaining a fixed aspect ratio and pixel size. If the image does not fit within the designated unit, it will neither stretch nor shrink.
2. The second option: Each ad is individually configured using a specialized constructor, allowing for customization based on specific sizes.
3. The third option: In this case, the image size may vary, and the format adapts to meet the requirements of the YAN website. Consequently, the aspect ratio of the image may change. It is essential to preview the publication to ensure the image appears as desired after resizing or adjustment.

Video format

The video format deserves special attention.

The video format offers versatile possibilities in advertising. It can replace images in text and graphic ads on websites that permit animated content. Additionally, videos can serve as full-fledged display advertising in various modes, including InStream (played during the beginning, middle, or end of the main video), InPage (inserted between text blocks), Interstitial (displayed before content upload or change), Rewarded (offering bonuses to mobile users after watching the video), and InBanner (natively placed within applications).

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

• Duration: Videos should have a duration between 5 and 60 seconds.
• Maximum File Size: Video files should not exceed 10 MB.
• Formats: Accepted video formats include MP4, WebM, MOV, QT, FLV, and AVI.
• Resolution: The minimum resolution should be 360p.
• Frame Rate: Videos should have a minimum frame rate of 20 frames per second.
• Video Codecs: Supported video codecs include H.264, VP6F, VP8, and Theora.
• Audio Codecs: Accepted audio codecs include AAC, MP3, and Vorbis.
• Quality: Audio quality should be at least 44 kHz, 16 Kbit/s, and in stereo.

It’s worth noting that video advertising has gained significant interest among advertisers recently, as it is perceived as easier to comprehend and remember. However, this doesn’t imply that other formats will be less effective. Each format has its strengths and can be effective in delivering impactful advertising messages.

Irrespective of the chosen creatives for contextual advertising in Yandex.Direct, the ultimate goal remains constant: maximizing conversions. The more conversions achieved, the better the outcome. A similar objective is set for platforms developed by VKontakte. However, VKontakte’s products are currently undergoing a transitional phase, moving towards the new VK Advertising service, which entails changes in creative formats.

Stay tuned for the next part of our material, where you can learn more about these changes.

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