Content Marketing
Target Frequency Drops Its Either-Or Rule, So Check Creative for Every Format
Edward Ilin11 min read
Google Says Target Frequency Can Mix Non-Skippable Ads & Shorts: an updated help page now lets advertisers combine non-skippable in-stream ads with Shorts and in-feed ads in one Target frequency campaign. Previously they had to choose. For agency content leads, that means fewer split campaigns, but each format still needs its own creative.
The real risk is not the setting. It is the creative you forgot to brief.
Google's updated help page now lets one Target frequency campaign combine non-skippable in-stream ads with Shorts and in-feed ads. Previously, you had to choose.
You already have too many campaigns to babysit. Every duplicate line item costs you hours of setup, reporting and client explanation.
Many agencies worked around the old rule by splitting campaigns.
Google Says Target Frequency Can Mix Non-Skippable Ads & Shorts: What Your Reach Plans Need Now
What changed: one frequency goal can now span non-skippable in-stream placements and Shorts
According to Search Engine Journal's report on the updated help page, advertisers may now "mix any combination of skippable in-stream, non-skippable in-stream (up to 20s), bumper, In-feed, and Shorts ads" in one Target frequency campaign.
The earlier rule was blunt. An Oct. 14 archive capture said non-skippable ads could not be combined with in-feed or Shorts ads, and selecting non-skippable disabled the other two.
The current setup steps drop that restriction. Tick the Non-skippable in-stream checkbox to include those ads alongside your selected formats.
The page shows a single frequency range of 2 to 7 per week, or 4 to 12 per month. Mixed-format campaigns are limited to auction buying. Reserve buying stays on non-mixed formats only.
Plain version: one campaign, one frequency goal, more formats.
Why it matters for your clients: a single frequency target means fewer duplicate-reach leaks and fewer campaigns to babysit
This is our reading, not Google's claim: split campaigns can't see each other. One carries the non-skippable cut. Another carries the Shorts vertical. Neither knows what the other has already shown.
The same viewer gets hit twice, and your client sees the bill.
The help page does not say consolidation lowers cost. It says the opposite for the old structure: campaigns limited to in-stream formats may see "less reach or a higher cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM)," per Search Engine Journal's summary of the page. That is Google's own warning, and it points toward mixing as the better setup for reach.
For you, the practical gain is operational. Fewer line items means fewer weekly check-ins, fewer reporting rows and one frequency number to explain on client calls.
Our judgment: treat this as a consolidation opportunity, not a reason to blow up working campaign structures
Bottom line: promising change, thin documentation. Pilot first.
A campaign that is delivering is a campaign you understand. Mixing formats changes how the system allocates impressions, and nothing on the page tells you how that shifts your results.
One question is still open. The source report notes that, as of Nov. 12, the page does not say what happens when you add non-skippable ads to a multi-format campaign created before the update. It is unclear whether in-feed and Shorts stay selected. Until Google clarifies, a new campaign is the safer test bed.
More reasons for caution:
- UK and Australian English pages still say you cannot mix these placements.
- The UK setup guide still lists a separate 2 to 4 weekly range for in-stream formats.
- Display & Video 360 shows non-skippable ads "up to 15 seconds" only when bought as in-stream-only.
- Google Ads Help's announcements section carries no note about the update.
The creative catch: non-skippable formats and Shorts reward different assets, so one cut will not serve both
Merging the campaign does not merge the creative. Google's Video reach page, as summarized in the report, recommends vertical video of 6 to 60 seconds for Shorts, and horizontal 15- and 6-second videos for feed and non-skippable ads. The non-skippable length guidance for Target frequency moved from 7 to 15 seconds to 7 to 20 seconds.
Horizontal video can serve on Shorts when an ad group has no vertical video. Treat that as a fallback, not a plan. A horizontal cut stretched into a vertical slot is the fastest way to waste a placement you just unlocked.
Established placements keep carrying weight. Do not abandon your proven non-skippable cut to chase Shorts reach.
This is where agency capacity breaks. If your team already struggles to turn one idea into several formats, the bottleneck is no longer campaign settings. It is production. Two aspect ratios, two lengths, one approval cycle. If production is your bottleneck, that gap is what Brainpercent is built to close: one idea, channel-specific variants.
Step #1: Audit which active reach and awareness campaigns still split non-skippable and Shorts into separate line items
Open your accounts and list every reach or awareness campaign where the same audience is being served by two separate Target frequency campaigns. Those are your consolidation candidates.
- Note the current frequency caps on each campaign in the pair.
- Mark any legacy in-stream-only campaigns. Per the source report, these cannot switch ad format types after creation, and an existing campaign cannot be converted to Target frequency. You would end it and start a new one.
- Check whether any of them use reserve buying. Those cannot be mixed.
Output: a short list, not a rebuild plan.
Step #2: Brief your team on a Shorts-friendly vertical variant to sit alongside each non-skippable cut
For every campaign on that list, request a vertical version built for Shorts rather than a crop of the existing asset. Keep the brief tight: same message, new framing, new pacing.
- Vertical, within the 6 to 60 second range Google recommends.
- Non-skippable cut at or under 20 seconds, which is the length the page now lists.
- One brand voice across both, so the client sees one campaign, not two.
Step #3: Pick one client campaign to pilot a combined frequency target, and write down the check-in date before you launch
Choose the client with the most tolerance for testing. Before launching, create a new Target frequency campaign, open the Ad formats drop-down, and confirm that selecting Non-skippable in-stream leaves in-feed and Shorts selected. That is the exact check the source report recommends.
Then put the review date in the calendar before launch, not after. Compare the pilot to the old split setup on reach and CPM, the two measures Google itself names in its warning. Also re-read the English help page, the UK and Australian versions and the Display & Video 360 page, since the source report suggests watching all of them for changes.
One pilot, one date, one decision. Then scale or stop.
Google Lets One Target Frequency Campaign Mix Non-Skippable: Your Questions Answered
How should I split a client's creative budget between the non-skippable cut and the Shorts variant?
Google's page gives no allocation rule, and nothing in the update says how the system divides impressions between formats once they share one frequency goal. So do not invent a split on paper. Start the pilot with the format that already performs for that client and add the vertical asset as the new variable. If the old non-skippable cut was your reach workhorse, it stays in the mix and the Shorts variant earns its share through delivery data.
For production budget, a reasonable first pass is to treat the vertical variant as a new brief with its own hours, not a quick export. Write the hours down per client before the pilot starts. When the review date arrives, you will know what the Shorts layer cost to make as well as what it delivered in reach and CPM.
My client's old non-skippable ad runs 30 seconds. Can it go into a mixed Target frequency campaign?
Not under the length the help page now lists. The updated guidance covers non-skippable ads up to 20 seconds, and the Display & Video 360 page still showed a lower ceiling for in-stream-only buying. A 30-second spot would need a trimmed edit before it enters this setup. Plan that edit into the brief, because a hard cut at 20 seconds often drops the call to action.
Long unskippable ads do turn up elsewhere, which can cause confusion. A Reddit thread on 30-second unskippable ads suggests those can appear on connected TV or big screens, or come from a browser or extension quirk. If a client reports seeing one, check the device and placement before assuming your campaign setup is wrong.
How do I explain the mixed setup to a client who liked seeing Shorts and non-skippable reported separately?
Tell them up front that one frequency goal means one combined number, and that format-level detail may feel thinner than before. Frame it as a trade: fewer overlapping impressions on the same viewer, in exchange for less separation in the report. If the client's team reads those separate rows weekly, ask what decision each row actually drives. Often it is none.
Before the pilot launches, agree on the two numbers you will judge it by, reach and CPM, since those are the measures Google names in its own warning. Put them in a one-line email to the client. When the review date comes, you are answering a question they already approved, not defending a structure change after the fact.
Should I worry that this setup disappears or changes while I'm running the pilot?
Some caution is fair. The documentation is thin, and the regional help pages did not all match when the source report was written. A feature that appears on one version of a page and not another can move. Screenshot the setup steps and the frequency range on the day you launch, and save the date. If Google changes the page mid-pilot, you have a record of what you built against.
Keep the old split campaigns paused rather than deleted until the pilot closes. That gives you a fast way back if delivery looks off, and a clean baseline to compare against. One broader note for planning: coverage of how Google Ads will work in 2026 points to ongoing changes across campaign types, so build your reporting to survive rule changes rather than assuming any one structure is permanent.
What should I tell my creative team before they start on the vertical variant?
Give them the finished non-skippable cut and the one thing the Shorts version must say. Then let them rebuild the pacing from scratch. A vertical piece usually needs its hook in the first second or two, on-screen text placed for a tall frame, and the subject framed so nothing important sits where the interface covers it. Those are edit decisions, not export settings, and your editors will want that said plainly in the brief.
Ask for the vertical version to ship with the horizontal one in the same review round, so the client approves both at once. Two separate approval cycles for one campaign is where the pilot quietly slips a week. If a client reviews slowly, send the two cuts side by side in a single message and ask for one yes.
Key Takeaways on Google Lets One Target Frequency Campaign Mix Non-Skippable
One Target frequency campaign can now carry non-skippable, Shorts and in-feed ads, via auction buying only.
The catch is creative: vertical for Shorts, horizontal up to 20 seconds for non-skippable.
Keep what works, pilot on a new campaign, and request the vertical variant this week. One pilot, one date, one decision.
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