"In hindsight, it is a natural transition for YouTube to make. We've been working on this for months. The key was, we wanted to make sure we got it right. There are a lot of intricacies involved. YouTube is a video discovery platform. We've been integrating with Google AdWords for some time, and now we're at a place where it can be win and win," said YouTube product manager Matthew Liu to CNET News.
There are no limitations regarding who can buy the ads but due to the formula used to determine ad placements - combining popularity of the video and money paid - companies will most likely buy off the most popular search terms. There will be however a chance to buy yourself the 15 seconds - or minutes in this case - of fame.
Search ads are currently used only in the U.S. but will be expanded to other countries and regions in the future as well.