If you run TrueView YouTube campaigns in AdWords, you know that getting to them is like entering a netherworld. Not only do you lose the tether to your other campaigns, running video campaigns in AdWords feels like being forced to write with your other hand. Sure, you can do it, but not with the same comfort level as managing campaigns in the main AdWords UI.

Well, that’s finally changing.

Google announced Wednesday that TrueView video campaigns are getting wrapped right into the main AdWords interface, and features have been updated to make video campaigns feel like part of the family — things like bulk editing in the UI and adding YouTube accounts to the Linked accounts section of AdWords.

To start off at the simplest level, “Video campaigns” will be an option among Search, Display and Shopping in the campaign selector tool in the upper left corner of the interface.

The biggest structural change is that ad groups are replacing targeting groups in video campaigns to bring them in line with the basic constructs of the other campaign types. Each ad group in a video campaign will have either an in-stream (the skippable preroll ads) or an in-display (ads that appear alongside related videos) TrueView format.

You’ll be able to use bulk editing and bulk uploads for updating your video campaigns, just like you can with other campaign types.

On the reporting side, you can apply data filters in the UI and schedule reports. Video analytics will be available in a new Videos tab, and a Video targeting tab is where you’ll manage the campaign and ad group targeting.

Video remarketing will also be available in the Shared library.

Next Steps

To move to the new setup on your own, you’ll need to “upgrade your campaigns to the new ad group structure”.

Go to that “All Video Campaigns” option buried at the bottom of the left menu a final time and follow the Upgrade Center instructions. Google says that all historical data and targeting will carry over. You’ll still want to check to make sure everything is as it should be when you make the switch.

When Google uses the word “upgrade,” it often makes people (justifiably) nervous. This one, though, was a long time coming, and I expect advertisers will largely embrace the change. If you don’t make the change manually, Google will start switching campaigns over automatically in six weeks.

Here’s a demonstration video of the new workflow.