YouTube, a video web site acquired by search engine giant Google in November last year, has revealed its online marketing strategy. The Big G said small half transparent adverts will be incorporated in a selection of video clips.

The advert will be displayed for 15 seconds after a user has started to watch the video. It will appear for 10 seconds on only 20% of the bottom screen without much disturbing the viewer. The user will have the choice to close the ad or let it run all the way through the video clip.

The ads will not be displayed on all YouTube videos. As a fact, the search engine company said the new marketing system will only appear on select partner videos and not on personal movies.

According to Google "less than 10% of viewers actively move to close the overlay when it appears and that there is a 5 to 10 times "click-to-play rate" compared with standard advertising format."