Can You Advertise CBD on YouTube? The Truth About CBD Advertising

If you are wondering, “Can you advertise CBD on YouTube?” The short answer is no. CBD is not allowed to be advertised using paid promotion on YouTube.

However, CBD can be advertised without using paid promotion in videos. This means that as long as you do not pay for YouTube advertising to increase the reach of your CBD video, then you could post a video about CBD oil on YouTube.

This is due to YouTube policies on selling illegal or regulated products or services since CBD cannabidiol products are derived from cannabis, and cannabis is federally illegal. YouTube considers CBD products a regulated drug that is illegal, which is why paid advertising promoting CBD products on YouTube is not allowed.

For instance, Brandon Ferdig from The Periphery read YouTube’s restricted policies on content promoting marijuana use. He thought that since CBD products are not marijuana, the YouTube ads policy would be different for CBD advertising.

Since CBD is one of the compounds derived from cannabis that is federally legal and does not get you high, Brandon assumed content containing CBD products passes all of YouTube’s policies.

When he posted his interview with a CBD store owner, he clarified that the CBD store owner desires to differentiate herself from marijuana stores and how her customers do not want to purchase marijuana products. On top of that, the video contained no images of drug use.

Even with all of those facts, YouTube still restricted Brandon’s video by demonetizing the CBD products video. This means that Brandon’s CBD store owner video, since it is not a paid advertisement containing CBD on YouTube, is allowed to be posted on YouTube.

 However, no advertisements will be shown on Brandon’s CBD store owner video, and Brandon will not receive any advertising revenue for the CBD video since the video contains CBD products.

Again this is because CBD is derived from cannabis which is federally illegal within the United States of America, so YouTube considers CBD products an illegal drug that is regulated and is not eligible for paid promotion of any kind.

We understand how frustrating and challenging it could be to promote CBD products but do not give up. There are a couple of methods to advertise CBD products without restrictions that result in the largest ROI out of all advertising channels.

Please stick with us as we explain where you can promote CBD in ads, CBD advertising laws, and the CBD advertising channels with no restrictions and the largest ROI for your CBD company.

The only places your CBD business could promote CBD products in ads are through select advertising networks, Google using SEO, or YouTube using SEO. The big tech companies like Facebook, Google ads, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat prohibit, restrict, and ban the advertising of CBD products on their platforms.

However, as long as you are not paying for CBD advertising on the big tech platforms such as Google and YouTube, you could directly promote CBD products for free on your CBD website content and video content.

For instance, on Google and YouTube, you could create content that directly promotes CBD on your CBD website or CBD YouTube channel as long as you are not paying for promoting that reach of that CBD content.

The only way to get exposure through clicks and views is to use CBD SEO content marketing on Google and YouTube. SEO, short for Search Engine Optimization, is the process of organically earning clicks and views to your content on Google and YouTube without paying for advertising.

Once SEO gets going, it delivers the largest return on investment out of all the advertising channels. The only downside is that SEO takes about six months to see results for brand new websites and channels.

The biggest difference between CBD YouTube SEO and CBD Google SEO is that the audience on YouTube is only on YouTube to learn and be entertained as opposed to Google, where the audience is searching to buy CBD from your CBD business now.

If your website shows up on Google when your customers search to buy CBD, you will generate revenue directly from that search.

Unlike YouTube, where the main focus would be brand exposure and education in hopes that your CBD audience will buy from your brand at another point. Using YouTube in tandem with Google works great because you could grow a brand on YouTube and then convert that brand into new revenue for your CBD business using Google SEO.

If you want to learn more about SEO for your CBD brand and get to the next level, click our CBD SEO page.

Although CBD ads on YouTube are strictly against YouTube policies and could result in your CBD YouTube creator ads account being permanently banned from creating YouTube ads. There are still a few CBD brands that happen to be able to get around these CBD advertising restrictions and successfully publish CBD ads on YouTube.

However, these CBD companies’ ads are found over time. Their CBD accounts and ads are permanently banned as YouTube algorithms and artificial intelligence adjust to catch these CBD companies’ ads.

If you are interested in building a long-term brand within the CBD industry, we would not recommend risking permanently banning your YouTube account for short-term revenue gains using ads.

What are the CBD Advertising Restrictions for Content on YouTube?

The CBD ads restrictions for content on YouTube are clear. Suppose advertisers are paying to promote a YouTube video to expand the reach. In that case, they can not advertise CBD in their video.

Suppose you do pay to promote a YouTube video to expand the reach. In that case, your YouTube account and ads account could be permanently banned from YouTube.

Although you can advertise CBD for free on YouTube in your videos as long as you are not paying for the promotion of your YouTube videos.

YouTube policies consider CBD an illegal regulated drug since CBD is derived from cannabis which is federally illegal in the United States of America. For this reason, CBD is not allowed to be advertised using paid promotion.

Understanding CBD advertising laws is crucial to your success. The laws are why you cannot advertise CBD using paid content marketing digital promotion on Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, and the other major tech platforms.

Since cannabis is federally illegal and CBD is derived from cannabis, these platforms consider CBD an illegal regulated drug. As a result, these major platforms ban or restrict the paid promotion of CBD on their platforms.

Although you could promote CBD directly without paid promotion on Google and YouTube, there are restrictions on what you can and cannot say due to the CBD laws. As you may already know, payment processors are very strict on what you can claim about CBD on your website or in a YouTube video.

Suppose your company makes claims that fall outside the restrictions set forth by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In that case, your brand could be dropped by your payment processor and receive steep fines from the FDA and FTC.

The FDA and FTC require that you do not make unproven claims that CBD could treat serious or life-threatening diseases where patients may be misled to forgo effective treatment as prescribed by a Doctor or a Therapist. You cannot suggest that CBD could cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease.

You cannot market CBD as a dietary supplement or drug. The FTC has specific regulations that prevent deceptive advertising by requiring proven scientific studies and regulations backing up any “objective” claims.

The level of scientific proof and regulation needed to prove your claims depends on the level of the claims. Health claims like statements that your CBD can prevent, cure, or treat a disease or bodily function require competent and reliable scientific evidence.

Competent and reliable scientific evidence is tests, studies, and other evidence based on the expertise of professionals in the relevant area, which have been conducted and evaluated by qualified people using procedures accepted in the profession to deliver accurate and reliable results.

Your CBD company is not required to commission the study yourself. Although you are relying on studies done by others, you should ensure those studies are scientifically sound. To be safe, we only use studies to back up claims with our clients that have been performed in partnership with the United States Government and published in the National Library of Medicine, an official website of the United States Government.

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of what you should avoid in your CBD advertisements:

1. DO NOT mention specific diseases or illnesses on labels or in advertisements.

1. DO NOT include the FDA’s drug “buzzwords” – diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent – on labels or in advertisements. For example, stating a CBD product “may cure depression” would certainly run afoul of FDA regulations. Stating a CBD product “may lower stress,” if properly substantiated, may be permissible.

Examples of what we cannot claim:

• CBD will help lessen your anxiety attacks.

Examples of what we can claim:

• CBD may aid in helping to decrease your anxiety and depression. 

3. DO NOT guarantee results. While simply saying CBD “may aid in helping” rather than “does” have a certain effect does not immunize against false-advertising liability, it can reduce liability risk.

Examples of what we cannot claim:

• The use of CBD is guaranteed to be effective in curing headaches. 

Examples of what we can claim:

• The use of CBD may aid in being helpful for your headache. 

4. DO NOT provide links to articles containing dubious medical claims related to CBD on your website or in advertisements.

Is it legal to advertise CBD products?

Yes, it is legal to advertise CBD products online and offline. Still, there are strict restrictions from payment processors and advertising platforms like Facebook, the FDA, and the FTC.

Can You Advertise CBD on Social Media?

Most importantly, you cannot post for free or pay to advertise CBD on social media like Facebook. The only exception we have seen is YouTube, a social media platform and a search engine.

You cannot pay to advertise videos containing CBD on YouTube. Still, you can post videos about CBD on YouTube without paid promotion.

Where to Advertise CBD Products?

The best place to advertise CBD products with the largest return on investment out of all advertising channels with no restrictions is Google and YouTube using SEO. Every other platform restricts advertising of CBD in the paid promotion and free posts, except Google and YouTube in free posts. 

The only way to promote free content on YouTube and Google is by using SEO services content marketing when advertising CBD products.

Keep in mind that SEO takes at least six months to begin seeing results. Unless you are a brand already generating revenue consistently and can afford to invest in SEO for at least six months before seeing a return, then SEO is not for you.

However, if you are a brand generating consistent revenue and can afford to invest for six months before seeing a return, even more, if you are interested in receiving an infinite return on investment to increase profit margins and get your brand to the next level, then click our CBD SEO page to learn more.