According to a study done by Google resources, YouTube is 2x more likely than any other social media channel where people search about products and brands. People have rated YouTube ads 16% more trustworthy and honest than other video and social media platforms. So let’s discuss the new type of Google Ad which is Demand Gen Ad.
What are Demand Gen Ad campaigns?
Demand Gen ads are the visually appealing and multi-format video ads which are used for conversions as well as to generate traffic on your website. With the help of these campaigns, you can reach up to 3 billion monthly active users across YouTube, Shorts, Discover, and Gmail.
When it comes to the goal, it has only four: Conversions, Conversion value, Clicks, and YouTube engagements. You can choose either of the four. You can notice one thing – that the goal for impressions or views is absent here.
Also, while creating a Demand Gen Google Ads campaign, you can see below that there are only two options to select – Clicks and YouTube engagements, maybe you need to select conversion tracking first, only after that you have all the options available in the campaign goal and you can select one of them according to your objectives.
Note: While a YouTube ad can be part of a demand generation strategy, it’s not accurate to say that demand generation is a YouTube ad. It’s altogether a different type of Google Ad like Search, Performance Max, Shopping ads, etc.
Other insights related to Demand Gen Google Ads campaign
Like other campaigns like Search or Performance Max, Demand Gen does not run on partner websites or the Display Network, but only on Google-owned properties. That makes it different from other campaigns in Google Ads.
Other things which make Demand Gen different from other Google Ad campaigns:
- First-Party Environment.
- Lookalike Audiences.
- Carousel Ad Format.
Let’s discuss all these briefly:
First-Party Environment:
Due to privacy restrictions around the world, governments have made rules which make it tough to track users on different websites, making it difficult for advertisers to retarget them on different platforms.
To solve this problem, Google came up with first-party cookies. Previously, there were third-party cookies which helped in tracking the same users on different websites and across platforms, but they were scheduled to be blocked by the end of 2024.
In a first-party environment, we gather the data from the users rather than third-party sources like Meta and Google. Please note that this concept is not new, as other platforms like Meta have already been doing this for years. For more details regarding this, please visit here.
Lookalike Audiences:
Have you ever heard about this word? Yes, I am! Where? In Meta Ads – exactly.
Present in social media ads for years, finally this audience is coming into Google Ads as well. Previously, Google also used to offer audiences with the same functionality, but for obvious reasons, the name was different – like “Similar Audiences”.
Advertisers can create lookalike audiences using data from their website or from customer lists they upload.
Clearly, we can see that Google tries to copy their competitors like Meta Ads.
Carousel Ad Format:
Not just options like Lookalike Audiences – Google copied from social media marketing – but the concept of Carousel Ads is also taken from social media, particularly Meta Ads.
You can add up to 10 carousel cards, and remember each card has its own headline and final URL. Regarding the results, I cannot be sure on this platform, but it’s worth the testing.
So we have read about the differences between Demand Gen and other Google Ads campaigns, now let’s study its best practices.
Note: Remember Demand Gen ads will be shown in YouTube Feed (Shorts).
Demand Gen Ads Best Practices
Let’s study some of the best practices for Demand Gen campaigns in Google Ads:
1. First Party Audience: Try to use first-party email audiences. You can do it by adding them manually, like uploading through Google Sheets or any other CRM system you are using that is connected with your Google Ads account.
Note: The first-party audience, also known as Customer Match, allows you to upload your customer data such as email addresses, to re-engage with your customers across various Google platforms like Search, Shopping, Gmail, YouTube, and Display.
2. Refresh your creatives: Google recommends high-quality images and videos for running Demand Gen Ads. If there is a video, make sure it is short and you give your message within 5 seconds of the video running. Also upload different types or sizes of creatives like short and long videos, images, vertical videos, etc.
3. Lightweight conversion tracking: Take an example – you are buying something online. So instead of tracking a purchase loading page or others, make sure to track options like Add-to-Cart, which are near to your final page. Such conversion actions give valuable feed signals to Google’s bidding and targeting systems. This way your campaign begins to optimize faster.
4. Nice budget: According to the Google Help Center article, advertisers must keep their campaign budget at least 15x more than your target CPA if you are using a smart bidding strategy. Small budgets take time to learn about the campaign goals. This recommendation is generally for all campaign types that use a smart bidding strategy as part of their campaign goal.
5. Build your own audience: Expand your first-party audience with the Lookalike. Use the option Optimized Targeting to further enhance your audience.
Note: Click – Campaigns → Ad groups → Settings → Optimized targeting ON or OFF → Save.
Conclusion: Demand Gen Ads are a new and effective way to reach billions of users across Google’s own platforms like YouTube, Gmail, and Discover. Unlike traditional Ad types, they focus on driving conversions, clicks, and engagements using high-impact visuals and first-party data.
With features like lookalike audiences and carousel ads, they bring proven social media strategies into the Google Ads ecosystem. By setting clear goals, using quality creatives, and applying smart targeting, advertisers can unlock better performance and connect with the right audience at the right time.