What Is a Demand Gen Campaign? Google Ads Setup and Strategy Guide

What is a Demand Gen campaign in Google Ads?

A Demand Gen campaign is a Google Ads campaign type that uses image, video and carousel ads on YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network to reach people before they search. Its job is to create demand, not to capture demand that already exists.

I have been managing ad accounts since 2012, and one question comes up constantly: "We already run Search, so why do we need this?" The answer is simple. Search ads catch people who know what they want and type it. However, many potential buyers never search, because they do not know your product exists. A Demand Gen campaign reaches exactly those people.

This article is a setup and management guide. I covered the move of Display campaigns into this campaign type in a separate piece on Display campaigns moving to Demand Gen, so I will not repeat the migration steps here. Instead, I walk through formats, channels, targeting, bidding and measurement, based on the Google Ads Help Center.

How is Demand Gen different from a Search campaign?

Both campaign types live in the same account, but they fire at different moments. A Search campaign depends on keywords. Someone types a query, and your ad appears as an answer. Demand Gen, by contrast, shows up while someone watches YouTube, scrolls Discover or checks Gmail. In other words, that person is not looking for you right now.

This difference shapes your expectations. On Search you get high-intent clicks, but volume is capped by how often people search. Demand Gen, however, offers far more potential volume. Its purchase rate on first contact, on the other hand, is usually lower. For that reason, judging both campaigns against the same target is misleading.

In practice, I set them up as a chain that feeds itself. Demand Gen introduces your brand to new people. Then some of them start searching for your brand name, and your Search campaign collects that demand. As a result, you stop spending the whole budget on existing demand and start producing new demand. If you want to think about the full journey, my guide on building a conversion funnel is a good companion.

Which businesses benefit most from Demand Gen?

Not every business gets the same return from this campaign type. In my experience, the best results come from products that sell visually: fashion, beauty, home decor, education, travel and products that create a new category. In these markets, people often realise they need something only when they see it.

Urgent services are a different story. Someone who needs a plumber or a tow truck types that into Google straight away. Showing them a YouTube ad usually wastes money. So, for these businesses, I recommend strengthening Search first.

B2B sits somewhere in the middle. For software or consulting firms with long sales cycles, Demand Gen can help you earn a place in the minds of decision makers. Still, you should not expect direct sales here. Instead, measure intermediate steps such as form fills, content downloads or demo requests. In short, fit depends on how visual your product is and how long your sales cycle runs.

Where do Demand Gen ads appear?

Google's Demand Gen help page lists five channels: YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network. Google states that these surfaces reach up to 3 billion monthly active users. That said, this is Google's own figure. Your real reach in your market depends on your targeting.

In practice, each channel matches a different user moment. Therefore, the same creative will not perform equally everywhere. The table below summarises the channels by user context and by the billing logic described in Google's FAQ:

How do channel controls work?

According to the channel controls article, you have two options. The first is automatic selection, called "All Google channels". Google recommends it for most advertisers, because the system spreads budget across channels to get the lowest overall cost. The second is "Let me choose", where you tick channels manually at ad group level.

With manual selection, you can also split YouTube into skippable in-stream, in-feed and Shorts. You can switch Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Display Network on or off as well. Note that not every channel works with every ad type. Maps, for instance, needs non-affiliated location assets.

Here is how I usually decide:

• Full creative set: Start with all channels and watch the channel report for two weeks.
• No vertical video: Switch Shorts off for now; a weak crop wastes budget.
• Brand safety concerns: Test the Display Network in a separate ad group.

Channel reporting is available at campaign, ad group and ad level. That way, you can see with data which channel actually contributes.

Which ad formats can you use in a Demand Gen campaign?

The setup screen offers three core ad types: video ads, image ads and carousel ads. A carousel holds between 2 and 10 swipeable image cards. On top of that, you can connect your Merchant Center product feed and pull product images into your ads.

Each ad also carries text: a headline, a description, your business name, a final URL and a call to action. Google lets you add up to 5 logos per ad. Among assets, only sitelinks are supported. So the other assets you know from Search are not available here.

Your choice of format depends on what material you have. Google's FAQ confirms you do not need both video and static images; a single format can still serve. Even so, variety gives the system more to work with. If you only have product photos, start with image and carousel ads. Once you see first results, add a simple 15 second video.

What sizes should your images and videos be?

In practice, asset sizes cause more delays than almost anything else. The Demand Gen asset specs page gives clear values, and I hand them to the team as a checklist:

• Square image (1:1): minimum 300x300, recommended 1200x1200 pixels.
• Landscape image (1.91:1): minimum 600x314, recommended 1200x628 pixels.
• Portrait image (4:5): minimum 480x600, recommended 960x1200 pixels.
• Vertical image (9:16): minimum 600x1067, recommended 1080x1920 pixels.
• Image files: JPG or PNG, up to 5 MB.
• Logo (1:1): minimum 144x144 pixels, up to 150 KB.

Next, for video, Google supports 16:9, 1:1, 4:5 and 9:16. For Shorts, use a 1080x1920 vertical file. The minimum video length is 5 seconds. However, videos shorter than 10 seconds cannot serve as YouTube in-stream ads. So if you want in-stream placements, cut a version of at least 10 seconds. Also, uploading at least one asset per ratio helps the system pick the right version for each channel.

Which campaign goal should you choose?

When you create the campaign, Google asks for an advertising goal. The campaign creation guide lists these options: sales, leads, website traffic, app promotion, YouTube reach, views and engagements, and local store visits and promotions. You can also create a campaign without a goal's guidance.

Above all, this choice is more than a label. It shapes the suggested bid strategy and measurement settings. For example, a sales goal leads the system to suggest conversion-based bidding. Consequently, if your account has no reliable conversion action, that goal runs blind.

My rule is simple. If conversion tracking is solid, choose sales or leads. If tracking is not yet reliable, start with traffic and fix tracking in the meantime. My article on setting website conversion goals helps you decide what to count. I also recommend completing enhanced conversions to reduce data loss.

How do you set up a Demand Gen campaign step by step?

The flow looks like other Google Ads campaigns, but a few settings are unique to this type. I have combined the Help Center order with my own notes:

1. Start the campaign: Click Create, choose Campaign, name it, and turn on the product feed option if you plan to use one.
2. Pick a goal: Choose sales, leads, traffic or another objective.
3. Set devices and locations: Choose computers, mobile phones, tablets and TV screens; define location and language at campaign or ad group level.
4. Enter bidding and budget: Select a bid strategy, then set a daily or total budget.
5. Build the ad group: Define channels, audiences and demographics.
6. Add ads: Upload video, image or carousel ads with their assets.

Every decision here affects the learning process. For this reason, review all settings once more before you launch. Frequent edits after launch interrupt learning.

Which bid strategy makes sense, and when?

Demand Gen offers five main strategies: Maximize clicks, Maximize conversions, Target CPA, Maximize conversion value and Target ROAS. The FAQ also mentions Target CPC. Your choice depends on how much conversion data the account holds.

Google's advice in the Demand Gen FAQ is clear. Start with Maximize conversions and move to Target CPA or Target ROAS once the campaign has at least 50 conversions. When you switch to Target ROAS, Google suggests a target about 20 percent below your last 30 days of ROAS. After that, adjust in steps of about 10 percent.

I agree with this in practice. If you set a tight ROAS target on a new campaign, it struggles to win impressions and barely spends. On the other hand, Maximize clicks is a sensible start in an account without conversion tracking. To find a realistic ROAS target, try our ROAS calculator.

How much budget does a Demand Gen campaign need?

Demand Gen offers two budget types. A daily budget can have an optional start and end date. A total budget requires both dates, and the system paces spend across that period. For a seasonal push or a launch, the total budget is often the more practical option.

Google also gives a threshold. If you use Target CPA, it recommends a daily budget of at least 10 times your target CPA. For example, a target CPA of $20 means at least $200 per day. Campaigns below this line can stay stuck in learning for a long time. Moreover, raising and cutting budget too often has the same effect. So make budget changes once a week, in small steps, and wait a few days after each one.

For small budgets, my advice is simple: do not split money across several Demand Gen campaigns. Use one campaign with one or two ad groups. Also, according to the FAQ, Maximize clicks has no minimum budget. Our Google Ads budget calculator helps you put numbers on the plan.

What audience targeting options are available?

A Demand Gen campaign works with audiences, not keywords. As a result, your audience choices drive most of the outcome. I suggest doing a target audience analysis before this step. Google's audiences overview groups the options like this:

• Google segments: in-market, life events, affinity and detailed demographics.
• Custom segments: audiences you define through search terms or types of websites.
• Your data: website visitors, app users, people who engaged with your YouTube channel, and customer lists.
• AI-powered options: lookalike segments, made for you audiences and new customer acquisition.

For demographics, you can set age, gender, household income and parental status. You can also exclude your first-party lists. For instance, excluding existing customers from a new customer campaign protects your budget.

How do lookalike segments work, and what is changing?

Lookalike segments are a Demand Gen targeting tool. You pick a seed list, such as your customer list or recent buyers. The system then finds new people who resemble it. The lookalike segments article defines three reach levels: narrow, balanced and broad.

Narrow aims at about 2.5 percent of users in your target location. Balanced aims at 5 percent, and broad at 10 percent. In short, narrow favours similarity; broad favours reach. One important point: you cannot reuse these segments in other campaign types.

There is a recent change, though. Starting in March 2026, Google began rolling out an update that treats lookalikes as suggestions. With it, the reach level no longer acts as a hard targeting limit. Instead, the system uses your seed list and reach level as signals. Google offers an opt-out form for advertisers who want the old constraint behaviour. So check how your own account behaves. If you want the Meta angle, see my piece on Meta custom audiences and lookalikes.

When should optimized targeting stay on?

Optimized targeting lets the system go beyond your chosen audiences to find people likely to convert. You supply audience hints, and the system uses them as a starting point before it expands.

This setting cuts both ways. In an account with plenty of conversion data, it widens reach and can lower costs. However, when conversion data is thin, the system has little to learn from and may spend on irrelevant people. A small seed list makes the expansion even less predictable.

Here is how I decide:

• If the campaign converts steadily, I leave optimized targeting on.
• If tracking is new, I keep it off for the first weeks and watch the audience report.
• If I am testing a tightly defined lookalike, I switch expansion off; otherwise the test result blurs.

Keep in mind that with optimized targeting on, your audiences become a starting point rather than a limit. So conversions from segments you never selected are not an error. Either way, confirm your decision with the report.

How should you adapt creatives to each channel?

In a Demand Gen campaign, creative matters more than targeting. Your ad does not appear as a search result; it appears in a feed people enjoy scrolling. If you miss the first second, they swipe past.

These are the short rules I use per channel:

1. Shorts: Shoot vertically, show the product or problem in the first two seconds, and make it work without sound.
2. YouTube in-stream: Show your brand in the first five seconds, so people see your name even if they skip.
3. Discover: Use a natural image that fits a news feed; text-heavy banners stand out badly here.
4. Gmail: Write the headline like an email subject line, with a clear and curious benefit.

Also, use several images and headlines in each ad group. Google recommends variety so the system can find the best combination. Remember that you cannot cap frequency manually; the system manages it. Therefore, regular creative refreshes are your main defence against fatigue.

How does a Demand Gen campaign work with a product feed?

For ecommerce, the product feed link is one of the strongest features. Once you connect Merchant Center, you can add product images, prices and product page links to your ads. As a result, real products appear under a video or image ad.

This setup helps in two situations. First, when you want to show your range to new audiences. Second, when you want to remind recent visitors of products they viewed without buying. For the second case, you can adapt the approach from my guide on strengthening a sales funnel with remarketing.

Feed quality is everything here. Missing images, wrong prices or disapproved products carry straight into your ads and cost trust. So clean up Merchant Center errors before you connect the feed. If you need to build the feed from scratch, my Google Shopping and Merchant Center guide is a good place to start.

Which metrics should you use to judge a Demand Gen campaign?

Demand Gen reporting uses different definitions from Search. According to Google's metrics article, the meaning of an engagement changes by channel. On YouTube in-stream, a 10 second view or a click to your site counts. On YouTube feeds and Shorts, a 5 second view, a click to the watch page or a click to your site counts.

These definitions matter, because they change how you read results. If you read "engagements" as clicks, you will reach the wrong conclusion. That is why I track three layers:

• Attention: impressions, view rate and CPM. They show whether you reach the audience.
• Interest: click-through rate, site sessions and session duration. They show whether the message lands.
• Outcome: conversions, conversion value and CPA. They show business impact.

Adding UTM parameters to your links lets you track Demand Gen traffic separately in GA4. Our UTM builder makes that quick.

How can you test brand and conversion lift?

The real effect of Demand Gen is often invisible in last click data. Someone sees your ad on YouTube, searches your brand three days later and buys through a Search ad. The last click report credits Search. Consequently, if you judge Demand Gen only on last click, you undervalue it.

Google offers three lift studies for this problem: brand lift, search lift and conversion lift. Specifically, brand lift uses surveys to measure awareness and recall. Search lift shows how much more exposed people search for your brand or related terms. Conversion lift compares conversions between exposed and unexposed groups.

Eligibility for these studies depends on budget and account, so check what your account offers. If you cannot run a test, at least compare branded search volume before and after the campaign. It is a rough method, but it beats not looking at all.

What are the most common Demand Gen mistakes?

I see the same mistakes again and again in account audits. Most are not technical; they are about expectations and structure. Here are the most common ones:

1. Expecting Search-level CPA: A campaign that reaches cold audiences brings pricier first conversions. Set targets accordingly.
2. Launching with one image: The system has nothing to compare, and the creative tires quickly.
3. Choosing conversion bidding without tracking: Without signals, spend becomes random.
4. Tweaking during learning: Every major edit restarts learning.
5. Not excluding current customers: Budget meant for new buyers goes to people who already buy.
6. Looking only at last click: You miss the demand the campaign adds to Search.

In short, every item on this list costs money. For a quick health check of your account, our Google Ads audit tool gives you first pointers.

How do my team and I manage Demand Gen campaigns?

Before launching a Demand Gen campaign, my team and I check three things: conversion tracking accuracy, the size of first-party lists and the variety of creative on hand. If one is missing, we fix it first and launch afterwards.

The first two weeks are usually for data collection. During that time we leave major settings alone and only fix obvious problems, such as disapproved ads or broken links. Then we read the channel and audience reports and shift budget to the ad groups that work best. We also refresh creatives on a regular schedule and replace tired assets.

In reporting, we never show clients only last click numbers. We present changes in branded search volume, new user counts and, where possible, lift study results together. That way, the campaign's real contribution becomes visible. If you would like your account managed this way, take a look at our Google Ads management service.

Conclusion: where should your first Demand Gen campaign start?

A Demand Gen campaign is the most structured way to reach the audience your Search campaigns cannot. Its success rests on three foundations: solid conversion tracking, well-chosen audiences and channel-fit creative. With these in place, the campaign builds both direct sales and branded search demand over time.

My starting advice is simple: one campaign, all Google channels, Maximize conversions, and at least three different images plus one video. Leave the settings alone for two weeks, then decide based on channel and audience reports. Once you pass 50 conversions, you can move to Target CPA or Target ROAS and begin to scale.

One more tip: write your expectations down before launch. Note the target CPA range, the three metrics you will watch and a decision date. This small habit stops you from reacting to noisy first-week numbers. It also gives your team or agency a shared reference point, so the discussion moves from impressions to data.

Finally, remember that this campaign type needs patience. Judging it on the first week usually means switching off a good campaign too early.