Google Ads Demand Gen Campaign

Google Ads Demand Gen Campaigns (previously called Discovery Ads) are designed to help businesses reach new audiences and generate interest using high-quality visual ads across platforms like:

  • YouTube
  • Discover Feed
  • Gmail

What Is a Google Ads Demand Gen Campaign?

A Demand Gen Campaign is a visually rich, AI-powered campaign type in Google Ads that helps brands reach new audiences across Google’s most engaging surfaces.

Your ads appear on:

  • YouTube Home Feed
  • YouTube Shorts
  • YouTube In-stream
  • Google Discover Feed
  • Gmail Promotions Tab

Instead of focusing on search intent, Demand Gen focuses on interest, behavior, and visual engagement — making it ideal for:

  • Awareness
  • Consideration
  • Lead nurturing
  • Product promotion
  • Retargeting
  • Driving traffic with high-quality visuals

Why Use Demand Gen Campaigns?

✔ High-Impact Visual Placements

Your ads appear where users spend time browsing (YouTube, Discover).

✔ Great for Awareness & Consideration

Perfect for building interest among new audiences.

✔ Strong AI Optimization

Google’s machine learning helps deliver ads to people likely to engage.

✔ Multiple Creative Formats

Videos, images, carousels — everything visual performs well here.

✔ Better for Social-style engagement

Designed to compete with Meta, TikTok, and Instagram-style placements.

✔ Retargeting + New Audience Exploration

Great for re-engaging old visitors AND finding new potential customers.

How Demand Gen Campaigns Work

Demand Gen focuses on:

  • Interests
  • Browsing behavior
  • Engagement patterns
  • Video viewing preferences
  • Lookalike audiences

Google studies user behavior and shows your ads to:

  • People likely to click
  • People likely to watch your video
  • People interested in your niche
  • People open to discovery and exploring brands

This makes it ideal for:

  • eCommerce
  • Real estate
  • Coaching & courses
  • Saas/tech
  • Beauty & fashion
  • Fitness
  • Local services looking for awareness

Demand Gen Ad Formats (Important)

  • Google offers several engaging formats:

    1. Image Ads

    High-quality banners.

    2. Carousel Ads

    Swipeable multiple images — similar to Facebook Carousel Ads.

    3. YouTube Shorts Ads

    Vertical, short-form video ads.

    4. Video Ads

    Longer videos for storytelling.

    5. Click-focused image + headline ads

    For landing page visits.

    These formats help improve engagement and brand recall.

How to Set Up a Google Demand Gen Campaign

To set up a Demand Gen campaign:

  1. Sign in to Google Ads.
    Go to Campaigns → click + New campaign.

  2. Choose your goal.
    Select Sales, Leads, Website traffic, or choose Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance.

  3. Select “Demand Gen” as your campaign type.

  4. Choose your conversion actions.
    Make sure website and lead tracking are correctly set up.

  5. Set your bidding strategy.
    Choose from:

    • Maximize conversions

    • Target CPA

    • Target ROAS

    • Maximize clicks (for traffic)

  6. Select your audiences.
    You can use:

    • Your data segments

    • Custom segments

    • Google’s interest and in-market audiences

    • Lookalike audiences

  7. Add your ad assets.
    Upload:

    • Images

    • Videos (horizontal, square, vertical)

    • Headlines and descriptions

    • Optional carousel cards

  8. Enter your Final URL and call-to-action.

  9. Set your budget and schedule.

  10. Review your settings and click “Publish.”

Your Demand Gen campaign will start serving once it finishes the learning period.

Real-Life Example

Example: “GlowFit Fitness App – India”

Goal: Get more app sign-ups using visual ads.

Campaign Setup:

  1. Campaign Type: Demand Gen
  2. Goal: Website traffic + App installs
  3. Audience Signals:
    • Fitness enthusiasts
    • People searching “weight loss workout”
    • Lookalike audience of existing app users
  4. Assets Included:
    • Short video (YouTube Shorts-style)
    • Carousel images showing workouts
    • Square + horizontal banners
    • Headlines like:
      • “Lose Weight with 10-Min Home Workouts”
      • “Start Your Fitness Journey Today”
  5. Landing Page: App download page

Result:

Your ads appear on:

  • YouTube Shorts
  • Discover feed
  • YouTube Home feed
  • Gmail promotions

You start getting:

  • More sign-ups
  • More app installs
  • Higher awareness

At a cost lower than Facebook or Instagram in many cases.

Best Practices for High-Performing Demand Gen Campaigns

✔ Use at least 5–10 image creatives
✔ Add multiple YouTube videos
✔ Use clear CTA like “Learn More”, “Sign Up”, “Try Free”
✔ Use lookalike & custom audiences
✔ Test single-image vs carousel ads
✔ Keep videos short & vertical for Shorts
✔ Build remarketing audiences

Final Notes

A Google Ads Demand Gen Campaign is perfect for businesses that want to combine the power of visual storytelling with Google’s massive audience reach. These campaigns are built for discovery, interest-building, and attracting users earlier in their journey.

If your goal is:

  • Awareness
  • Engagement
  • Leads
  • Website traffic
  • Brand discovery

Demand Gen campaigns can deliver excellent results with rich visuals and smart AI optimization.

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