Setting up Demand Gen campaigns in Google Ads allows you to reach visual-first consumers across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail using a mix of immersive video and image assets. These campaigns are built to capture user attention through high-quality creative placements, moving beyond traditional search intent to find potential customers where they spend time browsing. By following the correct configuration steps in your Google Ads account, you can deploy these visual formats to drive conversions or site visits effectively.
How do Demand Gen campaigns work for your business?
Demand Gen campaigns function by placing your brand content in placements that favor rich visual experiences. Unlike standard search campaigns that rely on keywords, these campaigns use machine learning to identify users likely to engage with your images and videos. You provide the assets, and Google distributes them across YouTube Shorts, in-stream ads, the Discover feed, and Gmail promotions. This format is ideal for brands that have strong visual creative and want to reach audiences before they explicitly search for a specific product or service.
When configuring these campaigns, you must ensure your images meet the platform’s aspect ratio requirements to display correctly. Using a mix of landscape, square, and portrait images allows the campaign to populate across all available inventory. Because the system automates much of the delivery, the quality of your uploaded assets is the primary lever you have to influence performance. In a typical account, marketers who provide a variety of creative formats see broader reach across the supported inventory surfaces compared to those who stick to a single format.
What are the core steps for campaign creation?
To begin, log into your Google Ads account and click the plus button to create a new campaign. Select the campaign objective that aligns with your business goals, such as sales, leads, or website traffic. Once you have chosen an objective, select ‘Demand Gen’ as your campaign type. The setup process then guides you through budget settings, bidding strategies, and audience targeting. It is necessary to have your conversion tracking configured correctly before launching, as the system relies on this data to optimize delivery for your chosen conversion goals.
- Select a campaign objective that supports your goals, such as Sales or Leads.
- Choose ‘Demand Gen’ from the available campaign types in the setup menu.
- Define your daily budget and bidding strategy (maximize conversions is a common choice).
- Set your geographic and language targeting based on your business operations.
- Create an ‘Ad Group’ to define your target audience segments.
- Upload your video and image assets, ensuring you follow the platform’s technical specifications.
Selecting the right bidding strategy
Bidding is a major part of how the system manages your budget. For Demand Gen, you typically choose between Maximize Conversions or Maximize Clicks, depending on whether you want to focus on direct actions or initial traffic volume. If you have a specific target cost-per-acquisition, you can set a target CPA, though this requires historical conversion data to function effectively. Without enough conversion data, the system may struggle to find the right audience segments, so starting with a broader focus can often help the algorithm learn faster.
Monitoring the performance of your bidding strategy after the first two weeks is a standard practice. If you find that your CPA is too high, you might consider adjusting your budget or refining your target audience segments. Remember that these campaigns are not instant; they require a learning period for the machine learning models to identify which users are most responsive to your visual assets across the various placements.
How to optimize your creative assets
Creative quality is the engine that drives results in Demand Gen. Since your ad will appear in different sizes and formats, you need to provide a set of assets that can adapt to these spaces. This includes high-resolution images, clear logos, and compelling video content. Keep your text concise and your visuals focused on the primary value proposition of your product or service to ensure the message is understood in seconds.
| Asset Type | Recommended Usage | Key Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Landscape Images | Broad feed placements | Visual storytelling |
| Square Images | Mobile/Social feeds | High impact focus |
| Short-form Video | YouTube Shorts | High engagement |
How Alien Road applies Demand Gen campaigns
At Alien Road, we follow a systematic approach when managing these campaigns for our clients. We start by auditing the client’s current asset library to identify gaps in visual content. If a client lacks short-form video, we provide guidance on creating content that performs well on YouTube Shorts. Once the assets are ready, we set up the campaigns with clear conversion goals in Google Ads. We do not set and forget these campaigns; we manage them by checking the asset performance reports to see which images or videos are driving the most value.
For example, in a typical engagement for a retail client, we might test multiple versions of images to see which creative leads to higher click-through rates. We prioritize the assets that perform best and rotate out those that do not meet our engagement benchmarks. This iterative process allows us to maintain a steady performance level while scaling budgets as the campaigns demonstrate success in reaching the desired audience segments.
Which audience targeting options should you choose?
Audience targeting for Demand Gen allows you to reach people based on their interests, past interactions with your brand, or similar segments. You can upload customer lists to find users who share characteristics with your current purchasers, which is a strong way to expand your reach. You can also target users based on their recent search history, which helps in connecting with people who have expressed interest in related topics. Combining these options allows for a precise way to reach potential customers.
- Use customer match lists to target existing or previous customers.
- Apply custom segments to target users based on recent search intent.
- Use lookalike segments to reach new users who mirror your current customer base.
- Exclude existing converters to ensure you are focusing on new acquisition.
- Monitor audience segment reports to see which groups yield the best conversion rates.
Where to start this week
If you want to start, begin by gathering your best-performing images and videos. Review your Google Ads conversion tracking to ensure it is accurate, as this is the foundation for your campaign performance. Once ready, build a single campaign with a modest budget to test how your assets perform across YouTube and Discover. Analyze the reporting data after seven days to see where the impressions are coming from and make adjustments to your creative or audience targeting as needed. This simple start will provide you with the data necessary to scale your efforts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need video to run Demand Gen campaigns?
While you can use image-only ads, including video is highly recommended for these campaigns. Demand Gen is specifically built to use video assets across YouTube, which is a major part of the available inventory. Providing video content allows you to reach a wider audience and helps the system optimize your ad delivery more effectively compared to relying on static images alone.
How long should I let a campaign run before making changes?
It is best to let a campaign run for at least two weeks before making significant changes. This allows the system to collect enough data to understand how different users interact with your ads. Making changes too early, such as adjusting bids or changing assets, can reset the learning phase and prevent the campaign from reaching its full potential.
Can I use Demand Gen for B2B lead generation?
Yes, you can use Demand Gen for B2B lead generation by targeting segments that match your ideal customer profile. By using custom segments based on search terms relevant to your industry or uploading customer lists, you can reach professional audiences while they are browsing YouTube or their Gmail inbox. The key is to ensure your creative message is tailored to professional pain points.
What is the difference between Demand Gen and Performance Max?
Demand Gen is focused on visual-first inventory across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail, while Performance Max is an automated campaign type that spans all of Google’s inventory, including Search and Maps. If your primary goal is to leverage high-quality visuals to drive awareness and conversions on discovery surfaces, Demand Gen is a specialized choice for those specific channels.
How many assets should I upload to an ad group?
There is no strict rule, but providing a variety of high-quality assets is beneficial. Aim to include at least three to five high-quality images in different aspect ratios and one or two video assets. Having a diverse set of creative options allows the system to test different combinations and identify which ones resonate best with your target audience for better performance.
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