Google Ads
Demand Gen campaigns explained
Demand Gen is a Google Ads campaign type for visual ads, such as images, videos, carousels and product feeds, shown to people who aren't searching for what you sell. It runs across YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network. For online stores, it works more like social media advertising than search ads.
What Demand Gen is (and what it replaced)
Google's Demand Gen help describes it as capturing "engagement and action across YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail, Maps, and the Google Display Network."
It has absorbed several older campaign types:
- Discovery campaigns were upgraded to Demand Gen, which Google calls their next generation.
- Video action campaigns have been upgraded to Demand Gen.
- Google Display Ads campaigns are moving to Demand Gen, with a migration tool rolling out to advertisers.
If you've used any of those, Demand Gen is where that kind of advertising now lives.
Ad formats
Demand Gen supports:
- Images in landscape, portrait and square formats.
- Video in horizontal, square and vertical formats, including Shorts.
- Carousels of multiple image cards.
- Product feeds from Merchant Center, so ads can show your products and prices.
Google's asset specifications list the exact sizes and limits.
When ecommerce brands should use it
Demand Gen is usually worth testing when:
- Your products sell visually. Fashion, home, beauty and lifestyle products often work well in image and video formats.
- Search demand is limited, for example new products, or a category people don't search for by name.
- You have good creative: product videos, lifestyle images, short-form clips.
- Search and Shopping are already profitable, and you want to find new customers beyond people who are already searching.
It's usually not the first campaign to run. Start with search and Shopping or PMax, where buying intent is highest, and get conversion tracking right first.
Ad Profit Leak ScoreHow much of your Google Ads spend is actually profitable, banded 0–100.Measuring Demand Gen properly
Demand Gen reaches people earlier in the buying journey, so last-click ROAS tends to understate it. Measure it on:
- New customer acquisition cost: what each new customer cost. See the guide to customer acquisition cost.
- Payback over time, not just the first order.
- Effect on branded search and direct traffic while the campaign runs.
- Profit, using your margin. Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ gross margin. See the guide to ROAS.
Demand Gen vs Performance Max
| Demand Gen | Performance Max | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps, Display Network | All Google inventory, including Search and Shopping |
| Main purpose | Reaching new audiences with visual ads | Getting conversions anywhere across Google |
| Audience control | More: you choose and test audiences | Less: audience signals guide the automation |
| Creative | Central to performance | Important, alongside the product feed |
For how PMax works and how to measure it on profit, see Performance Max for ecommerce.
FAQ
What is Demand Gen?
Demand Gen is a Google Ads campaign type for visual ads (images, videos, carousels and product feeds) shown to people who aren't necessarily searching, across YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network.
What happened to Discovery campaigns?
Google upgraded Discovery campaigns to Demand Gen, describing Demand Gen as the next generation of Discovery. Video action campaigns and Google Display Ads campaigns have since been moving to Demand Gen too.
Is Demand Gen good for online stores?
It can be, for reaching new customers with strong visuals, especially on YouTube. It usually converts at a lower rate than search or Shopping ads, so judge it on new customers and payback, not last-click ROAS alone.
Should I use Demand Gen or Performance Max?
They do different jobs. PMax spans all of Google's inventory, including Search and Shopping, chasing your conversion goal. Demand Gen focuses on visual, social-style placements and gives you more control over audiences and creative.