Unlock Demand Gen: Google Ads’ Most Underrated Campaign

For digital marketers focused on growth, Google Ads’ Demand Gen campaign represents a significant, yet often overlooked, opportunity to capture attention beyond the search engine results page. While optimizing Search and Performance Max campaigns is standard practice, neglecting this powerful format means missing out on a key channel for driving awareness and conversions through Google’s vast ecosystem.

Think of Demand Gen as the platform’s answer to social media advertising. Instead of reacting to specific search queries, you proactively push compelling visual content, images and videos, to users based on who they are. This fundamental shift from keyword-based “pull” marketing to audience-based “push” marketing allows you to engage potential customers even when they aren’t actively searching for your product.

Your ads can appear across Google’s premium, owned-and-operated properties. This includes YouTube (within Shorts, in-stream videos, and the home feed), Gmail promotions tabs, the Discover feed, and soon, Google Maps. While the broader Display Network is an option, the highest-quality traffic typically comes from these Google-owned spaces where user intent signals are stronger.

Targeting revolves entirely around audiences, not content placements. You have access to a robust set of options:

• Lookalike Audiences to find new users similar to your best customers.
• Remarketing to re-engage past website visitors or video viewers.
• In-Market, Affinity, and Life Event segments to reach people based on their interests and current activities.
• Detailed Demographics for targeting by age, household income, and more.
• Custom Segments built from previous search terms or website/app visitation patterns.

The campaign supports a variety of creative formats, from standard and carousel images to video ads. Ecommerce advertisers can also connect their Google Merchant Center feed to create directly shoppable, product-based advertisements.

A major advantage of Demand Gen is its flexible bidding structure. As an action-focused campaign, you can bid for clicks or conversions using strategies like Maximize Clicks, Maximize Conversions, or Target ROAS. Notably, Demand Gen is currently the only campaign type that offers the new Target CPC bid strategy, providing valuable manual cost control in an era increasingly dominated by automated bidding.

Many advertisers carry skepticism from past experiences with the standard Display Network, which can be plagued by low-quality traffic. Demand Gen addresses these concerns head-on. The inventory on YouTube, Gmail, and Discover is inherently higher quality because users are often logged in and engaged with content. This leads to more genuine interactions and a drastic reduction in spam leads compared to the open web. While cost-per-click (CPC) rates in Demand Gen are generally higher than on the Display Network, the traffic quality justifies the investment. Furthermore, CPCs in Demand Gen are typically a fraction of what you’d pay in Search campaigns, often ranging from $0.50 to $2.00, making it a cost-effective top-of-funnel tool.

Unlike some fully automated campaign types, Demand Gen offers welcome transparency and control. Advertisers can access detailed asset-level reporting to see which images or videos perform best, gain audience insights to refine targeting, and segment performance data by channel (e.g., YouTube vs. Gmail). You can even see specific YouTube videos where your ads appeared and apply placement exclusions if necessary.

Getting started with a test is straightforward and should be tailored to your business size and goals. Smaller businesses or those new to the format should begin by targeting their “Google Engaged” remarketing audience alongside a custom segment of top-performing search terms. This captures high-intent users at a lower cost than Search. Ecommerce brands should test both product feed ads and lifestyle creative to see which drives better sales or engagement. For larger enterprises, Demand Gen should become an “always-on” channel, using broad In-Market and Affinity audiences to maintain brand presence and capture consideration.

Demand Gen effectively bridges the gap between the high commercial intent of Search and the rich visual storytelling of social media platforms. It delivers superior audience quality compared to the Display Network and achieves reach at a lower cost than traditional Search. For any advertiser seeking scalable growth outside of the search bar, integrating Demand Gen into your 2026 strategy is not just an option, it’s an essential move.

(Source: Search Engine Land)