Short answer: Demand Gen campaigns show image and video ads on YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail and Google’s display network. They are built to create demand among people who are not searching for you yet, much like social media ads. They work best with strong visual creative, good conversion tracking, and audiences built from your customer data and lookalike segments. Judge them on conversions and total sales, with patience, because they often start the journey rather than close it.
Who Demand Gen suits
| Business | Fit |
|---|---|
| eCommerce brands with good visuals | Strong |
| Apps and subscriptions | Strong |
| Lead generation with a clear offer | Good |
| Local services with small areas | Weaker, Search usually comes first |
Audiences
- Your data: customer lists and website visitors
- Lookalike segments based on your lists
- Custom segments based on search terms or websites
- Optimized targeting that lets Google expand when it finds better people
Start with your best customer data and a lookalike, then let optimized targeting help once you have conversions.
Creative
- Images in landscape, square and portrait sizes
- Videos, including vertical videos for Shorts
- Headlines and descriptions that state one clear benefit
- Logo and business name
- Carousel options for several products
Creative that works on Meta often works on Demand Gen too, so reuse your best social ads.
Bidding
Use Maximize conversions or Target CPA for leads and sales, or Maximize conversion value for stores with values. Demand Gen needs enough conversions to learn, so avoid splitting the budget across many tiny campaigns.
Measuring results
- Look at conversions and cost per conversion.
- Check whether branded searches and direct sales rise when Demand Gen runs.
- Compare periods or regions with and without the campaign for a fair view.
- Use video metrics like views and engagement as supporting signals, not goals.
Common mistakes
- Using only landscape images, which limits placements
- Judging after a few days
- Optimising for clicks or views instead of conversions
- Running Demand Gen without conversion tracking
Frequently asked questions
What is a Demand Gen campaign?
Is Demand Gen good for small businesses?
Can I use lookalike audiences in Demand Gen?
What bid strategy should I use?
How long before Demand Gen shows results?
Who can set up Demand Gen campaigns for my business?
Want to test Demand Gen?
I can build your first Demand Gen campaign with the right audiences and creative. See my Google Ads management service or request a free ads audit. Also read Demand Gen lookalikes become suggestions and Google Display Ads.