Why Demand Gen is the most underrated campaign type in Google Ads

As a Google Ads practitioner, you probably spend the bulk of your time optimizing Search, Shopping or Performance Max campaigns. That makes sense — the Google SERP is the foundation of Google Ads. But there is a big opportunity sitting right inside your Google Ads account that too many advertisers are ignoring.

I’m going to go ahead and declare it: Demand Gen is the most underrated campaign type in Google Ads, and that has to end.

If you’ve been hesitant to test Demand Gen, or if you tried it once and “it didn’t work,” let this be your sign to add it to your strategy in 2026. Demand Gen offers a fundamental shift in how we can use Google’s ecosystem to drive growth through paid advertising.

Demand Gen campaigns are like Meta Ads… on Google

The best way to wrap your head around Demand Gen is to stop thinking about keywords. Instead, think of it like running Meta (Facebook or Instagram) ads, but using Google’s inventory.

On Search, you are reacting to a user’s query. On Demand Gen, you are reacting to the user. You are pushing creative – images and/or videos – to users based on who they are, not what they are typing or doing in that exact moment.

Where do Demand Gen ads show up on Google?

Your ads in Demand Gen can be placed across Google’s “owned and operated” properties, including:

• YouTube (Shorts, In-stream, In-feed)
• Gmail
• Discover
• Google Maps (coming soon!)

I recommend starting with all applicable channels turned on, but you can opt in or out of specific channels if you want to.

The Google Display Network is also an option in Demand Gen, but you should probably focus your investment on the Google-owned properties where the intent signals are stronger.

How can you target your ads in Demand Gen?

Because Demand Gen is a “push” style campaign, there is no content targeting. You aren’t picking specific YouTube channels or websites to show up on, you aren’t picking specific keywords or topics.

Instead, you have the full suite of Google’s audience targeting options at your disposal:

• Lookalikes: Similar to Meta, you can build audiences that look like your converters.
• Remarketing: Re-engaging past website visitors, content viewers or customers.
• In-Market, Life Events & Affinity segments: Reaching people based on their interests, what they’re doing, or what they’re looking for
• Detailed demographics: Reaching people based on who they are
• Custom Segments: Targeting people based on search terms they have used previously, or the types of websites/apps they use

Note that combined segments are not compatible with Demand Gen, and you can only exclude your data segments from a Demand Gen campaign.

What type of creative assets can you use in Demand Gen?

Demand Gen is versatile. You can run standard image ads, carousel image ads, and video ads. If you are in ecommerce, you can attach your Google Merchant Center feed to the campaign to run product-based ads, too, making the ad unit directly shoppable.

What bid strategies are compatible with Demand Gen?

Demand Gen is an action-focused campaign. Unlike a Video campaign, where you bid to impressions, reach or views, in Demand Gen, you bid for clicks or conversions. Specifically, you can use the following bid strategies in Demand Gen:

• Maximize Clicks
• Maximize Conversions
• Maximize Conversion Value
• Target CPC
• Target CPA
• Target ROAS

You must select one conversion category for the campaign. It can be your “usual” conversion, like a form fill or purchase, or it can be a more unique “conversion,” like a YouTube subscription or engagement.

And yes, you read that right. Demand Gen is the only campaign type that offers the new Target CPC bid strategy. In an era where Google is pushing everyone toward fully AI-powered bidding, Demand Gen still allows manual control over your cost per click. For advertisers who want to strictly control costs while testing top-of-funnel audiences, this is a big win.

Why Demand Gen usually performed better than Display

If you have been burned by the Display Network in the past – low-quality traffic, accidental clicks, or spam leads – you might be gun-shy about moving away from Search again.

However, I recommend running Demand Gen over standard Display campaigns for a few key reasons.

1. Inventory Quality

With Demand Gen, you are primarily serving ads on Google-owned inventory (YouTube, Gmail, Discover, Maps). With standard Display, your ads are splashed across millions of random websites and apps all over the internet.

On Google’s properties, the user is usually authenticated (logged in), and the ad placements are organic to the content consumption experience. On the open web? You are often fighting for attention in the footer of a recipe blog or getting fat-finger clicks from a mobile gaming app.

2. Spam Reduction

Because the audience quality is higher and the inventory is controlled, your chances of getting hit with spam leads are significantly lower with Demand Gen. For lead generation advertisers, this distinction is critical. A cheaper click on Display is worthless if it turns into a bot submission.

3. The Cost Reality

CPCs in Demand Gen do tend to be a little higher than Display. But you get what you pay for. The quality of traffic is usually much better.

That said, compared to Search, Demand Gen is still a bargain. You should expect CPCs to be much lower than your Search campaigns, usually hovering around $0.50 to $2.00.

Are Demand Gen campaigns a black box?

Demand Gen campaigns are often compared to PMax, but they are quite different. Performance Max can serve on Search & Shopping inventory, while Demand Gen can’t. And while Performance Max campaigns don’t let you control your targeting or placements, Demand Gen campaigns do!

Both campaigns, however, now provide full transparency and reporting. In Demand Gen, you can see and control:

• Asset-level reporting: See exactly which text, image and video assets are performing well
• Audience insights: Pick who to target, then understand who is actually clicking and converting
• Channel segmentation: You can segment your data to see exactly where your ads are showing (YouTube vs. Discover vs. Gmail) and how performance differs by placement, opting out of certain placements if you so choose
• Placement reporting: See the YouTube videos and channels where your ads were shown, and add exclusions if needed

How to get started with Demand Gen

Ready to launch your first Demand Gen campaign? Here is how I recommend structuring a test based on your business model.

For smaller businesses

If you are just getting started and have a small budget ($5-40/day), you don’t need to overcomplicate it.

Targeting: Focus on your “Google Engaged” remarketing audience and a Custom Segment of your top-performing search terms.

Why: This captures high-intent users who haven’t converted yet, using the cheaper inventory of Demand Gen vs. Search.

For ecommerce businesses

Creative is king! Try running one Demand Gen campaign with your product feed attached, and one without (using lifestyle images/video only).

Why: Sometimes the product feed drives direct sales, but sometimes the lifestyle creative builds better brand engagement. You won’t know which drives the results you need until you test them both.

For larger businesses

If you have the budget, Demand Gen shouldn’t just be a test – it should be a staple. Treat Demand Gen as your “always-on” audience-targeted layer driving awareness and consideration.

Targeting: In-Market, Life Events, Detailed demographics and/or Affinities that make the most sense for your target audience.

Why: It ensures you are front and center for the exact users you are trying to reach, keeping your brand top-of-mind even when users aren’t actively searching for you.

The verdict: 2026 is the year of Demand Gen

Demand Gen bridges the gap between the high intent of Search and the visual storytelling of Social. It offers better quality than Display and cheaper clicks than Search.

So, is Demand Gen going to be part of your strategy this year? If you are looking for growth outside the search bar, it absolutely should be.

This article is part of our ongoing Search Engine Land series, Everything you need to know about Google Ads in less than 3 minutes. In each edition, Jyll highlights a different Google Ads feature, and what you need to know to get the best results from it – all in a quick 3-minute read.