Tag: Demand Gen

Google Demand Gen Adds Feeds for Non-Retail Advertisers
Google’s Demand Gen campaigns can now draw from business data feeds, giving advertisers outside traditional retail a way to build dynamic ads from structured inventory information. The change matters most to businesses whose available offers, properties, trips, or vehicles change too often for practical manual creative updates.

Search Engine Land reports that the feature does not require a Google Merchant Center feed. However, its initial reach has an important boundary: business data feeds currently work only on the Google Display Network portion of Demand Gen, rather than across all of the campaign type’s inventory.

What business data feeds change in Demand Gen

A business data feed is a structured collection of information that an advertising system can use to assemble or update ads dynamically. Instead of treating every creative variation as a separate manual task, an advertiser can supply organized records representing available inventory or services.

According to Search Engine Land, Demand Gen can use those records to display content based on audience interests and available inventory. That shifts part of creative maintenance from repeatedly editing individual ads to keeping the underlying business data accurate and current.

Why the update extends beyond ecommerce

Merchant Center is closely associated with retail product feeds. Requiring it can be an awkward fit for advertisers whose inventory is not a conventional catalog of products. The new feed option gives those businesses a route to dynamic advertising without forcing their data into a retail-oriented workflow.

The source identifies three example industries that could benefit:
- Travel businesses promoting available destinations or offers
- Real estate advertisers working with changing property inventory
- Automotive advertisers presenting available vehicles
These examples share a common operational challenge: availability changes, while the underlying ad format may remain consistent. A structured feed can help connect that changing information to reusable creative, reducing the need to revise assets one by one.

Organic visibility, paid media and artificial intelligence merge into one connected search ecosystem, where vivid data streams link a creative website with a powerful analytics dashboard.

Key takeaways for campaign teams
- Business data feeds can now be connected to Demand Gen campaigns.
- The capability supports dynamic content based on audience interests and available inventory.
- A Google Merchant Center feed is not required.
- Travel, real estate, and automotive are among the industries highlighted by the source.
- Support is currently limited to the Google Display Network within Demand Gen.
The main constraint affects campaign planning

The Display Network limitation means advertisers should not assume that feed-driven creative will automatically appear everywhere a Demand Gen campaign can run. Campaign design, expectations, and reporting should account for the difference between the supported placement environment and the campaign’s broader inventory.

That distinction also makes controlled evaluation important. Teams can assess whether feed-powered ads reduce production work and produce more relevant combinations, but results from the supported inventory should not be generalized to placements where the feature is unavailable.

What advertisers should prepare before using feeds

The reporting establishes the capability, but it does not provide performance results. Advertisers should therefore treat improved relevance as a potential benefit rather than a guaranteed outcome. Feed quality, inventory accuracy, creative suitability, targeting, and measurement still influence whether automation produces useful ads.

A practical readiness review should focus on whether business records are consistently structured, updated when availability changes, and suitable for customer-facing creative. Clear ownership of the feed is also essential: automating ad assembly can reduce manual asset work, but inaccurate source data can distribute mistakes just as efficiently.

The update gives non-retail advertisers a more natural path into dynamic Demand Gen creative. Its near-term value will depend on disciplined data maintenance and realistic planning around the current Display Network boundary.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
July 17, 2026
Win Competitor Traffic With Demand Gen Conquesting

I have seen traditional competitor campaigns turn into expensive click traps. When someone searches for a competitor’s brand, they are often already close to buying, which means my ad can become little more than a brief detour on their way to converting somewhere else.

That does not mean I have to give up on competitor-aware audiences. Instead of relying only on competitor brand bidding, I can use Demand Gen campaigns and negative-intent keywords to reach those buyers more efficiently, often at a lower cost.

Demand Gen: Reaching the right audience for less

Before I focus on negative-intent keywords, I like to look at Demand Gen because it gives me another way to reach people who may not know my brand yet but are already showing signs of interest in my market.

For Demand Gen to work well, I need two things: strong targeting and strong creative. Within that targeting, custom audience segments and lookalike audiences are essential.

Custom segment targeting lets me reach people who have searched for specific terms on Google or who show certain interests and purchase intentions. It is also one of the most practical ways I can get in front of users researching my competitors without paying the higher price of a search click.

When I create a new audience inside a Demand Gen campaign, custom segments are one of the first targeting options I see, right after the audience name.

From there, I choose the option for People who searched for any of these terms on Google and add as many relevant competitors as I can. This helps me reach a highly relevant audience across Google’s inventory at a lower cost than a traditional search network click.

If I am not sure which competitors to include, I start by typing my main product or service into Google Ads and reviewing who appears. Those businesses are usually my primary competitors, and depending on the networks I opt into, my ads can appear across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail.

Designing conquesting landing pages for Demand Gen

When I use Demand Gen for conquesting, I need a landing page built specifically for that audience. I want to highlight my key differentiators, show social proof, and make it obvious why my product or service deserves consideration.

The click is only the first step. Once someone lands on my page, the offer has to be clear, specific, and aligned with the ad they just clicked. I need to explain the value thoroughly and guide the visitor toward a call to action that matches the promise I made in the ad.

Negative-intent conquesting: Targeting competitor weaknesses

But Demand Gen is not always the right starting point. If I do not have strong image or video assets, I may be better off staying closer to the search network.

Because high-quality creative tends to perform best across Demand Gen placements, search can make more sense when those assets are not available. That is where negative-intent conquesting becomes useful.

Most advertisers understand traditional competitor search campaigns, but many overlook the people who are not simply searching for a competitor. They are searching for alternatives, comparisons, cheaper options, or signs that another company can solve the problem better.

I often see this happen during the consideration phase. A user may search for terms like “companies like X,” “companies cheaper than X,” or, for branded products, “dupe for X.” Not every variation will have enough volume to bid on, but these searches reveal where serious comparison research is happening.

Building campaigns around competitor pain points

If I know a competitor has a reputation for poor customer service, I might test keywords such as “customer service complaints for [competitor].” I would keep this focused in a single ad group with closely related keyword variations.

In the ad copy, I would focus on what makes my customer service stronger, faster, or more helpful. Because of trademark policies, I would avoid naming the competitor directly in the ad text and instead emphasize the benefit I can prove.

Traditional competitor campaigns focus on bidding against a brand name. Negative-intent conquesting focuses on the weakness behind the search. The audience already knows the competitor, but they are actively looking for a better option.

I can also pair this approach with a separate custom audience, which lets me reach people searching for these alternatives across Google’s networks.

For this to work after the click, the landing page matters just as much as the keyword and ad. If my ad promises a better solution to poor service, high prices, or another competitor weakness, the landing page has to validate that claim and present a unique value proposition that directly addresses the concern.

Target competitor audiences before the decision is made

The biggest challenge with traditional competitor campaigns is not always the competitor. It is timing.

When someone searches for a competitor’s brand name, they may have already narrowed their options and moved close to a decision. That is why competitor keyword campaigns can become expensive and hard to scale profitably.

Demand Gen and negative-intent conquesting help me approach the same audience from different angles. Demand Gen lets me reach potential customers before they commit to a brand, while negative-intent conquesting reaches them when they are actively questioning their current options.

My goal is simple: I want to reach potential customers when they are most open to considering a different choice. If I can do that with the right targeting, message, and landing page, competitor traffic becomes much easier to win without overspending on traditional brand bidding.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.

July 3, 2026
Google Demand Gen Gets Gemini Creative and Reporting Boost

I’m seeing Google roll out a new set of Demand Gen updates designed to help advertisers improve creative performance, reach more potential customers across YouTube, and measure campaign results with more clarity.

For me, the bigger story is that Demand Gen is becoming less about manually adapting assets and more about using AI-assisted tools to make creative work harder across Google’s most visual surfaces.

Demand Gen campaigns are built to drive discovery and conversions across Google’s visual placements. With these latest updates, I see Google trying to reduce creative friction while giving advertisers better visibility into what is actually moving performance.

Google says the enhancements arrive as YouTube continues to show value for customer acquisition. The company cited research from Measured showing that 72% of incremental conversions on YouTube come from new customers.

What’s new. I’m watching Demand Gen add expanded video resizing capabilities, giving advertisers the ability to automatically transform creative into more aspect ratios, including vertical-to-square, vertical-to-landscape, and square-to-landscape formats.

That matters because it should make it easier to adapt existing creative for different YouTube placements without having to produce every version manually from scratch.

Why I care. Expanded video resizing can help existing assets fit more YouTube inventory, Gemini can provide AI-powered recommendations before launch, and new web-to-app measurement can give marketers a clearer view of how Demand Gen campaigns influence app installs and return on ad spend.

Gemini joins the creative workflow. Google is also bringing Gemini-powered recommendations directly into the Demand Gen campaign creation process, which makes AI guidance part of the asset selection workflow instead of a separate optimization step.

When advertisers choose image and video assets, Gemini will offer automated suggestions for optimizing creative for YouTube. I see this as a way for marketers to improve asset choices before campaigns go live, rather than waiting for performance data after launch.

Better app measurement. Demand Gen now includes Web to App Acquisition Measurement, allowing advertisers to measure when web campaigns lead users to install an app.

The new reporting gives me a more complete way to evaluate campaign performance because it attributes app installs generated through Demand Gen campaigns. That should help advertisers better understand the full impact of their media spend.

The bottom line. I see Google’s latest Demand Gen updates as a practical combination of AI-powered creative guidance, more flexible video optimization, and broader measurement tools that can help advertisers improve performance while gaining clearer insight into customer acquisition.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.

July 3, 2026
Resolving Delays in Google Ads Demand Gen Reviews

I’ve recently experienced frustrations with Google Ads as there’s a known issue causing Demand Gen ads to face review delays of over a week. Google acknowledges this problem and assures us that they’re working on a solution.

Some of us advertising on Google have noticed our ads are lingering in review, taking more than seven days—something that deviates from normal review timelines.

What’s happening. Matthew Skelton, a senior PPC specialist I follow, has pointed out a trending issue: Demand Gen campaigns stuck in review for an unexpectedly long time. This delay is noticeable across various accounts and industries, seemingly without any policy breaches causing it.

Interestingly, other campaign types, like Search and Performance Max, aren’t affected and continue processing as usual, which suggests the problem is isolated to Demand Gen ads.

Why we care. For those of us using Demand Gen to test creatives and drive top-of-funnel results, speed is crucial. Long review times hinder our ability to iterate swiftly, delay launches, and make it challenging to respond to seasonal trends or time-sensitive opportunities.

A delay lasting a week can disrupt our pacing and diminish the effectiveness of campaigns relying on rapid optimization.

The response. Ginny Marvin, a Google Ads Liaison, acknowledged this issue specifically impacting Demand Gen image ads, admitting reviews are taking longer than anticipated. She assured us that Google’s team is actively seeking a solution, but no clear timeline has been provided yet.

Bottom line. If you’re experiencing delays with your Demand Gen ads, know that it’s a widespread issue acknowledged by Google rather than something you can directly address.

First seen. This situation was first reported by Matthew Skelton, who shared his insights on LinkedIn.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.

April 24, 2026
Maximize Ecommerce Success with Demand Gen & Performance Max

When Google introduced Demand Gen campaigns in 2023, I saw them as a promising way to boost engagement across platforms like YouTube, Discover, and Gmail.

Initially, they felt experimental, straddling the line between awareness and performance, but they’ve come a long way since.

Now, the creative flexibility and enhanced audience control make Demand Gen a go-to campaign type for my ecommerce clients.

This strategy allows me to scale revenue in a controlled manner, maintaining brand consistency while testing creative approaches to drive conversions.

I’ve found that Demand Gen delivers the best results when strategically paired with Performance Max and Search campaigns.

Advertising with Demand Gen is ideal if you crave more control.

One major drawback of Performance Max is its lack of transparency and manual control.

If precise targeting, placement, or creative control is essential, Demand Gen stands out as the better option.

Performance Max auto-generates ads from your uploads, relying on Google’s AI to mix and match for the best performance.

This makes it crucial to provide top-notch creative assets.

For example, a fitness brand might create separate asset groups for products like leggings, shorts, and vests.

While this helps target relevant audiences, the control isn’t exhaustive.

However, Demand Gen offers far superior flexibility.

It allows me to upload, preview, and tweak ad combinations before launch, adapting each creative to its unique placement.

For instance, I can customize YouTube ads for in-feed, in-stream, and Shorts placements.

This control is perfect for ecommerce brands focusing on creative precision, message testing, and maintaining a strong visual identity.

Dig deeper: The Google Ads Demand Gen playbook

Using Demand Gen alongside Performance Max can be incredibly effective if you leverage their roles within the customer journey. They enhance each other rather than compete.

Demand Gen builds awareness and sparks interest by reaching higher-funnel audiences before they actively start product searching.

Conversely, Performance Max focuses on converting lower-funnel users who are primed to purchase.

For example, a fitness retailer might utilize Demand Gen for lifestyle videos and discovery ads promoting their latest activewear.

When a potential customer begins to research or exhibit purchase intent, Performance Max engages with tailored Shopping and Search ads to finalize the sale.

I’ve set up feed-only Performance Max campaigns, providing only a product feed within the asset group.

This restricts Performance Max activities to Shopping placements, focusing it sharply on direct conversions.

Meanwhile, Demand Gen operates across platforms like YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and Shorts, covering the upper and mid-funnel with more visual, creative content focused on awareness.

This configuration minimizes overlap between campaign types while ensuring user engagement throughout the funnel, from brand discovery to purchase.

For larger accounts with flexible budgets, this dual structure drives holistic performance and clearer attribution.

In contrast, smaller accounts seeking efficiency should prioritize mastering high-intent campaigns before layering in Demand Gen once the core conversions are stable.

The diverse campaign types now offer advertisers more flexibility than ever, yet it requires understanding Google’s restructuring of video and discovery products.

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

Since July 2025, Google’s Video Action Campaigns (VACs) have been replaced by Demand Gen.

It streamlines Google’s visual placements into one campaign type, including YouTube in-stream, Shorts, in-feed, Gmail, and Discover.

This change is significant. VAC was successful for ecommerce, particularly for conversion-centric video. Its removal underscores Google’s encouragement to embrace Demand Gen.

The advantage is that Demand Gen provides stronger creative control and diverse testing options across YouTube placements.

If you previously ran VAC campaigns, they are now under Demand Gen. Ensure your top-performing assets and audiences have migrated correctly, then use the new controls to optimize performance.

Audience control is a significant benefit of Demand Gen, and it’s a reason why I consistently use it for ecommerce.

Demand Gen allows precise audience creation, letting me decide who sees the ads.

I can select placements, merge audience types, and allocate the budget strategically.

It’s the only Google Ads campaign type supporting lookalike audiences, valuable for brands focused on acquiring quality leads.

While Performance Max utilizes audience signals over fixed targeting, Demand Gen excels for control, testing, and segmentation strategies.

In mid-2025, Google rolled out an open beta for advertisers to opt out of specific Demand Gen channels manually.

This means I can now control ad display, excluding Discover or YouTube Shorts if they don’t align with my objectives or creative format.

This small but significant update offers more control, a feature often lacking in many of Google’s automated campaign types.

Dig deeper: Google Ads rolls out channel control for Demand Gen campaigns

In early 2025, Google introduced product feed integration for Demand Gen campaigns. This change allows me to link the Google Merchant Center feed, incorporating live product data directly into visual ads.

This development bridges performance and branding for ecommerce, enabling storytelling through creative visuals while displaying actual products.

For instance, a fashion retailer can showcase a new collection in a video advert while featuring shoppable product cards below.

This update positions Demand Gen as a hybrid between Shopping and Display, a much-anticipated capability among ecommerce advertisers.

Demand Gen typically demands a larger budget than other campaign types.

Google recommends starting at about £100 per day per campaign or 20 times your target CPA/tROAS, whichever is higher.

Practically, the £100-per-day baseline is a viable starting point for effective data collection and optimization. Lower budgets restrict data flow and slow progress.

Demand Gen complements your broader Google Ads strategy, rather than replacing Search or Performance Max.

It’s a premium, visually led campaign type that boosts awareness leading to conversions, particularly effective when you have accurate measurement, a clean product feed, and clearly defined audiences.

The table compares Demand Gen and Performance Max on key aspects that matter to advertisers.

Dig deeper: Google pushes Demand Gen deeper into performance marketing

Performance Max excels in scale but can be opaque.

Demand Gen offers the control advertisers have demanded—genuine creative testing, audience precision, and placement visibility.

For sustainable ecommerce growth, I recommend using both. Performance Max captures demand, while Demand Gen creates it.

Together, they form a comprehensive framework for scalable and sustainable growth.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.

January 22, 2026