Did you previously use Discovery campaigns in Google Ads? If so, you will now come across Demand Gen. Google has converted Discovery into this new campaign type. The starting point remains the same: you introduce people to your brand before they search. There is, however, more room for video and more control over your audience.
In this article you will read what Demand Gen is, where your ads appear and when it pays off. You will also find out how to choose audiences, which visuals work and how to measure the effect. That way you will know whether to use it to reach new customers.
What is Demand Gen and what has changed?
Demand Gen is a campaign type for images and video. The goal is to create demand. You reach people who do not yet know your product or service and who are not yet searching for you. With a search campaign, you respond to a demand. With Demand Gen, you make sure that demand arises.
Your ads can appear in places where people already spend their time:
- YouTube: in the recommendations and between videos.
- YouTube Shorts: the short vertical videos.
- Gmail: in the Promotions and Social tabs.
- Discover: the feed of suggestions on many Android phones and in the Google app.
The big difference from Discovery is the emphasis on video and the better options for your audience. Existing Discovery campaigns have been converted. However, check that the settings are still correct. Look at your audiences, your bidding strategy and your ad assets. An automatic conversion does not mean everything is immediately set up optimally.
When should you use Demand Gen?
Demand Gen does not suit every business. It works best in a few situations:
- Your product is visual, such as furniture, fashion, travel or food.
- Search volume in your market is limited. Too few people are searching to reach your targets.
- You are launching a new service or product. People are not yet searching for it, because they do not know it yet.
- Your search campaigns are well set up, but your growth has stalled.
Think of Demand Gen as a complement to search campaigns and not a replacement. Search campaigns capture people who already want to buy. Demand Gen ensures that more of those people appear. Without a foundation in search, much of that effect goes to waste.
Do you not yet have a well-functioning website or measurement setup? Start there first. Demand Gen learns from conversions. If those are not measured properly, Google optimises for the wrong signals.
Audiences: start with your own data
With Demand Gen, the audience matters more than it does with search. In search, the keyword determines who sees your ad. Here, you have to choose for yourself who you want to reach.
A strong option is lookalike segments. These are groups of people who resemble your existing customers. You upload a customer list, for example with the email addresses of people who have already bought from you. Google then looks for people with similar behaviour. The better your list, the better the audience.
What makes a list good?
- Quality: use your best customers, not everyone who ever received an email from you.
- Size: a list of a few hundred matched contacts is a minimum. More is better.
- Freshness: update your list regularly, so that old contacts do not count.
- Consent: only use data that you are permitted to use under privacy rules.
Besides lookalikes, you can also re-engage people who have already visited your website or watched your videos. You can also work with Google’s own audiences, such as people who show interest in a particular topic. Do not start too broad. A clear audience gives Google a better starting point to learn from.
Images and video that stand out
In a feed or between videos, people scroll quickly. Your ad must therefore be clear within a few seconds. A poor image or a slow video will cost you reach, however good your audience is.
A few practical rules:
- Show what it is about in the first few seconds.
- Use real images of your product or your team. Overly polished stock photos get overlooked.
- Make vertical video for Shorts and square or landscape visuals for the other placements.
- Keep your text short. One clear message works better than three.
- Test several variants side by side.
You do not need a film crew. A short video shot on a phone, with good lighting and a clear story, often works fine. Do make sure your material fits the look and feel of your brand. People need to recognise you when they come across you again later.
How to measure the effect of Demand Gen
This is where many advertisers make mistakes. They judge Demand Gen only on direct conversions, such as a purchase or a form submission shortly after the click. That often gives an overly negative picture. People rarely buy at first contact. They see your ad, forget about you for a while and later search for your brand name themselves.
So also look at the broader effects:
- Note your brand searches in the weeks before launch. These are searches containing your company name or product name.
- Start the campaign and keep your other activities the same for a few weeks.
- Compare the number of brand searches before and after launch.
- Also look at direct traffic, new visitors and video views.
- Only assess the results after a few weeks. The campaign needs time to learn.
A common scenario: an online shop selling household products launches a Demand Gen campaign with images of a new product line. The audience segment is based on its list of best customers. In the report, direct conversions after a click are modest, so it looks like a failure. But in the same period, more people search for the brand name and the brand search campaign delivers more orders. Without that comparison, the shop would have stopped the campaign early, even though it was actually bringing in new customers.
Please note: brand searches can also rise for other reasons, such as the season, PR or a promotion. So keep track of what else you are doing in the same period.
Frequently asked questions
Are Demand Gen and Discovery the same?
Almost. Demand Gen is the successor to Discovery and uses the same placements, with more emphasis on video and more options for your audience. Your existing Discovery campaigns have been converted, but check whether the settings still fit your goal.
How much budget do I need?
That differs by market and goal. As a rule of thumb, your budget should be enough to collect sufficient data within a few weeks. If the budget is too small, the campaign stays stuck in the learning phase and you cannot draw reliable conclusions. It is better to plan for a test period of several weeks than a few days.
Does Demand Gen replace my search campaigns?
No. Search campaigns reach people who are already actively looking. Demand Gen reaches people earlier in their research. Together they work best, because Demand Gen creates demand and search captures it.
Book a free 30-minute introductory call
Would you like to know whether Demand Gen suits your business and how to use it smartly alongside your search campaigns? Then book a free 30-minute introductory call with Adventio Marketing in Amersfoort. Together we will look at your current campaigns, your audience and your measurement setup. You will get honest advice on the next step, even if that means Demand Gen is not yet the best choice. Get in touch with us and pick a time that suits you.
