Demand Gen: What Is This New Google Ads Format and How to Work with It?

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Recently, Google replaced the Discovery advertising format with Demand Gen, a new ad format focused on creating demand. Essentially, Demand Gen is an advanced version of Discovery with improvements and conveniences for advertisers.

The ad placements for Demand Gen, such as YouTube, Gmail, and Discover, are similar to those of Discovery. However, Demand Gen also allows promotion in YouTube Shorts. In this article, the team at YeezyPay, a service that provides access to trusted Google Ads agency accounts, will explain what this format is and provide insights on how affiliates and other advertisers can work with it.

What is Demand Gen?



Demand Gen is a great advertising option for those who don't want to spend resources on keyword research (as required for search advertising) or eliminating irrelevant websites (as needed for the Display Network). As mentioned earlier, Demand Gen involves promoting through banners and/or videos. The format provides affiliates with various testing opportunities, including targeting ads based on the following:

- Interests
- Key queries
- App users
- Competitors' sites, etc.

However, it's important to note that, with Demand Gen, over 90% of the traffic comes from mobile device users. This means that mobile users dominate the traffic, even if traffic from other device types is not excluded.

Demand Gen has several advantages that make it stand out from other advertising formats:

- It provides a high volume of quality traffic.
- It is easy to set up.
- It offers expanded options for launching and testing your offers.

Which verticals can you promote with Demand Gen?

Based on discussions in affiliate marketing forums and chat groups, affiliates mainly use Demand Gen to promote offers in the following verticals:

- Nutra
- Finance
- Gambling and betting
- Crypto
- Dating
- Information products
- News showcases

Additionally, Demand Gen traffic is often directed to Telegram channels created for specific targeted traffic.

With the right approach, Demand Gen can be used in other niches as well, such as whitehat insurance offers and sweepstakes. Using Google Ads agency advertising accounts with higher trust from the platform can help extend the lifespan of campaigns, even in grayhat verticals. Moreover, affiliates that use agency accounts may receive more favorable treatment during the ad campaign moderation process. You can get access to such ad accounts through YeezyPay.

How to set up Demand Gen advertising campaigns: A step-by-step guide


We will now walk you through the process of getting traffic from Google Ads using the Demand Gen format. It's important to pay attention to these key points that affiliates should not ignore when running their ad campaigns.

1. Select the campaign type

Select the Demand Gen campaign type in your Google Ads account.



2. Select the campaign goal

Decide on the goal for your ad campaign. If you're not sure, keep in mind that the "For conversions" option usually brings better results in terms of conversions, even without a conversion tag.



However, if you want a lot of visits to your landing page, it's better to choose "Clicks." This is particularly useful if you have a small audience but want to get the most out of it.



3. Set up the conversion cost and daily budget

Experienced affiliates suggest setting a specific bid value per conversion for better control. Leaving it blank lets the algorithm optimize your campaign for more conversions, but it doesn't always mean better leads at a lower cost. It could actually have the opposite effect.




It is important for the affiliate to use the lowest possible bid that will still show your ads to the audience and ensure your daily budget is fully utilized.

Also, keep in mind that the bid rate may vary depending on the geo you're targeting. You can set different bids for each ad group if necessary.

When it comes to budgeting, it's good not to risk large amounts during the testing phase.
There are two reasons for this:

- On the first day, Google tends to spend twice the amount in 99% of cases.
- You don't need a big budget just for testing purposes.
​​
If you need to test an offer, a more strategic approach is to launch test campaigns with multiple ad accounts with smaller budgets. Alternatively, you can use an agency account with higher trust levels. Services like YeezyPay offer access to such accounts, which can provide more reliable results compared to regular accounts.



4. Set up the target devices

Since Demand Gen initially gives preference to mobile devices, at the stage of selecting target gadgets it makes sense to select only mobile devices, disabling other categories.

Since the Demand Gen format works well on mobile devices, it's a good idea to focus your targeting efforts on mobile users and disable other categories.



However, depending on your niche and the nature of your offer, you may also want to include desktop devices.

You can use detailed settings to target specific user categories based on operating systems, device types, and even telecom operators.



5. Create ad groups

When creating ad groups, you need to choose the geo where your ads will be shown to users. In the advanced search window, you can include or exclude specific geo locations.



Next, you need to specify the language used by your target audience. For example, if you're promoting an offer in Canada, it's best to indicate both French and English as the languages. Generally, the language should match your entire campaign funnel.

6. Select the target audience

The next step is to create a relevant audience that you believe will be most interested in your offer.

In the special segments section, you can configure your ads to be shown to users who have specific search queries or interests that complement those keywords.



Important! When using Demand Gen, it's not recommended to use low-frequency keywords as it will negatively impact the reach and amount of traffic.

In the same section, you can specify competitor websites or websites related to similar topics where your target audience might spend time.



In the "Your Data" tab, you can set up retargeting, similar audiences, and more by uploading lists of users or selecting those who have watched videos on your YouTube channel.



In the "Interests and detailed demographics" section, you can set up interests based on the specifics of your offer and other variables. Google provides a lot of room for experimentation in this area.



In the demographic settings, it's recommended to disable unknown gender and age at the initial stage of your ad campaign. This helps avoid irrelevant traffic because if Google doesn't know these parameters, the likelihood of conversion will be low.



Experienced affiliates suggest placing each segment of your potential target audience in a separate ad set. This helps you find conversion opportunities faster with minimal bids. They also recommend disabling optimized targeting during the testing stage to obtain the most relevant data.

7. Create the ads

Lastly, we need to create the ads. Demand Gen allows you to promote offers using three ad formats: images (up to 20 pieces), carousels, and videos.

You can choose the appropriate ad format depending on the nature of your offer, targeted geo, and ad placement. It's important to run tests to determine the most suitable type of advertisement.



Important! To add a video creative, you need to upload it to YouTube first.



Finally, all you need to do is write strong headlines, descriptions, CTAs, and provide a link to the landing page.

Conclusion

Demand Gen is a great ad format for running ad campaigns on Google Ads. It provides a variety of targeting options to help you reach the right audience and generate high-converting traffic. However, it's important to understand your target audience's needs and preferences before diving in. It's not recommended to spend a large amount of your advertising budget right at the beginning when you don't have any leads yet.

If you're promoting grayhat offers, it's advisable to thoroughly check your ad creatives and landing pages for compliance with the rules before launching your campaign. Additionally, using Google Ads Trusted Agency Accounts can save you money by eliminating the need to purchase unreliable farmed accounts. This will also prolong the lifespan of your campaigns, increase profitability, and improve the chances of your ads passing the moderation process.