Blog/Google Ads
Google Demand Gen campaigns explained — what they are and how to use them.
Demand Gen replaced Discovery campaigns in 2024 and added YouTube in-stream and Shorts placements. It is Google's multi-format answer to Meta's upper-funnel reach: display, YouTube in-stream, YouTube Shorts, Gmail, and Google Discover — all in one campaign. The right use case is upper-funnel prospecting and retargeting for brands with visual products or services. It is not a direct-response tool. Measure it on view-through conversions, assisted conversions in GA4, and brand search lift — not last-click CPA.
Ahmed Ashraf
Founder, Traffiy · April 2026 · Google Premier Partner
“Demand Gen is the first Google product that actually competes with Meta's upper-funnel reach. It's not a replacement — it's a complement. Run it alongside Search, not instead of it.”
— Ahmed Ashraf · $100M+ in budgets managed
What it is
Demand Gen vs Discovery vs Display — the key differences.
Display Network
Millions of third-party websites and apps. Low CPMs. High reach, low quality placements. No lookalike audiences. Primarily bottom-funnel retargeting or broad awareness.
Best for
Remarketing with banner ads
Discovery (deprecated)
Gmail, Discover feed, YouTube home feed. Native-looking. No YouTube in-stream. Limited audience tools. Replaced by Demand Gen in 2024.
Best for
No longer available for new campaigns
Demand Gen (current)
YouTube in-stream, YouTube Shorts, Gmail, Discover. Lookalike audiences. Video and image creative. Native placements. Google's competitive answer to Meta upper-funnel.
Best for
Upper-funnel prospecting + retargeting
3B+
Google surfaces reached by Demand Gen across YouTube, Gmail, and Discover
2024
Year Discovery transitioned to Demand Gen — the platform is still maturing
Upper-funnel
Primary use case — do not judge it by last-click CPA benchmarks
Placements & formats
Where your ads appear and what format they need.
| Placement | Format | Recommended use | Expected CPM |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube In-Stream | Skippable video (16:9) | Brand awareness, product demos | $4–12 CPM |
| YouTube Shorts | Vertical video (9:16) | Mobile-first reach, younger audiences | $3–8 CPM |
| Gmail | Expandable image ad | Retargeting, competitive conquesting | $1–5 CPM |
| Google Discover | Responsive image/video | Content-driven prospecting | $2–7 CPM |
Creative requirements
Video assets
Minimum: one 16:9 landscape video for YouTube in-stream. Recommended: also provide 9:16 vertical for Shorts. 6–15 second non-skippable bumpers perform well for brand recall.
Image assets
1.91:1 landscape (1200×628), 1:1 square (1200×1200), and 4:5 portrait (960×1200). Google will automatically adapt to placement. More ratios = more placement coverage.
Headlines
5 headlines (40 chars each), 5 descriptions (90 chars each). Google tests combinations. Include your core value proposition and a clear call to action.
Logo
Square format, minimum 128×128px. Appears in native placements alongside your ad to reinforce brand recognition.
Audience & measurement
How to set up audiences and measure what Demand Gen actually does.
Lookalike audiences from your best customers
Upload a customer list (email addresses, phone numbers) or use your conversion pixel audience as a seed. Google builds a lookalike of 2–5% similar users. This is the cold prospecting play — and the closest Demand Gen gets to Meta's lookalike targeting.
Custom intent and interest targeting
Layer in custom intent audiences (people who searched for specific terms recently) or in-market segments. Use these when you do not have a large enough customer list for lookalikes (minimum 1,000 matches needed).
Retargeting your warm audiences
Website visitors (last 30 days), YouTube video viewers, Gmail list engagers. These are your highest-value Demand Gen audiences — they already know you. Exclude past purchasers unless you are running an upsell message.
Measuring with view-through conversions + GA4 assisted
In Google Ads: add View-Through Conversion column. In GA4: use Conversion Paths report to see how many conversions had a Demand Gen touchpoint earlier in the journey. Track brand search volume in GA4 — if it rises after Demand Gen launches, the campaign is working.
Budget allocation rule
Start Demand Gen at 2–3× your daily Search spend. If Search is at $150/day, start Demand Gen at $300–450/day. This ratio reflects the funnel relationship — Demand Gen fills the top, Search harvests the demand. Cutting Demand Gen budget below Search spend typically means it cannot reach enough unique users to generate meaningful awareness lift.
FAQ
Common questions about Demand Gen campaigns.
What replaced Google Discovery campaigns?+
Google replaced Discovery campaigns with Demand Gen in 2024. The key upgrade: Demand Gen includes YouTube in-stream and YouTube Shorts placements, which Discovery did not. It also introduced lookalike audience capabilities similar to Meta's, making it significantly more powerful for upper-funnel prospecting.
How is Demand Gen different from Display campaigns?+
Display campaigns run across the Google Display Network — millions of websites and apps. Demand Gen runs on premium native placements: YouTube in-stream, YouTube Shorts, Gmail, and Google Discover feed. The placements are higher quality and the creative is more native-looking. Demand Gen also supports lookalike audiences, which Display does not.
What budget should I start with for Demand Gen?+
Start with 2–3x your daily Search spend as a daily Demand Gen budget. Demand Gen is upper-funnel — it builds awareness and consideration that Search later converts. If you spend $100/day on Search, start with $200–300/day on Demand Gen. Run it for at least 30 days before evaluating performance — view-through and assisted conversions take time to accumulate.
How do I measure Demand Gen campaign performance?+
Primary metrics: view-through conversions (people who saw the ad then converted later), assisted conversions in GA4 (sessions where Demand Gen appeared in the conversion path), and brand search lift (increasing volume of brand searches after campaigns run). Do not measure Demand Gen by direct last-click conversions — that is the wrong success metric for an upper-funnel campaign.
Does Demand Gen work for B2B?+
For retargeting, yes — showing Demand Gen ads to people who visited your site or engaged with your content converts reasonably well. For cold B2B prospecting, the results are mixed. B2B audiences on YouTube and Discover are large but broad. LinkedIn outperforms Demand Gen on targeting precision for cold prospecting, though CPMs are 3–5x higher. Start with B2B retargeting on Demand Gen, not cold prospecting.
Ahmed Ashraf — Founder, Traffiy
10+ years in paid media. $100M+ in budgets managed across Meta, Google, and TikTok. Google Premier Partner — top 3% globally. Every article on this blog is written from direct experience managing real campaigns.
Want to add Demand Gen to your Google Ads strategy?
Traffiy manages Google Ads directly — including upper-funnel strategy. Free strategy call to review where Demand Gen fits your mix.