Introduction
The introduction of digital-first business and data-driven marketing has made Google Ads one of the most significant tools utilized in acquiring potential customers. Yet, it may be daunting to explore various kinds of campaigns in Google Ads. The types of Google ads are created to reach certain business objectives, and the selection of the appropriate type will benefit your ROI dramatically.
This blog will help you understand the different types of Google Ads campaigns, their advantages, and when to use them depending on the goal of your ad campaigns. This guide will clear your doubts and assist you in using your Google Ads budget wisely.
What is a Google Ads Campaign?
A Google Ads campaign is an organized advertising plan or approach that enables an enterprise to display its advertisement in different networks of Google, including Search, Display, YouTube, etc. Every campaign is aimed at a particular objective, whether to raise the number of visitors on a site, to create leads, or to make sales.
What is the Purpose of the Campaign Type in Google Ads?
Google Ads has various types of campaigns since each company has a different objective. Having an appropriate campaign type will enable you to reach the right people in the right format and strategy, whether you are trying to raise brand awareness, drive traffic to a landing page, or convert.
9 Different Types of Google Ads Campaigns
Let’s look at the most common 9 types of campaigns in Google Ads and when to use them:
1. Search Campaign
Search campaigns display text-based ads to users actively searching for products or services similar to yours on Google Search. These ads appear based on specific keywords, making them ideal for capturing high-intent leads already looking for what you offer.
- Ideal for: lead generation, conversions, sales
- Ad format: Text-only ad running on Google Search Products
- Hint: Target higher intent with the help of particular keywords relative to your business
The most common format is the PPC campaign types. Your ads appear each time someone searches for terms that match your business offerings. Search ad campaigns are highly intentional and excellent at capturing users who are already looking for your products or services. If you want to hire a professional Google Ads agency in Bangalore, then you can get in touch with us.
2. Display Campaign
Display campaigns show visually engaging images or banner ads across Google’s Display Network, including websites, apps, and YouTube. They’re designed to build awareness, retarget users, and reach new audiences based on interests, demographics, or online behavior.
- Ideal for: Brand awareness, remarketing
- Ad format: Google Display Network Banner ads
- Hint: Remarketing lists and catchy visuals will serve to enhance the recall value
Display ads campaign presents visually rich advertisements on millions of webpages, applications, and Google-owned properties. They are great to reengage users and establish a brand.
3. Video Ads Campaign
Video campaigns help you connect with your audience through engaging video ads on YouTube and Google video partners. Whether you’re driving awareness, generating leads, or telling your brand story, video ads let you make a visual impact where people watch most.
- Ideal for: Engagement, brand storytelling
- Ad format: YouTube non-skippable or skippable video ads type
- Hint: Reach relevant viewers with storytelling through audience targeting on YouTube
More than 87% of video marketers say that using videos helps them get more website visitors, boost sales, and attract new leads. The video ads campaign enables you to reach an enormous number of people on YouTube. They are excellent for narrating your brand story, promoting new products, or making your brand more engaging.
4. Shopping Campaign
Shopping campaigns promote your products directly within Google Search and Shopping tabs using rich product data. These campaigns show images, prices, store names, and more, making it easier for users to discover and compare products before buying.
- Ideal for: E-commerce product promotion
- Ad format: Product image, title, price, and store name
- Hint: Maintain good product feed, and categorise
Shopping ads campaign puts your products in the line of sight through search results and Google Shopping. This type of campaign is great with online retailers intending to present a picture of their merchandise to high-intent prospects. To create such a type of campaign, you can connect with the best digital marketing company in Bangalore and share your requirements now.
5. App Promotion Campaign
App campaigns are designed to increase app installs and in-app actions by promoting your app across Search, Play Store, YouTube, Display, and Discover. Just provide your assets, and Google’s AI handles targeting and placements to drive the best results.
- Ideal for: Mobile app downloads and engagement
- Ad format: Automatically generated ads in Google Search, Play Store, YouTube, and Display Network
- Hint: Deep links should be utilized to realize in-app activities, and override downloads
App promotion campaign will auto-optimise ads in order to drive installs or in-app actions. It is well-suited to startups and app-first companies.
6. Smart Campaigns
Smart campaigns are fully automated ad campaigns ideal for small businesses. You set your goal, and Google handles the rest, from ad creation to targeting and bidding. It’s the simplest way to run ads without needing deep advertising expertise.
- Ideal for: Small, not ad-savvy businesses
- Ad format: Automatic advertising in Google resources
- Hint: Have a simpler implementation by leaving targeting, bidding, and ad placements to Google
Smart campaigns are easy to use and do not require much configuration in order to design. AI enables Google to develop the types of advertisements and automatically execute them, so that small firms can easily digitize.
7. Local Campaigns
Local campaigns help drive visits to your physical business locations by showing ads across Maps, Search, Display, and YouTube. These are perfect for boosting foot traffic, promoting store offers, and reaching nearby customers ready to take action.
- Ideal for: Attracting foot traffic to a physical location
- Ad format: YouTube, Display, Search, and Google Maps
- Hint: Make your Google My Business listing more effective
The local campaigns have been designed to promote your physical location automatically by optimizing your ads across the different Google sites to generate visits, phone calls, or directions.
8. Performance Max Campaign
Performance Max campaigns use machine learning to run ads across all Google platforms: Search, Display, YouTube, Maps, and Gmail. They optimize for your chosen conversion goals using real-time data and high-quality creative assets to deliver maximum performance.
- Ideal for: Maximise conversions on all-Google inventory
- Ad format: Machine-generated text, video, image, and feed-based ads
- Hint: Giving high-quality assets allows the algorithm to work better
Performance Max campaigns are objective-focused, employ machine learning to target your ads across all of Google, including Search, Display, Gmail, Maps, and YouTube. Contact us to create the right performance max campaigns and enhance your brand on the search engines.
9. Discovery Campaign:
Discovery campaigns help you reach potential customers as they scroll through personalized Google feeds like YouTube Home, Discover, and Gmail. With visually rich ads and AI-powered targeting, Discovery ads spark interest when users are open to exploring new brands.
- Ideal for: Reach new audiences with visually engaging ads
- Ad format: Responsive image and video ads across Google feeds
- Hint: Use bold visuals and compelling copy to boost engagement
Discovery campaigns let you tap into Google’s AI to showcase your brand on YouTube Home, Gmail Promotions, and the Discover feed. With a single campaign, you can reach up to 3 billion users in the moments they’re most open to exploring something new. Contact us to launch a Discovery campaign that stops the scroll and sparks curiosity.
Benefits of Google Ads
Here are some benefits of Google Ads:
- Highly Targeted: Reach your ideal audience based on location, keywords, device, and even time of day.
- Measurable Results: Track clicks, conversions, and ROI in real-time using built-in analytics.
- Cost–Efficient: Set your budget and pay only when someone clicks your ad (PPC model).
- Wider Reach: Appear across Google Search, YouTube, Gmail, and millions of partner websites.
- Flexible Campaigns: Choose from Search, Display, Video, Shopping, or Smart campaigns based on your goal.
- Fast Results: Unlike SEO, Google Ads can start driving traffic and leads almost immediately.
- Scalable: Start small and scale campaigns as your business grows and performance improves.
- AI-Powered Automation: Smart campaigns and Performance Max use machine learning to optimise results.
Benefits of Choosing the Right Google Ads Campaign Type
Selecting the right campaign type in Google Ads isn’t just about visibility; it’s about results. Whether you aim to drive foot traffic in Bangalore or increase mobile app installs, aligning the campaign with your goal maximizes efficiency and performance. Here are certain benefits of choosing the right Google Ads campaign type:
- Better ROI: When the right audience sees the right kind of ad format, conversion risk goes up.
- Cost-Efficiency: You will not spend money advertising in irrelevant places.
- Scalability: You can begin small and scale by results.
- Automation: Smart and Performance Max types of campaigns use automation to lessen the burden.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The correct tools may be all that is required to run a successful Google Ads campaign. Not only do these platforms make workflow a smoother process, but they also enhance campaign performance with better data, automation, and optimization functionalities.
- Ignoring negative keywords in Search Campaigns
- Bad ad copywriting
- Not running tests on multiple ad variations
- Overlooking conversion tracking
- Not working on your landing pages
A report by Primus Partners shows that more than 80% of small and medium businesses in India end up wasting their ad budgets because their campaigns aren’t set up properly.
Conclusion
Google Ads provides a rich diversity of campaign types depending on your target, such as leads, brand awareness, or app installs. The point is to align the kind of campaign with the business objective in question. You have to figure out where to begin, or need professional assistance? Get in touch with BleapDigital to kickstart and run high-converting advertisements generated to suit your business.
FAQs
Q1. How many types of Google Ads campaigns are there?
There are 8 major types: Search, Display, Video, Shopping, App Promotion, Smart, Local, and Performance Max.
Q2. Which Google Ads campaign type is best for e-commerce?
Shopping campaigns work best as they showcase your product image, price, and store name directly in search results.
Q3. Can I run multiple campaigns at once?
Yes. You can run multiple campaign types simultaneously to target users at different stages of the buyer journey.
Q4. Is Google Ads expensive for small businesses?
Not necessarily. Smart and Local campaigns are budget-friendly and easy to manage.
Q5. How do I know which campaign type is right for me?
It depends on your goal: lead generation, awareness, or conversions. For expert guidance, reach out to BleapDigital.