Campaign Types

Search Shopping

Display App

Video Local
How many different types of Google ads are
there?
1. Google Search campaigns
Ads that can be seen on Google SERPs.
How they work: You bid on keywords relevant to your offer
so that when people search something related (or identical)
to those keywords on Google, your ad will show at the top of
the results page (assuming your ad wins the Google Ads
auction).
Who they’re best for: Any business can leverage this type of
Google Ads campaign.

However, since standard Search campaigns are so dependent on

commercial intent searches, they can be particularly effective for
businesses trying to drive leads or purchases.

Types of Google Search ads

Within Search campaigns you’ll get the following ad format
options:
Responsive search ads:

These ads cycle through up to 15 headlines and four descriptions to

serve ads tailored to individual queries in real time.
Call ads:

These ads are meant to drive calls to your business by promoting a clickable phone
number as the headline. Be sure to use call tracking if you use this ad type!
Dynamic Search Ads:

Dynamic Search Ads are created for you by Google using information
from your website content and a short description blurb that you
provide.

They look identical to any other Search ad when shown on the SERP, but
can be helpful for businesses with a nicely built-out website that want to
leverage that (and Google) to freshen up their ad copy strategy.
Google Search Ad Pros & Cons

Pros:

● Easy to set up
● Targeting users based on particular keywords mean you’re
attracting higher-intent traffic.
● High-intent traffic means high return on investment. The
average ROI for search ads is 200%.
Cons:

● Tend to be highly competitive

● Text-based ads don’t provide much opportunity for branding
and creativity.
● Low keyword volume or high competition could lead to low or
pricey traffic.
2. Google Display campaigns

Instead of text-based ads that appear when someone is actively

searching for something, they’re image-based and show passively
on websites within the Google Display Network (GDN) as people
browse them.
How they work: Display campaigns are all about who you’re
showing to and where. Instead of targeting keywords, you target
placements, audiences, and topics.

Who they’re best for: The biggest benefit of Google Display ads is
that they drive brand awareness since they achieve high volumes
of relevant impressions. And increased brand awareness leads to
better results with your other campaigns.
This is especially helpful if your business falls into a niche market
and your Search campaigns are sluggish.

A Display ad can trigger more branded searches that can then

boost your Search campaign. In fact, you can track any indirect
conversions that originated from a Display campaign through
view-through conversions.
Types of Google Display ads
Single image display ads:

These are static ads that you upload from designs you’ve already created.

Responsive display ads (RDA):

Similar to responsive search ads, RDAs cycle through combinations of images

and text to serve the best performing ad possible in various placements.
Google Display Ad Pros & Cons

Pros:

● Generally cheaper than Search campaigns.

● Visual ads can be more appealing to new audiences.
● Tons of customizable targeting options. (You actually can target
keywords with Display ads, but audiences and topics are more
common.)
Cons:

● A higher volume of impressions can mean lower click-through

rates. Can be hard to measure their success.
● Best when used in conjunction with other campaign types.
Display creates awareness, but Search might be the final
campaign to seal the deal.
3. Video campaigns

What they are:

Video ads that can show on video or website content.

How they work:

Video campaigns function similarly to Display campaigns in that you

bid to have your video show on specific placements on YouTube or
across the web to specific audiences. The main difference is that Video
campaigns have different types of ad formats available.
Who they’re best for:
Businesses that have a hard-to-describe product or offer might
benefit from Video campaigns so that they can show their
audience an offer rather than tell them about it. Since they function
similarly to Display campaigns, this type of Google Ads campaign
can also be ideal for those who are looking to drive brand
awareness in specific target markets.
Google Video ad types
Skippable in-stream ads:

Video ads that appear before, during, or after streamed content that viewers
have the option to skip after 5 seconds.

Non-skippable in-stream ads:

Video ads that appear, before, during, or after streamed content that viewers
have to watch the whole way through (maximum of 15 seconds).
In-feed video ads:

A thumbnail image of your video with text that invites viewers to click to
watch for more. These appear on placements like YouTube search results,
next to related YouTube videos, and more.

Bumper ads:

Non-skippable ads that are 6 seconds or less that play before, during, or
after another video.
Outstream ads:

Mobile-only video ads that only appear on Google Video Partner

sites—not YouTube. They automatically play for viewers with the sound
off to invite viewers to watch the full version with the sound on.

Masthead ads:

Only available on a reservation basis through a Google sales rep, these

ads auto-play without sound for up to 30 seconds. They appear at the
top of YouTube’s homepage feed.
Pros & Cons of Google Video Ads

Pros

● Video content is engaging, immersive, and can drive action

through emotion.
● Lots of ad format, bidding, and targeting options. Video
campaigns are extremely customizable.
● Can showcase a value proposition that otherwise may be
difficult to convey in a regular text-based ad.

Cons:

● Creating video ads takes up time and budget

● These four fine-print settings to be aware of
● Spaces like YouTube are highly competitive
4. Google Shopping campaigns

What they are: Shopping campaigns are vital to any business

selling products. They are the visual ads you see on the Search and
Shopping tabs on Google.

How they work: This type of Google Ad campaign survives off a

product feed you provide—which lives within Google Merchant
Center. Shopping feeds hold all your product information, called
attributes, about your products like price, color, quantity, and more.
Google creates your Shopping ads and chooses when to serve
them on the SERP based on the details provided in your feed.
Because of this, the structure of your Shopping campaigns will be
different from other campaign types. Instead of “ad groups” you’ll
have “product groups” to separate out categories of products.

To narrow your targeting since your product feed subs in for your
keywords, you’ll rely on negative keywords and other targeting
parameters, like location settings and more.
Who they’re best for: Ecommerce advertisers looking to increase
sales online and local retailers looking to drive store traffic (see
local inventory ads below).

Types of Google Shopping ads

There are two types of Google Ads created for your Shopping
campaigns:
Product Shopping ads:

These are the regular Shopping ads you see on the SERP when looking to buy
something online. They include a picture of your product along with any
relevant information, like price.

Local inventory ads:

If you submit your store inventory to Google Ads Merchant Center, these ads
will show to nearby searchers. These ads are identical to Product Shopping ads,
but include whether the shown item is in stock for in-store pickups.
Google Shopping Ad Pros & Cons

Pros:

● Visual ads. Shopping ads contain real photos of the product you’re
selling, which makes them more attractive than text ads.
● Shopping ads can appear both in the regular Search tab and
the Shopping tab. Also, more than one of your Shopping ads
can appear for a given user search and, if relevant, a Shopping
ad and a text ad can appear at the same time.
● Shopping ads allow you indicate special attributes like
“Black-owned,” “price drop,” and more.

Cons:

● No keyword targeting means you have to be on top of your

negative keyword game, or you’ll likely see irrelevant traffic to
your landing pages.
● Your shopping feed needs to be optimized in order to create
high-quality ads for the right consumer.
● Requires Merchant Center account setup and integration with
your ecommerce site, which can be involved.
5. Google Smart campaigns

What they are: Smart campaigns are fully automated ads in

Google.

How they work: Smart campaigns are created and managed by

Google, you’ll just have to provide some initial information during
the setup process. These campaigns advertise your business across
Google Search, Maps, and other placements like YouTube or
partner sites.
When creating a Google Ads account, Google will actually
prompt you to create a Smart campaign:
It will ask for information like your business’s website URL, your
ideal keyword themes, and your business’s address or Google
Business Profile to create a customized strategy for you. The
drawback, of course, is you won’t necessarily be able to pick and
choose exactly how your campaign will serve.

Who they’re best for: Advertisers that don’t have a lot of time to
manage their Google Ads account could benefit from this fully
automated type of campaign, but in general, we don’t recommend
using Smart campaigns since you don’t have much control.
Types: Smart campaigns can serve Search ads or Display ads just
like the ones mentioned above.

Pros and cons: Since Google creates and manages this campaign
type, you’re saving lots of time. But lack of manual control can
mean a lot of trial and error with Google’s machine learning.
6. Google Performance Max campaigns

What they are: Another automated type of Google Ads campaign,

Performance Max wraps up all your assets in one swoop for
goal-based advertising across all of Google’s network. This means
that your ads could show on the SERP, in Google Maps, across the
Google Display Network, YouTube, Gmail, and Discovery networks.
How they work: You give Google a main goal along with assets
and information about your products or services, so that the
platform can auto-generate ads across all available placements.
You’re letting Google use machine learning to identify the
best-performing asset combinations and placements.
Who they’re best for: Since Performance Max requires a goal to be
set in order for it to work, it’s best for accounts that have specific
conversion goals already set up. Also, as mentioned in our
Performance Max guide, it’s best for ecommerce businesses at this
time (as opposed to lead gen businesses).
Types: Performance Max will put out almost every type of ad
possible across all placements.
Performance Max Pros & Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Performance Max campaigns:
Pros
● Target multiple placements with just one campaign.
● Focus on performance drivers. Testing and assessing
everything in one place can help you make strategic
decisions faster.
Cons:

● Requires a marketing budget some advertisers may not be able

to afford. PMax needs to be able to collect a good chunk of
data to fully optimize out of its initial learning period, so if you
don’t have at least $50-100 to spend per day you may fail to
see your desired results.
● Not for beginners. PMax requires you to provide a number of
assets, including text, images, logos, videos, feeds, audience
data, geo-targeting preferences, and more. An advertiser
totally new to the PPC game might not yet know what would be
best to plug into a Performance Max campaign.
● Not recommended for lead generation businesses.
● Requires an understanding of how your other campaigns are
impacted.
7. Google Ads App campaigns

What they are: App campaigns are meant to drive downloads or

engagement with your app and can appear on Search, Google
Play, YouTube, Discover on Google Search, and the Google Display
Network.

They look similar to that of other campaigns with a few lines of text
and an image of the app depending on the placement.
How they work: The ads are created using the text and images
provided in your app store listing, and you decide on other
campaign settings like budget or location. Google takes the
campaign information and settings you provide to know when to
best serve your app ad for you.

Who they’re best for: App campaigns are only applicable to

advertisers that have an app.
Types: There are three different types of App campaign
ads:
● App installs: These will have a download button
● App engagement: Drive existing app users to a specific landing
page.
● App pre-registration (Android only): Build an audience for
your app before it’s released on Google Play.
8. Google Ads Discovery campaigns

What they are: Discovery is another automated Google Ads

campaign type that allows advertisers to show ads across all of
Google’s feed placements to increase—you guessed it—discovery of
your products/services.

Those feed placements include Gmail (the Promotions and Social

tab feeds), YouTube (the Home feed and Watch Next feed), and the
Google app (the Discover feed).
How they work: Similar to other campaigns run by Google, you
have a say in the ad assets you provide, like text and images, but
when it comes to managing actual placements of your ads, the
platform takes care of it all for you.

Who they’re best for: If you’re looking to reach new audiences,

Discovery is the name of this campaign’s game, so it can be a great
option for businesses looking to drive brand awareness via
media-rich ads.
However, with a potential audience of up to 3 billion, only Smart
Bidding options, and full automation, this type of Google Ads
campaign requires you to put your foot on the gas without
expecting to do a ton of campaign oversight. If you like a lot of
manual control, this campaign type may not be for you.
Types: Google creates text, image, and video ads across users’
feeds within Gmail, YouTube, and the Google app.
Pros and cons: Helpful for businesses looking to grow that don’t
have a huge audience yet, but offer little control over placements.
9. Google Ads Local campaigns

What they are: This last type of Google Ads campaign is being
replaced by Performance Max. However, if you have a legacy Local
campaign already in your account, or still see it as an option when
you create a new campaign, you may be wondering what it’s all
about. Well, we have the answer: your Google Business Profile.
How they work: You link your Google Business Profile to your
account in order to promote your store or service locations across
Google Maps, the Search Network, YouTube, Gmail, and the Google
Display network.

Similar to some of the other cross-placement campaigns, you don’t

get a ton of control over how your ad looks or serves since you’re
just uploading assets, adding a budget, and a few lines of text.
Google uses that information you provide to know how to best
serve your local ads.
Best for: I would no longer recommend this type of Google Ads
campaign for local businesses since they’ll be upgraded manually
or automatically to Performance Max campaigns optimizing for
store goals by 2023. Given the budget needed for PMax campaigns,
I’d instead recommend a local inventory Shopping campaign for
ecommerce and retail, or a Local Services Ad for service-based
businesses.
10. Google Local Services Ads

What they are: Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) are not run
through the Google Ads platform, but they do appear on Google
Search. When customers click on the ads, they can either call your
business or message you.
How they work: Businesses complete their Google Business Profile and go
through an extensive verification process. Once you’re approved, your ad will
appear with a green badge or check-mark, and you only pay when a customer
contacts you from your ad

Types of Google LSAs

● Google Guaranteed LSAs are for blue-collar industries like plumbing,
housekeeping, and locksmiths.
● Google Screened LSAs are for white-collar industries like real estate,
lawyers, and accountants, and Google protects customers up to $2000 for
problems on the job.
Pros and Cons of LSAs

Pros
● Pay per lead
● Ads show at the top of the SERP, above Seach ads
● Any reviews you get on your Google Business Profile will appear
on your LSA profile and influence your ranking.
Cons

● Require a 3.0 average review rating to remain active.

● Any reviews you get on your LSA profile will disappear from
your organic Google Business Profile when you stop advertising.
Learn more with these seven LSA tips.