There are 6 different types of campaigns in Google Ads and in this blog we are going to describe how they work. Different types of campaigns primarily determine where your ads are going to be shown to potential customers on the Google’s advertising networks such as Google Search Network, Google Display Network and YouTube Network.

Campaign types that are included in the Google Ads are:

1. Search Network with Display Select
2. Search Network Only
3. Display Network Only
4. Shopping
5. Video
6. Apps

1. Search Network with Display

If you decide to use this type of campaign your ads will be visible on the Google Search Network and Google Display Network. This is a great way to be visible in two places and basically doing two things. First, you are present on the Search network whenever someone looks for your product or service which increases a chance for conversion. Second, by being present on display network you are working on your brand awareness as well. Although this campaign type is a good way to achieve your traffic and awareness goals, in our experience it is better to separate this campaign type into Search Network Only and Display Network Only. If you do it that way you can control your budget, bids, placements, etc. separately for search and separately for display.

2. Search Network Only

This is the most commonly used campaign type. You can choose your ads to appear on the Google Search Network, but if you want a wider reach you can also choose your ads to be eligible to show on Google Search Partners Network. Search Terms and phrases are what trigger your, so it is really important to set your keywords right from the start. You can read more about the keyword types on our previous blog.

Search Network Only campaign is ideal for all those businesses that want to be present as soon as someone looks for their product or service.

3. Display Network Only

„An image speaks a thousand words“. The best way for people to notice your brand or your current offer is by displaying them a great picture that will represent your brand in the best possible way. This is also one of the best ways to find your audience. When creating a display network only campaign Google offers you different kind of audiences to choose from. You can choose between different types of interest, demographics, gender etc. All in all you can be pretty detailed, while creating your audience, just be careful, because if you put too much detail or restrictions your audience size is going to be too small and your ads won’t reach as much people as you initially wanted to reach. Keep in mind, that brand awareness is goal number one with this type of campaign, so restricting your potential reach too much might not be such a good idea.

4. Shopping campaigns

Shopping campaigns are the best way to drive online sales. To get started with this type of campaign you need to send your product data with Merchant Center and create a campaign in Google Ads. Ads consist of text, picture of product, price, store name and are eligible to show in Google Search and Display Network, YouTube and Google shopping. Shopping campaigns are most commonly used for E-Commerce businesses that want to drive more profit to their online sales.

Note: Shopping ads are not available in all countries!

5. Video campaigns 

Video is currently number one format for exposing your content to potential customers, so use it. Video ads will be eligible to show primarily on YouTube and across the Google Display Network. There are different kind of video formats, so be sure to adjust your video ads accordingly. Video campaigns are a very popular and effective way of advertising for all types of businesses. It is also a very good replacement for TV ads, not to mention cheaper and more measurable.

6. Apps

This type of campaign is best used only when you have an app that you want to promote or you want to increase your apps downloads. To be more specific app campaigns offer 3 ways of optimization, depending on what your goal is. As we mentioned you can focus on getting more installs, driving specific in-app actions and focusing on driving in-app action value. Ads will appear in Google Search and Display Network as well as Google Play and YouTube.

If you are new at Google advertising world it can be pretty challenging to choose from all these different types of campaigns. Our advice is to at least to consult with specialist if not hiring them to do the job for you. If you think this is something you can manage on your own for whatever reasons, that’s ok, but initially it would be really important to take some advice from someone who has experience in this. In the long run this will save you money, trust us.

But, if you decide this is just a little to big of a task for you, don’t hesitate to contact us.