Increasingly, consumers are favouring online shopping versus the brick and mortar route – evident by all the online sales your apps are nudging at you (witness 11.11, 12.12, 9.9, festive season sales, Black Friday, et cetera). In South-east Asia alone, GMV* rose to US$11 billion in 2024, a feat far from the US$4 billion in 2022.
*Gross Merchandise Value
To stand out among competitors, your digital marketing needs closer scrutiny. There’s varied channels and strategies, such as social media, influencer marketing, display & video, and even live reels.
For this blog post, we’ll be focusing on campaigns that you can create using features from Google Ads and/or solutions from Google Marketing Platform. We’re selecting those that have e-commerce capabilities, such as linking to a Google Merchant Centre or similar feed capabilities.
1. Awareness Stage: Demand Gen Campaigns
If you have compelling social video assets or you’re at the early stage of a product rollout, Demand Gen campaigns are ideal to start with. This campaign type is great for brand awareness, and your ads are served on visually-driven platforms.
Key features
- Versatile Ad Formats: Includes short-form videos, carousels, and portrait ads, catering to diverse creative needs.
- Advanced Targeting: Uses Lookalike segments to effectively reach potential customers.
- Cross-Platform Management: Available in Google Ads and Display and Video 360 (DV360), enabling advertisers to manage campaigns seamlessly.
2. Consideration stage: video campaigns
Videos can be a powerful medium to encourage engagement. It also allows short or long form content, meaning you can story-tell your product features or services further to build trust.
Key features
- YouTube-Centric: Show ads on YouTube and partner sites, leveraging Google’s vast video inventory.
- Seamless Integration: Manage video inventory through Google Ads and DV360.
- Transition to Demand Gen: By Q2 2025, video action campaigns (currently in DV360) will evolve into Demand Gen campaigns for enhanced functionality.
3. Conversion stage: Performance Max Campaigns
If you’re seeking to enhance your campaign effectiveness, Performance Max is a great contender. According to the Google Ads help centre, Performance Max “uses Google AI across bidding, budget optimization, audiences, creatives, attribution, and more.” It’s an optimal campaign type, as you’re able to reach likely-to-convert audiences across Google’s channels such as YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail and Maps. You can use Performance Max in Google Ads and Search Ads 360.
Expert notes on Performance Max
Performance Max (PMax) is an automation-type campaign, so it relies on data. From our experience, if you have a large conversion volume, you could get better performance for your PMax campaign. This is why e-commerce industries have the better shot of having PMax work for them, though it must be said that PMax can technically work for every industry.
When operating PMax, you may encounter two major challenges:
- Short-term instability in performance and spending.
- Limited opportunities for proactive optimization.
If you’re a Search Ads 360 (SA360) user, the good news is that SA360 can resolve these challenges.
As we know, having a realistic goal is a crucial part of algorithm learning. SA360’s bidding strategy makes multiple slight adjustments automatically to the target goal throughout the day, aligning more closely with real data to enhance algorithm learning.
This not only reduces the time spent on manual management but also unlocks further performance potential for PMax.
We’ll feature more details in an upcoming post about PMax.
Key Features
- Enhanced Product Visibility: PMax integrates with product feeds, showcasing detailed product information, including images and attributes.
- Cross-Channel Reach: PMax campaigns access Google Ads’ broad network, including YouTube, Search, Display, and Discover.
- Local Inventory Ads (LIA) Integration: Promotes in-store products and offers options like “Pickup Today” or “Pickup Later.”
Conclusion
From demand generation to Performance Max, Google Ads offers a comprehensive suite of campaign types that align with every stage of your e-commerce customer journey. By strategically implementing these campaigns based on your business objectives—whether building awareness, driving consideration, or maximizing conversions—you can create a holistic approach that meets customers where they are. The key to success lies in leveraging the right campaign type at the right time, while continuously optimizing based on performance data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common queries about Google Ads campaigns for e-commerce businesses:
Which campaign type is best for new product launches?
Demand Generation campaigns are ideal for new product launches, as they focus on building awareness through visually engaging formats across multiple platforms.
How can I optimize Performance Max campaigns?
Provide high-quality assets, maintain consistent conversion tracking, and allow sufficient learning time. SA360 users can benefit from automated bid adjustments that enhance algorithm learning.
What’s the minimum budget for effective e-commerce campaigns?
While budgets vary by market and competition, we recommend starting with at least $50-100 daily for Performance Max campaigns to gather sufficient data for optimization.