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The best Google Ads campaign types for different stages of the marketing funnel

By Umay Jones on January 9, 2025

Google Ads is a globally accessible advertising platform that offers a diverse range of campaign types tailored to different marketing objectives.

For this reason, it is the most popular advertising platform for brands wanting to leverage the power of Google to reach their audiences.

But with a multitude of campaign types available, how do you make sure you are choosing the right campaign types to achieve your marketing and business goals?

First of all, you need to understand the marketing funnel. For your advertising campaigns to be successful, it is crucial to understand the customer journey and how it corresponds with the stages of the marketing funnel.

The marketing funnel represents the path a potential customer walks, from the initial awareness stage for your product or service, all the way to the final purchase at the end.

Google Ads offers various campaign types, designed to follow this journey and ensure that your marketing strategies are both focused and effective.

First there is the awareness stage, where you introduce your product or service to the potential customer.

  • Display campaigns are ideal here as they have a wide reach. Display ads are visually engaging and allow you to introduce your brand visually, showing banner ads on the Google Display Network.
  • Video campaigns are also great at this stage. Video ads can emotionally connect with your audience, leveraging YouTube and other video platforms to capture attention with dynamic video content and build brand recognition.
  • Demand Gen campaigns (previously known as Discovery campaigns) are perhaps more commonly associated with the interest and consideration stages of the marketing funnel, but they can be used in the awareness stage too. Demand Gen ads are visually appealing and are designed to maximise clicks. They differ from Display ads in that they are much more driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and have cross-platform reach. It also helps refine audience targeting, even during the awareness stage, making it more efficient for driving qualified leads early in the funnel.

Next, there are the interest and consideration stages, where the potential customer becomes more familiar with your brand and begins to consider your product or service.

  • Search campaigns are ideal for this stage. Search ads appear in the search results when a user is actively searching on Google for information related to your product or service.
  • Video campaigns carry on building the emotional bond between your brand and the potential customer.
  • Demand Gen campaigns do exactly as they say on the tin; they create demand and are specifically designed to generate interest in your product or service.

Next, there are the intent and evaluation stages, where the potential customer is strongly considering making a purchase and ponders their decision.

  • Performance Max campaigns (also known as PMax campaigns) can make a real difference here. Performance Max ads utilise Google’s machine learning to optimise ads across all channels and reach users that are ready to convert.
  • Search campaigns can be used here for remarketing, allowing you to capture the people who have previously interacted with your website or ads, already know your brand and are ready to purchase your product or service.

And finally, there is the purchase stage, where the potential customer has made up their mind and is ready to purchase your product or service.

  • Performance Max campaigns are the main driver at this stage.
  • Search campaigns at this stage are conversion focused. Your keywords should be long-tailed and more detailed, with a compelling call-to-action to ensure your potential customer converts.

Want to learn more?

I hope this blog post has been a useful introduction to how to choose the right Google Ads campaign type for your needs. For more in-depth information and advice, read my full-length guide here! From reading this guide, you will learn about:

  • the marketing funnel
  • the main Google Ads campaign types (specifically Search, Display, Video, Demand Gen and Performance Max campaigns)
  • how to choose the right Google Ads campaign type
  • the pros and cons of different Google Ads campaign types

You can also watch a recording of a webinar that I co-presented on this topic, here.

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Umay Jones

International Paid Media Strategist at Webcertain
Umay brings a strong academic background in advertising and public relations from Turkey to her role at Webcertain. Based in the UK since 2009, she excels in assisting international brands to achieve global success through targeted PPC media strategies. With over a decade of experience in digital marketing, Umay has been instrumental in launching and scaling brands across various global markets, demonstrating a deep understanding of international digital marketing nuances. Previously, Umay bolstered her international expertise by delivering specialised PPC training in key cities including Istanbul, London, Munich and Barcelona, providing brands with essential tools for successful market entry and growth.

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