Google Ads Campaign Types: Search, Display, Video

Google Ads offers multiple campaign types to meet different marketing objectives. The three primary formats—Search, Display, and Video—allow advertisers to connect with users across the buyer journey, from search intent to awareness and engagement. Understanding the core purpose and best use of each campaign type is essential for building a full-funnel SEM strategy.

1. Search Campaigns

Purpose:
Reach users actively searching for specific products, services, or information.

How It Works:
Text ads appear on the Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) when someone types in a query related to your keywords. You bid on those keywords, and your ad competes in an auction to appear.

Key Features:

• High intent traffic (users are actively looking)
• Ideal for lead generation, direct conversions, and sales
• Can include ad extensions (e.g., sitelinks, callouts)

Best For:

• Businesses looking for conversions (sales/leads)
• Targeting users with clear intent to purchase or act

Example:
A user searches “buy running shoes online.” If you run a shoe store with a search campaign, your text ad might appear at the top of the results.

2. Display Campaigns

Purpose:
Build brand awareness and reach users across the internet, even when they are not actively searching.

How It Works:
Image or banner ads appear across the Google Display Network (GDN)—a large collection of websites, mobile apps, and YouTube—based on user interests, behavior, demographics, or remarketing lists.

Key Features:

• Visually appealing (uses banners and graphics)
• Lower cost-per-click than search ads
• Great for retargeting past website visitors

Best For:

• Brand awareness and visibility
• Re-engaging potential customers (retargeting)
• Driving traffic to new offers or product launches

Example:
A user browses a news site and sees a banner ad for a fitness brand they visited last week—encouraging them to return and shop.

3. Video Campaigns

Purpose:
Engage users with compelling video content and storytelling on YouTube and partner sites.

How It Works:
Video ads are shown before, during, or after YouTube videos, or as standalone ads on YouTube’s homepage, search results, or across video partner sites.

Key Features:

• High engagement through sight, sound, and motion
• Multiple formats (skippable, non-skippable, bumper ads)
• Powerful targeting by interests, behavior, demographics, or keywords

Best For:

• Increasing brand recall and awareness
• Promoting product launches, offers, or storytelling
• Capturing new audiences through video-based experiences

Example:
A user watches a workout tutorial on YouTube and sees a 15-second ad for a protein supplement brand before the video plays.

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