Demand Gen is Google's campaign type for video advertising. It replaces the older "Video Action" and "Discovery" campaign types with a unified format that runs across multiple Google properties:
Traditional video advertising requires separate video production, platform setup, and campaign management. ILLIXIS combines these:
You use content you've already created. No separate video production workflow.
Before launching Demand Gen campaigns, you need:
Go to Settings > Integrations > YouTube and connect your channel.
OAuth Flow:
Go to Settings > Integrations > Google Ads and connect your ad account.
The same Google account used for YouTube should manage your Google Ads account. This simplifies video asset permissions.
Create videos in Video Production and publish them to your YouTube channel. ILLIXIS tracks the YouTube video IDs for use in campaigns.
The fastest path is directly from a completed video:
Choose 1-5 videos for the campaign. Google Ads rotates videos or optimizes toward the best performer.
Best practice: Start with 1-2 videos. Add more after you identify what works.
Demand Gen ads include text overlays:
Google Ads tests combinations and optimizes toward the best performers.
AI-Generated Copy: Click "Generate Copy" and ILLIXIS writes headlines and descriptions tailored to your video content and target audience.
Choose from:
| CTA | When to Use |
|-----|-------------|
| Learn More | Educational content, awareness |
| Sign Up | Lead generation, email capture |
| Get Quote | Service businesses, consultations |
| Shop Now | E-commerce, direct sales |
| Book Now | Appointments, reservations |
Your business name appears on the ad. Upload a logo (optional but recommended) for brand recognition.
Where users go when they click the ad. This should match your CTA:
Custom Audiences: Use audiences created from your content readers. Go to Advertising > Audiences to create topic-based or content-specific audiences, then sync them to Google Ads.
Lookalike Audiences: Target people similar to your converters. Google Ads analyzes your customer list and finds similar users.
Interest-Based: Select interests and behaviors (e.g., "Marathon Running," "Fitness Enthusiasts").
In-Market: Target people actively researching products in your category.
Set age, gender, parental status, and household income filters.
Recommendation: Start broad. Google's optimization performs better with larger audiences (100k+).
Target by country, state, city, or radius around a location. Demand Gen supports all countries where Google Ads runs.
All devices (default): Recommended for most campaigns.
Mobile only: For app installs or mobile-optimized experiences.
Desktop/tablet: For complex products requiring larger screens.
Maximize Conversions (recommended): Google optimizes bids to get the most conversions within your budget. Requires conversion tracking.
Target CPA: Set a target cost per acquisition (e.g., $25 per lead). Google bids to hit this CPA on average.
Maximize Conversion Value: For e-commerce. Optimizes for revenue instead of conversion count.
Daily Budget: Maximum you'll spend per day (e.g., $50/day). Google may exceed on high-performing days and compensate with lower spend on others.
Campaign Total (optional): Set a lifetime budget for the campaign (e.g., $1,500 total). Campaign stops when reached.
Minimum Budget: Google recommends at least 10x your target CPA as a daily budget for learning phase. For a $20 CPA, budget $200/day or accept slower learning.
Enable or disable placements:
| Placement | Default | Notes |
|-----------|---------|-------|
| YouTube In-Stream | On | Skippable ads before videos |
| YouTube In-Feed | On | Ads in search and browse |
| YouTube Shorts | On | Vertical video ads |
| Discover | On | Google's content feed |
| Gmail | Off | Often lower quality traffic |
Recommendation: Start with all YouTube placements enabled, Gmail disabled. Review placement performance after 2 weeks.
| Metric | What It Means | Goal |
|--------|---------------|------|
| Impressions | Times your ad was shown | Awareness |
| Views | Video watched to completion (Shorts) or 30 seconds (in-stream) | Engagement |
| View Rate | Views / Impressions | 10-30% is typical |
| Clicks | Clicks on your CTA | Traffic |
| CTR | Clicks / Impressions | 0.5-2% is typical |
| Conversions | Goal completions | Actual results |
| CPV | Cost per view | Lower is better |
| CPC | Cost per click | Varies by industry |
| CPA | Cost per acquisition | Match to your unit economics |
Go to Advertising > Campaigns > [Your Campaign] to see:
For deeper analysis, use Google Ads directly:
ILLIXIS automatically syncs your YouTube Demand Gen data on a regular schedule:
| Data Type | Frequency | Timing |
|-----------|-----------|--------|
| YouTube Audience Sync | Daily | 7:00 AM UTC |
| Campaign Performance Metrics | Every 6 hours | 12:00 AM, 6:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 6:00 PM UTC |
| Video View Tracking | Daily | Updated overnight |
| Audience Recommendations | Weekly | Mondays |
What this means for you:
Manual refresh: If you need immediate data, go to the campaign detail page and click "Refresh Metrics." This pulls current data from Google Ads outside the automated schedule.
Demand Gen optimization requires conversion tracking. Without it, Google can't optimize bids.
Install the Google Ads conversion tag on your conversion pages (thank you page, order confirmation, etc.).
Via Google Tag Manager:
If you already track conversions in GA4:
Demand Gen campaigns require videos already uploaded to YouTube. ILLIXIS handles this from Video Production.
ILLIXIS uploads the video and tracks the YouTube video ID for use in campaigns.
Unlisted: Video doesn't appear in search or your channel, but anyone with the link can watch. Recommended for ads.
Public: Video appears on your channel and in YouTube search. Use if you want organic reach in addition to paid.
Private: Only you can watch. Not suitable for ads.
Shorts: Vertical videos (9:16 aspect ratio) under 60 seconds automatically become Shorts. These appear in the Shorts feed.
Standard: Horizontal (16:9) or vertical videos over 60 seconds. These run as in-stream ads.
You can run both in the same campaign. Google Ads serves the appropriate format based on placement.
80% of viewers skip after 5 seconds. Open with your strongest hook to stop the scroll.
Examples:
Show marathon training tips to readers of your marathon content. Don't show generic fitness content. Relevance drives conversion.
80% of social video is watched without sound. Always enable captions in Video Production.
Run 2-3 video variations per campaign. Different hooks, different angles. Google optimizes toward winners.
Shorter Shorts have higher completion rates. Aim for 15-25 seconds for ad content.
YouTube in-feed placements favor square (1:1) or vertical (9:16) over horizontal (16:9). Produce multiple aspect ratios if targeting feed.
After 2 weeks, check which placements convert. Pause underperformers. Common finding: Shorts and in-feed outperform in-stream for direct response.
Limit how often the same person sees your ad. Go to Campaign Settings > Frequency Capping and set "3 impressions per week" to avoid ad fatigue.
Cause: YouTube video is private, restricted, or doesn't meet ad policies.
Fix:
Cause: Budget too low, targeting too narrow, or creative rejected.
Fix:
Cause: Video engages viewers but doesn't drive action.
Fix:
Cause: Conversion tag not installed or not firing.
Fix:
Q: How long should my video be? Shorts: 15-60 seconds. In-stream: 30-90 seconds. Longer videos work for educational content if the hook is strong.
Q: Can I use videos not created in ILLIXIS? Yes. Upload any video to your YouTube channel, then select it in the campaign builder.
Q: What's a good budget to start with? $20-50/day minimum. Less than that and Google's learning phase takes weeks.
Q: How long does the learning phase last? 7-14 days. During this time, Google tests different audiences and bids. Don't make changes during learning.
Q: Should I target keywords? Demand Gen doesn't use keyword targeting like Search campaigns. It uses audience signals, interests, and in-feed placements.
Q: Can I retarget with Demand Gen? Yes. Use Custom Audiences (website visitors, email lists) as targeting criteria.
Q: What's the difference between Demand Gen and TrueView? Demand Gen is newer, includes Shorts and Discovery, and has better optimization. TrueView is legacy. Use Demand Gen.
Q: Do I need a separate campaign for Shorts? No. One campaign can include both standard videos and Shorts. Google serves the right format based on placement.
What This Does
Location: Advertising → Prospecting Tab → Create Campaign
Location: Advertising → Dashboard → Google Ads Tab → Project → Ad Builder
Reach TV audiences through Roku's Connected TV platform. ILLIXIS makes TV advertising accessible to small and medium businesses with a $500 minimum budget compared to $10K+ for traditional TV.
Location: Advertising → Audiences → LinkedIn Opportunities bell notifications
One platform. You approve. ILLIXIS executes. Marketing that just happens.
Marketing, Unstacked.