Why Demand Gen Can Be Superior for Service Businesses Over Performance Max

knowing which campaign formats to use for your PPC campaign can significantly impact sales and client engagements. For service-based businesses, choosing the right strategy is specially essential as they tend to be high Involvement Transactions. Here, we’ll explore why Demand Gen campaigns are more effective than Performance Max for service-based businesses.

Short Summary

Demand Gen campaigns are tailored to service-based businesses by generating interest and demand through ad formats like carousels, single images, and videos, similar to Meta advertising.

Key features of Demand Gen include setting lead forms as conversion goals, starting with a target budget close to the daily budget and adjusting over time for cost-effective results, loading existing audiences into custom segments, leveraging look-alike audiences for broader reach, targeting specific interests and demographics, and excluding already converted customers.

What is Demand Gen Campaigns

Demand Gen campaigns, introduced in 2024, are designed to generate interest and demand for services rather than products. This focus is critical for businesses offering services, as it allows for more targeted and effective marketing efforts. You can select from three ad formats: carousels, single images, and videos, each necessitating headlines and descriptions. This approach is akin to Meta advertising.

Performance Max May Not Be Ideal for Advertising Services

Performance Max campaigns are leaning primarily to product-based businesses, with the inclusion of Google Shopping and Search Network. Most Google Shopping Ads campaigns are now being converted to Performance Max with sales goals such ROAS target. Though it still may be early to tell, the emphasis on products means that Performance Max campaigns may not effectively capture the nuances of promoting services.

The Advantage of Lead Generation

For service-based businesses, lead generation is key. Demand Gen campaigns excel in this area by displaying ads on platforms like YouTube, Discover, and Gmail with engaging images and video content. Unlike Performance Max, these campaigns do not appear in search results, which can be an advantage for businesses looking to avoid the highly competitive search ad space.

Key Features of Demand Gen Campaigns

1.      Conversion Goals: In Demand Gen campaigns, you can set lead forms as your conversion goals. This feature is particularly beneficial for service businesses looking to capture potential clients’ information.

2.      Budget Management: It’s recommended to start with a target goal close to the daily budget, within 10-20%, and adjust over time. This approach ensures that the campaign remains cost-effective while achieving desired results.

3.      Audience Segmentation: If you have an existing audience, you can load it into the custom segments section. Additionally, Demand Gen campaigns offer look-alike audiences, which is a advantage over Performance Max. If your audience is small, you can choose a broad reach with a 10% look-alike segment.

4.      Interest and Demographics Targeting: Similar to other feed-based advertising platforms like Meta, Demand Gen allows you to target specific interests and detailed demographics.

5.      Exclusion Options: Another useful feature is the ability to exclude people from your audience list such as those who have already converted into customers. This ensures that your campaigns are reaching new potential clients.

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