Google Ads Campaign Types Explained: Search, PMax and Demand Gen

What are the Google Ads campaign types in 2026?

Google’s About campaign types page lists six main campaign types: Performance Max, Search, Display, Video, App and Shopping. Demand Gen and Smart campaigns are separate types with their own help pages. Each type decides where your ads show and what you must give Google to run them.

Google says you choose a campaign type “based on your marketing goals, brand strategy, and how much time you can invest.” A packers and movers firm in Sohna Road wants calls today, while a new coaching centre in Sector 29 may also want parents to know its name before admissions open. The two goals point to different campaign types.

A few older names you may still see in guides are gone. Google’s upgrade note says Local and Smart Shopping campaigns were upgraded to Performance Max in 2022, and new ones can no longer be created. Video action campaigns have also moved to Demand Gen (more on that below). AI Max is not a campaign type either: Google’s AI Max page says it is an optimisation layer you can switch on inside an existing Search campaign.

How does a Search campaign work, and why do most service businesses start there?

A Search campaign shows text ads on Google search results when someone types words that match your keywords. It needs keywords and ads, and Google notes you can skip images and other files, so it is the quickest type to launch and the easiest to judge.

For a service business the search itself tells you the intent. Someone typing “packers and movers in Gurgaon”, “skin clinic near me” or “solar panel installation for home” is already looking for what you sell. You choose the keywords, the areas you serve, the hours your ads run and the page people land on. When the phone rings, you can usually tell which keyword brought the call.

• What it needs: a keyword list, negative keywords, text ads, a landing page that matches the search and a daily budget.
• Assets that help local trades: call assets, location assets and sitelinks. Google stopped letting advertisers create new call-only ads in February 2026, so phone-first campaigns now rely on call assets.
• Conversion data: useful from day one, but not required to launch. You can start with clicks or calls and move to conversion-based bidding as data builds up.
• Control: the search terms report shows the exact searches that triggered your ads, so wasted spend is easy to spot and block.

Our step-by-step campaign guide walks through building a Search campaign from scratch, so this post does not repeat the setup screens.

What is Performance Max, and how is it different from a Search campaign?

Performance Max is a goal-based campaign that runs your ads across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps from one campaign. Instead of keywords, you give Google conversion goals, text, images and videos, and its automation decides where and to whom the ads show.

According to Google’s Performance Max overview, you define the conversion actions you care about, supply creative assets and can add audience signals and search themes to steer it. Brand exclusions can stop it from showing on searches you do not want. Reporting covers channel performance, asset groups and placements, but you still give up much of the keyword-level control a Search campaign gives you.

That last row matters if you run both. Google says Search campaigns with an exact match keyword are prioritised over Performance Max when the search matches that keyword. So a solar installer can keep tight exact match keywords for its core service in Search, while Performance Max looks for extra demand elsewhere.

The weak point for small service firms is input quality. If calls are not tracked, or the only conversion is a page view, Performance Max optimises towards the wrong thing. It also needs good images and video.

What is a Demand Gen campaign, and what happened to Display?

Demand Gen runs image and video ads on YouTube, Discover, Gmail and the Google Display Network. It is meant to reach people before they search, and Google is now folding standalone Display campaigns and the old Video action campaigns into it.

Google’s Demand Gen page lists the assets: landscape (1.91:1), square (1:1) and portrait (4:5) images, a square logo, landscape, square and vertical videos, plus headlines, descriptions, a business name and a call to action. You can run image-only or video-only campaigns, but Google says using both typically performs better. Bidding can aim for clicks, conversions or conversion value, and for target cost per action bidding Google recommends a daily budget of at least ten times your target.

Two changes are worth knowing:

• Display is moving into Demand Gen. Google’s Display migration page says Display campaigns now have a new home as the Google Display Network inside Demand Gen. A phased migration tool started rolling out in June 2026, remaining eligible campaigns will be migrated automatically later, and new Display campaigns will eventually only be created inside Demand Gen. Google has not given a date for that last step.
• Video action campaigns are now Demand Gen. Google’s Video action campaign page says new Video action campaigns could no longer be created from April 2025 and the final ones were upgraded to Demand Gen by April 2026.

For a local business, the practical point is simple. Display and Demand Gen-style campaigns suit remarketing to people who already visited your site, and showing your work to people in your area before they need you. They rarely bring as many ready-to-book enquiries as Search, so judge them on assisted leads and cost per lead over weeks, not on clicks.

What can YouTube (Video) campaigns do for a local business?

Video campaigns show ads on YouTube and Google video partners. Google’s video ad formats page says the video must be hosted on YouTube, and ads can appear in places such as the Home feed, Watch Next, search results and Shorts.

Google’s campaign types page lists Video subtypes such as Video reach, Get views and Ad sequence. It still mentions Drive conversions (Video action), but as explained above, new Video action campaigns can no longer be created, so YouTube campaigns aimed at leads now run through Demand Gen.

Short, honest videos work well for trades where trust matters:

• A packers and movers firm showing its packing materials and how a crew wraps furniture.
• A clinic introducing the doctor, the reception and what a first visit is like.
• A solar installer walking through a finished rooftop and the inverter set-up, without promising savings.
• A coaching centre showing a sample class, the classroom and how doubt sessions run.

Use location targeting so a Gurgaon business is not paying for views in cities it cannot serve, and add your site visitors as an audience so returning viewers see the next video in your story.

Shopping, App and Smart campaigns: who are they for?

Shopping campaigns are for retailers with a product feed, App campaigns are for businesses with a mobile app, and Smart campaigns are a simplified option for small businesses that want minimal setup. Most service businesses will not need the first two.

• Shopping: Google says you need a Merchant Center account where you upload your product inventory. Merchant Center then creates ads from your product feed with an image, title, price and store name. Shopping can also run through Performance Max with a Merchant Center data source. A mover or a clinic has no product feed, so this type does not fit them; an online store or a shop selling solar products might use it.
• App: Google says App campaigns use information from your app to optimise ads across Search, Google Play, YouTube, Discover and partner sites. You need a published app. Subtypes include app installs, app engagement and pre-registration where your account is eligible.
• Smart: Google’s Smart campaigns page says you write an ad (3 to 15 headlines and 2 to 4 descriptions), pick keyword themes and set a budget, and ads can show on Google Search, Google Maps and YouTube. A map pin needs the campaign linked to a Business Profile. Smart campaigns can only be created in Smart Mode, and Google may create and test alternate versions of your ads.

Smart campaigns are easy to start but give less control over which searches you pay for, so many owners later move to a standard Search campaign.

Which Google Ads campaign type should a service business start with?

For lead generation, start with one Search campaign with call assets and location targeting. Service customers search when they have a need, Search reaches them at that moment, and it needs no images, videos or product feed to launch.

The table below shows a sensible first and second campaign for common local trades. The second type comes later, once tracking proves the first one works.

Each trade has its own rules and keyword groups. See our pages on Google Ads for packers and movers, solar panel installers and repair services, and our guide to Google Ads for doctors and clinics, which covers the healthcare policy points.

What does each campaign type need before you launch it?

Search needs keywords and text ads. Performance Max needs conversion goals, images and video. Demand Gen and Display need good images, Video needs a YouTube video, Shopping needs a product feed and App needs a published app. Check this list before choosing.

Conversion data is the item most local businesses are missing. Calls from ads, calls from the website, WhatsApp clicks and quote forms all need to count as conversions before any automated campaign can learn what a good lead looks like. Our guide on tracking calls, WhatsApp and forms in Google Ads shows how to set each one up.

When should you add a second campaign type?

Add a second type when your Search campaign is tracked, steady and limited by search volume, not by poor setup. If Search is still wasting money on wrong searches, a second type usually spreads the same problem wider.

1. Calls, WhatsApp clicks and form submissions are all recorded as conversions, and you have checked that the numbers match what reaches your phone and inbox.
2. Your Search campaign has run for several weeks with regular search term reviews and a working negative keyword list.
3. Your cost per lead is acceptable and you are losing impressions to budget or simply running out of searches in your area.
4. You have the creative the next type needs: photos of real work for Display or Demand Gen, a short video on YouTube for Video, or a product feed for Shopping.
5. You know the job of the new campaign: remarketing to past visitors, reaching new people in your area, or adding Performance Max to pick up extra demand.
6. You set a separate budget for it and judge it on leads over a month, not on clicks in its first week.

For many service businesses the second step is remarketing: showing Display or YouTube ads to people who visited the site but did not call. It is low risk because the audience already knows you.

How DVM Techno can help

Our Google Ads team works from Sector 84, Gurgaon, with a local office in Kasni, Jhajjar. We plan, set up and manage Search, Display and YouTube campaigns with call and location assets and remarketing, write the ad copy and creatives, build landing pages where needed and set up conversion tracking correctly.

You get weekly reports on reach, clicks, leads and cost per lead, plus a monthly review call. Ad spend is paid directly to Google, separately from our fee. If you already run ads, we start with a free audit within 48 hours to show where the budget goes and which campaign types fit your goals. See our Google Ads management page for details.

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