Got a business and an advertising budget — even a relatively modest one? Let us introduce you to your new best friend: Google Ads.

Unless you’re just coming out of a decades-long digital detox, you’ve met Google Ads before. But if you’ve never run a Google Ad campaign (or if you have, but you’re not sure you’re doing it right), you may have little to no idea what goes on behind the curtain.

In this post, we will fill you in on what kinds of ads you can run on Google, along with the details you need to choose where to spend your paid advertising budget.

How Many Types of Google Ads Are There?

This question is surprisingly difficult to answer. Google it, and you’ll get links to articles claiming that there are anywhere from three to 22 types of Google Ads.

Why all the confusion?

Short answer: There are nine types of Google Ad campaigns.

Long(ish) answer:

• Within each of the nine Google Ad categories, there may be different ad formats or subcategories.
• Depending on how you define what counts as its own subcategory, you could end up with a list of 18, 22, or more.
• Also, Google frequently changes its ad campaign parameters, launches new campaign types, and renames or kills old campaign types.

If you’re feeling confused, you’re not alone. We’re here to help.

Official List of Nine Google Ad Campaign Types (According to Google)

When in doubt, go to the source. As of today, Google lists eight types of ad campaigns on its main page:

1. Search Ads Ads that appear on Google’s search engine results page (SERP)
2. Performance Max Ads Dynamically-generated cross-platform ads
3. Display Ads Ads that appear on webpages in Google’s display network
4. Shopping Ads Ads that are included at the top of the SERP for queries that indicate an intent to purchase a product
5. Video Ads Ads in video format that can show on YouTube or in Google’s display network
6. App Ads Multi-platform ad campaigns designed specifically to drive app downloads
7. Smart Ads Fully automated “set it and forget it” Google Ads
8. Discovery Ads Another type of automated ad that places ad creative in Google’s feeds (Gmail, YouTube, and the Google app)

Bonus: Google Local Services Ads

…But, wait, there’s more!

One more, to be precise.

9. Google Local Services Ads Google doesn’t list this type of ad on its Google Ads page because technically they don’t run on the Google Ads platform. Instead, businesses have to go through the process of completing a Google Business Profile and getting verified. Once you’re Google-official, you can run ads that will appear in local search results, and you’ll pay when a potential customer clicks to contact you.

Subcategories of Google Ad Campaigns

So, if there are nine types of Google ads, why all the resources out there that say there are 11, or 18, or 22? As we mentioned, you can slice each main type of campaign into subcategories — and there is no 100% official end-all be-all slicing procedure.

For example, we’ve seen resources that slice Google Search Ads into subcategories like “branded search ads,” “generic search ads,” and “competitor search ads.” Really, they’re all search ads, just with different keyword strategies. It’s true that you can bid on your business’ “branded” terms (like your brand name), or on your competitor’s branded terms, or on any number of other keywords that are valuable to your business. But calling these different “types” of Google ads is a little misleading.

We like to keep things more simple.

Every Google ad you run can be grouped into subcategories based on one or more of the following characteristics:

• Targeting
• Goal
• Placement
• Format
• Functionality

Some ads limit you to certain types of targeting, goals, platforms, etc. Other ads give you multiple options to mix and match. We’ll go over each characteristic first, and in the next section of this post we’ll break down Google’s list of nine ad types by the characteristics of the ads you can run.

Google Ad Targeting

When it comes to whom you want to target — and how you want to target them — Google Ads give you a dizzying array of options. In the interests of simplicity, here are the main types of Google Ad targeting choices.

Keep in mind that not all of these targeting options are available for all ad types. In addition, some ad types let you get very specific with custom targeting; others will create targets for you dynamically based on your ads and landing page content.

Google Ad Goals

Even though Google’s paid ads sometimes get lumped together under the term pay-per-click (PPC), you’re not always paying by the click. Different ad types let you set different goals, and you’ll pay when users complete a goal action. For example:

As with targeting, not all goals are available for all ad types.

N.B.: The word “goal,” in this context doesn’t necessarily mean your strategic goal for the campaign — it just means the specific action you want users to take directly from your ad, which is what you pay for. You might have a Google Search Ad campaign driving users to a landing page with a lead-generation form to download a valuable eBook. Your campaign’s strategic goal is to generate high-quality leads. But you’re paying Google per click to the landing page, so “clicks” are the immediate campaign goal.

Placement

Your Google Ads’ placement refers to where they appear. Your options for placement will depend on what kind of ads you’re running, but these are the main categories:

It’s important to note that for Google Ads, all placements need to be either on Google’s SERP, YouTube, or Google’s Display Network — a group of more than two million websites, videos, and apps that have agreed to display Google Ads. (Google Video Partners, or GVP, is a subset of Google’s Display Network that focuses on video.)

Google Ad Formats

One of the important types of ad characteristics is their format. This refers to the types of media included in an ad, as well as how that media is displayed. Some Google Ad types are limited to just one format; others will let you mix and match.

Google Ads Functionality

Google Ads function differently depending on the type of ad. For our purposes, we define the types of Google Ads functionality as:

Google Ads Functionality
Static Ads	Dynamic Ads	Responsive Ads
Ads that appear exactly as you specify and do not change in response to user behavior, device, etc. You provide the assets for these ads, and any A/B testing you want to run is up to you.	Dynamic Ads automatically generate ad copy from the landing pages, product pages, or other site content you’re targeting.  Dynamic ads let you capture additional audiences that you’re not explicitly targeting by matching their searches and behavior with your page content.	Responsive ads mix and match ad assets that you provide, testing different combinations and learning which ads work best for different users based on things like their device, their browsing behavior, their keyword searches, etc.

What Are the Different Types of Google Ads?

Now, let’s go back to our list of nine Google Ad types and figure out all our options based on targeting, goals, placement, format, content, and functionality. We’ll include examples of each type of Google Ad, as well as pros and cons.

Hold on to your hats.

1. Google Search Ad Campaigns

What are they? The type of ad most people think of when they think of PPC, search ad campaigns show ads on Google’s SERP.

The Three Types of Google Search Ad Campaigns:

• Call-only Ads
• Responsive Search Ads
• Dynamic Search Ads

Call-only Ads

Call-only ads are exactly what they sound like: A Google Search Ad that lists a click-to-call phone number. These ads will only be displayed on devices that make phone calls. You can also add an optional URL as a secondary call-to-action (CTA).

Call-only ads can also include:

• Location assets (address, map, and/or distance to your business)
• Structured snippet assets (additional information that will appear beneath the ad text)
• Callout assets (short phrases that highlight unique business offerings — such as a sale, 24-hour service, competitive pricing, etc. — which appear alongside the headline)

Targeting	Keyword Location
Goal	Contact (click to call)
Placement	Google SERP (mobile only)
Format	Text
Functionality	Static

Best for: Businesses that want to increase the number of phone calls they get from prospective customers.

Pros: Effective at generating bottom-of-the-funnel leads.

Cons: Not effective for capturing leads that aren’t ready to make a phone call.

Example:

Responsive Search Ads

Responsive search ads automatically mix and match different ad headlines and descriptions, testing to see which performs best with which search queries. Over time, this results in the most effective version of your ads showing up in search results. You can enter up to 15 headlines and four descriptions for a single ad. You can also include up to 15 images and up to five 30-second YouTube videos.

Targeting	Keyword Location
Goal	Clicks
Placement	Google SERP
Format	Text Image Video
Functionality	Responsive

Best for: Businesses with the budget and patience to allow time for Google’s algorithms to run enough tests and determine the optimal ad combinations.

Pros:

• Saves the time and effort of manual A/B tests
• Allows you to compete in more auctions with a wider variety of ad content
• Offers the fastest way to scale your Google ad campaigns

Cons:

• Requires strong copywriting skills to create multiple headlines and descriptions that all work when mixed and matched
• Requires a bigger budget to optimize performance

Examples:

1. Search term: Best place to work out near me

2. Search term: Fitness classes near me

Dynamic Search Ads

Dynamic search ads automatically target search terms that are relevant to the content on your website. Google pulls text, images, and/or videos from your site (or specific pages of your site) to create ads that are highly relevant for someone searching for the types of products or services you offer on your site.

Targeting	Product or Service Queries
Goal	Clicks
Placement	Google SERP
Format	Text Image Video
Functionality	Dynamic

Best for: eCommerce brands with highly optimized product pages who want to run ads for every product on their website.

Pros:

• Enables you to find new audiences that your responsive ads might miss
• Saves time and effort on creating ad content
• Provides insights into your audience that you can use to improve your responsive search ads

Cons:

• No control over what Google uses as the headline or description of an ad
• Potential for ads to overlap and compete with one another, driving up your cost per click
• Requires your website content to be optimized for ads

Examples:

Dynamic Search Ad:

Website Content:

2. Google Performance Max Ads

Performance Max ads replaced Smart Shopping and Local ad campaigns in 2022. They work by taking product information from your Google Merchant Center, plus your conversion goals, budget, audience signals, and creative assets and automatically generating relevant ads across all Google channels.

That means your ads might appear on YouTube, in the SERP, in Google’s Display and Discovery Networks, Gmail, and Maps.

Targeting	Keywords Topics Interest/Affinity Demographics Behavior Location
Goal	Varies
Placement	Google SERP YouTube Display Network Discovery Network Gmail Maps
Format	Text Image Video
Functionality	Responsive

Best for: eCommerce businesses or B2B companies with clear sales or lead-gen conversion goals who want to maximize ad performance across platforms.

Pros:

• No keyword research necessary; Google will auto-generate keywords based on high-intention buyers
• Run multi-platform ads with a single campaign
• Get actionable insights on where your ads perform best

Cons

• Requires a bigger budget and longer timeframe to take advantage of Google’s machine-learning optimization
• Can be complicated to set up and manage
• Best run as a complement to other Google ads, and it takes some doing to figure out how your different ads will impact each other (i.e. which ads will appear if there’s an overlap in keyword targeting)

Examples:

3. Google Display Ads

What are they? Ads that appear on webpages in Google’s Display Network, a collection of over two million websites, videos, and apps. While Display ads have a lower average conversion rate than Search ads (around 1% for the Display Network vs. around 4% for Search, according to WordStream), these ads can be important for building brand awareness, especially if you’re marketing within an immature category that lacks search volume. As a general rule, if your competitors are running Display ads, you probably should be, too.

Also note that Display ads are a great way to target your audience by behavior. Specifically, retargeting (showing ads to people who have visited your website in the past) users with Display ads can improve your online conversion rate.

The Three Different Kinds of Google Display Ads:

• Uploaded Image Ads
• Gmail Ads
• Responsive Display Network Ads

Uploaded Image Display Network Ads

You create ads in the form of image files and upload them to the Display Network. Images have to meet the correct specifications for each placement in order to appear. Learn more about uploaded image display network ads here.

Targeting	Topics Interest/Affinity Behavior
Goal	Clicks
Placement	Display Network
Format	Image
Functionality	Static

Best for: Brands that want complete creative control over their Display Network ads.

Pros:

• Allow you to find new audiences that your search ads might miss
• Builds brand awareness

Cons:

• A/B testing to improve ad performance must be done manually
• Ads won’t be shown if they don’t meet the right specifications, so you need to create multiple versions of your ad in different sizes for maximum exposure

Example:

Gmail Ads

Gmail ads are a type of paid Display Network ad that lets you place ads in your prospective customers’ Gmail feeds. They appear at the top of users’ inboxes when the social or promotions tab is selected.

Targeting	Topics Interest/Affinity Behavior
Goal	Clicks
Placement	Gmail
Format	Text Image Video
Functionality	Responsive

Best for: Brands that want to target Gmail users. (Duh.)

Pros:

• Allow you to find new audiences that your search ads might miss
• With the right targeting strategy, you can achieve high click rates
• Ads are fully responsive to different devices and user actions. (For example, an ad might appear as a line of text and then expand to an image or video when a user clicks.)

Cons:

• Many people find Gmail ads to be annoying and intrusive
• You’re competing with opt-in marketing emails

Example:

Responsive Display Network Ads

With responsive display ads, you upload your assets — headlines, descriptions, images, videos, and/or logos — and Google uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create combinations that can be placed virtually anywhere on the Display Network.

Targeting	Topics Interest/Affinity Behavior
Goal	Clicks Views
Placement	Display Network
Format	Text Image Video
Functionality	Responsive

Best for: Brands that want to achieve the greatest possible reach with their Display Network ads.

Pros:

• Enables you to find new audiences that your search ads might miss
• Google automatically optimizes your ads based on past performance
• Saves time on creating ads

Cons:

• Ads can look generic (particularly text ads) and lack creative differentiation
• Since you can’t control which headlines appear with which images or videos, you can end up with combinations that don’t make sense if you’re not careful.
• Because Google’s AI automatically optimizes your ads’ performance, you miss out on granular data about which individual ad assets perform best.

Examples:

4. Google Shopping Ads

These ads are included at the top of the SERP for queries that indicate an intent to purchase a product.

The Three Types of Google Shopping Ads

• Product Ads
• Local Inventory
• Showcase Shopping Ads

Product Ads

eCommerce brands with a Google Merchant Center account can add their products to listings that show up on the SERP under both the general and the shopping tabs, as well as on Maps, YouTube, and more, when people search for those types of products.

Targeting	Keywords
Goal	Clicks
Placement	SERP Maps YouTube
Format	Text Image
Functionality	Responsive

Best for: eCommerce brands looking to drive online sales through Google.

Pros:

• When you have a Merchant Center account, your products will automatically appear in searches for free. You can boost visibility by running paid ads, which look exactly like the free ads but appear at the top of the listings with a “sponsored” tag.
• You can automatically add your products to the Merchant Center by linking your eCommerce store. Changes to your products will automatically sync.

Cons:

• Product shopping ads all look alike, pitting your product against dozens of similar-looking products
• Lack of ability to stand out can dilute your brand equity

Examples:

Local Inventory Ads

Local inventory ads show your products and store details to potential customers who are searching for specific items on Google within a certain geographical area. When users click on a local inventory ad, they go to a Google-hosted landing page called a “local storefront.” (You can also host your own local storefront if your site meets Google’s specifications.) Visitors to the local storefront can explore your in-store inventory, see your store hours, get directions, etc.

Targeting	Keywords, location
Goal	Clicks
Placement	SERP
Format	Text Image
Functionality	Dynamic

Best for: Businesses looking to increase in-store visits and purchases, as well as buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) purchases.

Pros:

• Google’s location tracking makes it super easy to reach nearby shoppers.

Cons:

• If you don’t have a watertight system for keeping your inventory listings up to date, you could end up with frustrated would-be customers. (But that’s your fault, not Google’s.)

Example:

Local Inventory Ads for the search term “Kayaks for sale near me”:

Local Storefront:

Showcase Shopping Ads

This ad format lets you choose a group of related products to, well, showcase on Google. The ads show up above paid search ads and with regular product shopping ads when a searcher types in a general keyword with commercial intent (e.g. “sofas” or “fall sweaters”). If a user clicks the ad, it expands to show a range of products in your Google Storefront. The ads use maximum cost-per-engagement bidding, which means you bid the highest amount you’re willing to pay per engagement. If you win the bid,

you pay when a user engages by either clicking to expand the ad and staying with it for at least 10 seconds, or clicking through to your actual website.

Targeting	Keywords
Goal	Clicks Engagement
Placement	SERP
Format	Images
Functionality	Dynamic

Best for: Businesses looking to grow brand awareness for a range of products rather than drive sales of a particular product.

Pros:

• Effective for engaging “browser”-type shoppers who are looking for products like yours but haven’t yet decided to make a purchase.
• Captures searchers who don’t yet know about your brand.
• Ads are visually appealing and don’t look much like ads, increasing engagement.
• You can boost brand awareness for free, only paying for the specific interactions mentioned earlier.

Cons:

• Not effective for bottom-of-the-funnel searchers looking for a particular product

Example:

5. Google Video Ads

This type of ad appears in video format and shows on YouTube, in Google’s display network, or in the Google Video Partners (GVP) network.

The Five Types of Google Video Ads:

• In-stream video ads
• In-feed video ads
• Bumper video ads
• Outstream video ads
• Masthead video ads

In-stream Video Ads

These ads are videos that show before, during, or after a streaming video on YouTube. Just to keep it interesting, there are two types of in-stream video ads: skippable and non-skippable. The difference is self-explanatory, with the caveat that users have to wait five seconds before they can skip a skippable ad. Also, skippable ads have no maximum length, whereas non-skippable ads have a maximum of 15 seconds.

Oh — and with skippable ads, you can pay either per view (of at least 30 seconds) or click (whichever comes first), or per impression. With non-skippable ads, you only pay by impression.

Targeting	Topics Interest/Affinity Demographics Behavior
Goal	Views Clicks Impressions
Placement	YouTube Display Network GVP
Format	Video
Functionality	Static

Best for: Brands looking to increase awareness and reach with a highly engaging medium.

Pros:

• People love videos, and you’ll get in front of a lot of eyeballs.
• With skippable ads, the first 30 seconds are free, so you can build awareness for less.

Cons:

• Not every brand has the budget to produce video ads.
• YouTube is a competitive bidding space.
• If you don’t pay close attention to your settings, you could end up with videos that show on websites that aren’t ideal for your brand.

Example:

A non-skippable in-stream video ad on YouTube:

In-feed Video Ads

These ads show up in your YouTube feed alongside search results or related YouTube videos. Views will see a thumbnail image from your video with text inviting them to click to view.

Targeting	Keywords Topics Interest/Affinity Demographics Behavior
Goal	Views
Placement	YouTube
Format	Video
Functionality	Static

Best for: Brands looking to attract viewers who are already engaged with complementary video content.

Pros:

• The voluntary nature of these ads mean that people who click to view are more likely to engage with your brand.

Cons:

• The voluntary nature of these ads also means that people don’t have to click if they’re not interested. No captive audience for you!

Example:

Here’s an in-feed video advertising YouTube advertising. Are we in the Matrix yet?

Bumper Video Ads

Bumper ads are very short (six seconds max), unskippable ads that play before, during, or after another video.

Targeting	Topics Interest/Affinity Demographics Behavior
Goal	Impressions
Placement	YouTube GVP
Format	Video
Functionality	Static

Best for: Brands looking to deliver a very succinct message to a broad audience.

Pros:

• Ads are short enough not to disrupt or annoy your audience unnecessarily.
• If you can pull off something memorable in six seconds or less, you’re golden!
• Can work very well as part of an omnichannel strategy that aims to reinforce the short impression with more action-oriented ads elsewhere.
• You get a call-to-action, so you can send engaged viewers to your website or a landing page.

Cons:

• You only have six seconds to capture your viewer’s attention.

Why no examples?

These ads look the same as skippable and non-skippable instream ads. They’re just shorter.

Outstream Video Ads

These are mobile-only ads that appear on the GVP network (not on YouTube). They work like any other display ad, only they’re videos. When visitors click on a webpage with an outstream video ad, the video starts playing automatically with the sound off. Viewers can tap to unmute.

For mobile websites, ads will appear in banners. For mobile apps, ads can be in banners, interstitials (fullscreen pop-up videos), in-feed, and native.

Targeting	Topics Interest/Affinity Demographics Behavior
Goal	Impressions (views of two seconds or more)
Placement	GVP
Format	Video
Functionality	Static

Best for: Brands looking to expand the reach of their video ads on mobile.

Pros:

• Reach a different audience than your YouTube video ads.

Cons:

• Requires close attention and testing to determine if your videos perform better on YouTube or on the GVP network.

Example:

6. Google App Ads

Multi-platform ad campaigns designed specifically to drive app downloads or re-engagement with your app. These dynamic ads draw from the text and images in your app store listing, and allow you to set parameters like location and budget.

Targeting	You set your bid and locations you want to target or exclude. Google automatically handles all other targeting based on dynamic testing.
Goal	App Downloads App Engagement App Pre-registration (Android only)
Placement	Search Google Play YouTube Google display network
Format	Text and images
Functionality	Dynamic

The Three Types of Google App Ads:

• App Install Ads
• App Engagement Ads
• App Pre-registration Ads (Android only)

Google App Install Ads

The goal of these ads is to get new users to install your app. Like all app ads, they’re dynamically created from your app store. The only difference is that these ads will include a download button.

Best for: Brands looking to attract new users to their app.

Google App Engagement Ads

App engagement ads are designed to draw existing app users into re-engaging with the app. The apps drive to a specific landing page.

Best for: Brands with a large number of existing users but low engagement.

Google App Pre-registration Ads

For Android apps only, these ads help brands build hype before their app is released on Google Play.

Best for: Brands developing an Android app, who want or need to create a pre-release audience.

Examples:

7. Smart Ads

Fully automated “set it and forget it” Google Ads. When you first create a Google Ads account, this is the first type of ad it prompts you to create — probably because the step-by-step process is about as user-friendly as Google Ads gets. You provide answers to Google’s prompts, and Smart Ads creates your ads and places them across the Google ecosystem.

Targeting	Dynamic targeting with keyword theme and location input
Goal	Multiple
Placement	SERP Display Network
Format	Text Images Video
Functionality	Dynamic

Best for: Users who are relatively inexperienced with Google Ads who want to get campaigns up and running quickly and easily.

Pros:

• This is a fast and easy way to get started with Google Ads.
• You can get some insights from your campaign performance that will help inform more sophisticated strategies when you’re ready to move on to advanced ad types.

Cons:

• Without any manual control, you’re reliant on Google’s machine learning to optimize your campaigns.

Why no examples?

These ads don’t look different from any other Google Search or Display Network ads. The magic is all on the backend.

8. Discovery Ads

Another type of automated ad that places ad creative in Google’s feeds (Gmail, YouTube, and the Google app). You provide ad assets, including text, images, and video, and Google dynamically creates ads and placements.

Targeting	Dynamic targeting
Goal	Conversion action (e.g. Clicks, Click-throughs)
Placement	Gmail (Promotions and Social tabs) YouTube (Home and Watch Next) The Google App (Discover)
Format	Text, images, video
Functionality	Dynamic

Best for: Brands looking to reach a wide audience (up to 3 billion people monthly, according to Google).

Pros:

• Google creates ads dynamically in order to match the native content on the platforms where your ads appear.
• Takes advantage of Google’s machine learning to target people most likely to be interested in your ad content.
• Multiple automated bidding options give you fine-grain control over your budget and your goals.

Cons:

• You have little manual control over how your ads look or where they’re placed. (As in the example below, where the headline is truncated due to length.)

Example:

9. Local Services Ads

Ads for local businesses that have gone through the process of getting verified by Google. Complete your Google Business Profile, get verified, and your ad will appear in local search results. The ads themselves are text only, with content pulled dynamically from your Google Business Profile. You pay when a customer contacts you through an ad.

Targeting	Keyword Location
Goal	Calls Online Leads
Placement	SERP (above Search Ads)
Format	Text
Functionality	Dynamic

The Three Types of Google Local Services Ads:

• Google Guaranteed Local Services Ads
• Google Screened Local Services Ads
• License Verified by Google Ads

Google Guaranteed Local Services Ads

These ads are for the home services industry. (Housekeeping, plumbing, electricians, etc.) Ads appear with a green Google Guaranteed checkmark to indicate that you’ve passed the Google screening process.

Google Screened Local Services Ads

You can run ads with a green Google Screened checkmark if you provide business, care, learning, or wellness services. As a Google Screened business, Google vouches for your licensing and reputation.

License Verified by Google Ads

These ads are specific to the healthcare industry, including doctors, RNs, dentists, psychotherapists, etc. Google places a green “License verified by Google” checkmark alongside your ad.

Best for: Businesses that fall into one of the categories above, who want to increase local leads, whether through phone calls, via web forms, or visits to a physical location.

Pros:

• Shows up at the top of the SERP for high-intent local searches — even before Google Search Ads.
• Shows up for voice search queries.
• Takes advantage of Google machine learning to get matched with local searchers who are a good fit for your business.
• Paying per lead rather than per click is more desirable for businesses who care most about maximizing customer acquisition.
• Builds brand trust.
• No keyword research necessary.

Cons:

• Not all regions have Local Services Ads at this time. In general, locations are limited to large metropolitan areas.
• Not all businesses qualify.
• The process of getting screened and verified is fairly involved.

Example:

How to Choose the Right Google Ad Campaigns for Your Business

Now that you know basically all there is to know about the nine main categories and the 23 different subcategories of Google Ads, you’re probably wondering: which ones should I run for my business? We’ve provided some guidance here about which ads are best for different types of advertisers, along with pros and cons of each. If you’re just getting started, choose one or two types of ads and set a budget to try them out.

As you get more advanced, you can bring in more types of campaigns — just keep in mind that, without close oversight, it’s easy to end up spending money on ads that don’t add to your bottom line. At Vital, we specialize in managing pay-per-click advertising campaigns that drive results.

If you’re ready to take your paid advertising strategy to the next level, contact us to get the conversation started.