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Display & Video 360

YouTube and Demand Gen in DV360 (Display & Video 360)

In Display & Video 360 (DV360), YouTube is bought through two routes: YouTube & partners line items for reach and views, and Demand Gen line items for conversions. Video action line items were archived on 28 February 2026 and replaced by Demand Gen. What DV360 adds over Google Ads is the ability to manage YouTube in the same frequency plan as open web video and CTV, measured with Floodlight.

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Purpose and appearance

What do we use this format for?

We buy YouTube through DV360 when we want to manage YouTube reach in the same frequency plan as other DV360 video channels, and to optimize toward Floodlight conversions on YouTube, Discover and Gmail with Demand Gen line items. That way awareness and measurable sales goals come together in the same report, and we avoid parallel bidding on the same audience from Google Ads.

Funnel stages it serves

  1. Awareness
  2. Consideration
  3. Conversion
  4. Loyalty

From video action to Demand Gen line items in DV360

In April 2025, Google stopped allowing new video action campaigns to be created in DV360. On 28 February 2026, all video action line items, including those still active, were paused and archived, and spend stopped entirely. There were two migration routes: moving budget manually to existing Demand Gen line items, or exporting settings via SDF and creating new line items. Either way, new ads go through approval again.

The step most often missed in migration is reselecting, on the Demand Gen side, the Floodlight activities used for optimization in the old line item. If this isn't done, the new line item tries to learn without a conversion signal, and in the first weeks budget drifts toward low-value, click-like traffic. In accounts where another team handled the migration, this is the first thing we check.

Setting up Demand Gen line items in DV360

Before a Demand Gen line item can run, Floodlight optimization for YouTube must be enabled at advertiser level, and YouTube auto-tagging must be on in the partner settings. The bid strategy can be clicks, conversions or conversion value. Google's migration guide recommends that, with conversion bidding, the daily budget be more than 20 times the expected CPA; below that threshold, learning takes longer.

  • If purchases are infrequent, we start with a more frequent micro-conversion such as add to cart.
  • We prepare images in 1.91:1, 1:1 and 4:5 ratios, and video in horizontal, square and vertical formats.
  • We keep carousels between 2 and 10 cards and check that image aspect ratios in the product feed fall between 0.6 and 1.4; products outside this range don't serve.
  • We tell the client from the start that Demand Gen reporting isn't MRC-accredited.

YouTube frequency caps and brand suitability in DV360

In YouTube & partners line items, a frequency cap can be set by impressions or by views. One important detail: if the same video is also used in other YouTube line items, impressions from those line items also count toward the cap. That's why we deliberately distribute cuts across campaigns. We prefer an impression-based cap on reach line items and a view-based cap on view line items, so each line item is capped in the unit of its own objective.

Brand suitability on YouTube is now managed at advertiser level: inventory mode, content theme exclusions and content types apply to all line items together. Digital content labels no longer apply on YouTube since September 2024. Third-party verification, on the other hand, is added at line item level.

DV360 vs. Google Ads for YouTube: when to use which

If the same brand has both Google Ads YouTube campaigns and DV360 YouTube line items, the two systems bid independently on the same user and frequency isn't combined. So we consolidate each channel on one platform: Demand Gen campaigns in Google Ads for short-term, conversion-focused work, and DV360 when a multi-channel reach plan and YouTube Programmatic Guaranteed are needed. We check with GA4 that conversions aren't double-counted across the two.

YouTube and Demand Gen: when do we recommend it?

We recommend it

  • DV360 accounts that haven't completed the move from video action line items to Demand Gen, or need to rebuild it
  • Advertisers measuring multi-channel conversions with Floodlight
  • Advertisers wanting to buy guaranteed inventory such as Masthead or YouTube Select programmatically

We don't recommend it

  • Accounts seeking conversions only on YouTube that already perform well in Google Ads
  • Setups where Floodlight optimization for YouTube and auto-tagging can't be enabled
  • Plans that accept parallel bidding on the same audience from Google Ads and DV360

How we manage YouTube and Demand Gen

  1. Prerequisite checkWe verify Floodlight optimization, YouTube auto-tagging and acceptance of the terms.
  2. Line item separationWe separate reach, view and Demand Gen line items by objective.
  3. Creative and ratiosWe check horizontal, square and vertical video and image ratios, and the aspect ratio range of feed images.
  4. Suitability settingsWe set up inventory mode, content themes and exclusion lists at advertiser level.
  5. Frequency sharingWe map line items that use the same video and plan the total frequency cap.
  6. Budget and learningWith conversion bidding, we set the daily budget against the expected CPA and avoid frequent target changes during learning.

YouTube and Demand Gen: metrics and requirements

Metrics we track

  • Unique reach
  • Average frequency
  • View rate
  • Floodlight conversions
  • Cost per conversion
  • Brand awareness lift

What you need to get started

  • Videos uploaded to a YouTube channel
  • Floodlight tags and Floodlight optimization for YouTube
  • Image, logo and headline sets for Demand Gen
  • A list of channels and topics to exclude at advertiser level

Official sources

The Brand Move DV360 Team

To learn more about YouTube and Demand Gen or other DV360 ad formats, contact The Brand Move DV360 team today.

Contact us now
Explore further

Other Display & Video 360 campaign types and ad formats

Display & Video 360 overview

Display and Native

DV360 image, HTML5 and native ads on the open web, run with exchange selection, viewability thresholds and third-party verification.

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Online Video

Instream and outstream video ads on open web and app inventory outside YouTube, managed by player size and completion data.

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Connected TV (CTV)

Smart TV apps and YouTube on CTV, managed with the Connected TV IO, publisher deals and a household frequency plan.

Explore

Audio Ads

Audio ads across music streaming, podcasts and live radio, managed with content type targeting and companion banners.

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Related pages

Frequently asked questions

YouTube and Demand Gen: frequently asked questions

Why buy YouTube through DV360 instead of Google Ads?

DV360 lets you manage YouTube in one frequency plan with open web video and CTV, optimize with Floodlight, use the same reporting as other DV360 channels and buy YouTube Programmatic Guaranteed deals. For short-term, conversion-focused work on smaller budgets, Demand Gen in Google Ads is usually enough.

Can we reactivate our archived video action line items?

No. After 28 February 2026, video action line items can't spend. We move the budget to Demand Gen line items and carry the Floodlight activities, audiences and creatives from the old setup into the new structure. Because new ads go through approval again, we build that time into the schedule.

Is Demand Gen in DV360 the same as Demand Gen in Google Ads?

Inventory and creative formats are largely the same: YouTube, Discover, Gmail and the Display Network. The difference is measurement and management: DV360 offers Floodlight optimization, unified reporting with other DV360 channels and third-party verification with YouTube brand safety partners.

What budget does a Demand Gen line item need?

Google's migration guide recommends that, with conversion bidding, the daily budget be more than 20 times the expected CPA; below that, learning takes longer. If purchases are infrequent, we start with a more frequent micro-conversion such as add to cart.

Why does it look as if we're exceeding the frequency cap?

If the same video is used in more than one YouTube line item, impressions from the others also count toward the cap. YouTube campaigns in Google Ads aren't included in the DV360 cap either. That's why we plan the distribution of cuts and the split between platforms from the start.

Let's run a first YouTube and Demand Gen review together.

In a free call we review your audience, inventory needs and measurement setup, then tell you in writing which platform makes sense to start with.

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