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Google Ads campaign type
Google Display Ads Management and the Move to Demand Gen
Display campaigns serve image and responsive display ads on more than 2 million sites and apps. But this campaign type has a limited future: in June 2026 Google opened a migration tool to move Display campaigns into Demand Gen. Managing Google Display ads today largely means planning that move so that no important settings are lost along the way.
Purpose and appearance
What do we use this format for?
We use the Google Display Network to bring back visitors who left without buying and to keep the brand visible across a wide network of sites. Our main job today is moving existing Display campaigns to Demand Gen without losing those goals and while keeping remarketing audiences intact. We plan the migration around budget periods.
Funnel stages it serves
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Conversion
- Loyalty
Display to Demand Gen timeline: what Google has and has not announced
According to Google's help page, the migration tool started rolling out to eligible advertisers in June 2026. In the second phase, new Display campaigns will only be created inside Demand Gen; in the final phase, remaining campaigns will be moved automatically with no action needed from the advertiser. No dates have been given for these two phases yet.
We prefer to use the migration tool, because it carries the last 42 days of performance history into the new campaign and, according to Google, shortens the learning period to 1-2 days. The bid strategy (Target CPA, Maximize conversions, Target ROAS), audiences and conversion settings also carry over. Waiting for the automatic move means leaving control with Google.
Display settings that do not carry over to Demand Gen
Many Display campaigns that have run for years depend on settings with no equivalent in Demand Gen; manual bidding and device or location bid adjustments are the most common. Before migrating, we list them one by one and decide what replaces each. Google's help page lists these settings as not carried over:
- Manual CPC bidding
- Viewable CPM (vCPM) bidding
- Pay-per-conversion billing
- Bid adjustments
- Brand Lift measurement
- Combined audiences and detailed demographic targeting
Why display creative has to change in Demand Gen
On Display, responsive display ads were mostly designed for banner slots on the edges of websites. Demand Gen can carry the same campaign into YouTube, Discover and Gmail feeds. A text-heavy banner designed for a sidebar gets recognized as an ad at first glance in those feeds and scrolled past. During the migration we keep the existing images and add 4:5 portrait images, carousel cards and a short vertical video. Even for campaigns that stay on the Display Network, these extra assets widen the serving options.
How we use Display Network inventory and remarketing today
Display's most reliable job is still remarketing: bringing back users who abandoned a cart or browsed a product page and left. We build these audiences with GA4 and Google Ads tags and set membership duration to match the product's decision time. To find new customers, we prefer Demand Gen's lookalike segments over Display's broad targeting.
The place where Display budget drains most quietly is mobile app placements. Accidental clicks in gaming apps raise click-through rate while leaving zero engagement on the site. We check the placement report often in the first weeks and exclude app categories and low-quality sites. For e-commerce brands with a product feed, we compare dynamic remarketing with alternatives such as Criteo.
Display Advertising: when do we recommend it?
We recommend it
- E-commerce brands with high site traffic and large remarketing audiences
- Brands with long decision cycles that want to remind users over several weeks
- Accounts that want to move existing Display campaigns to Demand Gen without losses
We don't recommend it
- Building a new setup around manual CPC and bid adjustments; those settings disappear in the migration
- Campaigns that rely only on remarketing without enough site traffic
How we manage Display Advertising
- Settings that will not moveFor each Display campaign, we list the settings that will not carry over to Demand Gen.
- Bid preparationWe move campaigns using manual CPC or vCPM to conversion-based bidding before the migration.
- Creative top-upWe add portrait images and video for Demand Gen's YouTube and Discover surfaces.
- Migration toolWe run the tool, which carries 42 days of history, so it does not fall in the middle of a budget period.
- Channel checkAfter the move, we track how spend splits between the Display Network and the new channels.
Display Advertising: metrics and requirements
Metrics we track
- Viewable impression rate
- Remarketing conversion rate
- View-through conversions
- Cost by placement
- Frequency
What you need to get started
- Remarketing audiences built with the Google Ads tag or GA4
- 4:5 portrait images and a square logo in addition to the current banner set
- A list of sites and apps to exclude
- A performance export of current campaigns before the migration
Official sources
The Brand Move Google Ads Team
Contact us nowTo learn more about Display Advertising or other Google Ads ad formats, contact The Brand Move Google Ads team today.
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ExploreFrequently asked questions
Display Advertising: frequently asked questions
Are Google Display campaigns going away?
As a separate campaign type, yes. Google opened a migration tool in June 2026; later, new Display campaigns will only be created in Demand Gen, and remaining campaigns will be moved automatically. Google has not announced dates for those later phases yet.
Can we keep advertising only on the Display Network?
Yes. Google says advertising only on Display inventory will remain possible through Demand Gen. With Demand Gen's channel controls we can turn off YouTube, Discover and Gmail and run the campaign only on the Google Display Network.
What if we lose Brand Lift measurement in the migration?
Brand Lift measurement on Display campaigns does not carry over. If measuring brand impact matters, we shift the awareness budget to YouTube video campaigns, or compare branded search volume before and after the migration as an indirect read.
What happens to the old campaign when we run the migration tool?
According to Google, settings and learning carry over to the new Demand Gen campaign. We export and store the old campaign's reports before migrating so year-on-year comparisons and placement history are not lost. In the first week we read data from both campaigns side by side.
Is Google Display still good for remarketing?
Yes, remarketing remains its most reliable use. We build cart abandoner and product viewer audiences with GA4 and Google Ads tags, match membership duration to the decision time, and exclude low-quality app placements early so budget is not wasted on accidental clicks.
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