How & When to Use Performance Max & Demand Gen Campaigns in 2025
Jan 23, 2025Google Ads has evolved significantly in recent years, with two standout campaign types—Performance Max (PMAX)and Demand Gen (DGen)—making waves since their launches in November 2021 and June 2023, respectively. If you’re managing a Google Ads account in 2025, understanding when and how to use these campaign types can make or break your advertising success.
In this guide, I’ll share my proven strategies for using PMAX and Demand Gen campaigns effectively.
Why Consider PMAX & Demand Gen Campaigns?
If you’ve ever received a Google Ads dashboard recommendation or a call from a Google rep, you’ve likely been advised to:
- Start a Performance Max campaign
- Launch a Demand Gen campaign
- Or even try both simultaneously
While these campaigns can be powerful, I want to emphasize that PMAX and Demand Gen are secondary campaigns in my strategy.
Here’s why:
When to Use PMAX & Demand Gen Campaigns
For me, secondary campaigns are best used when your Google Ads account meets these essential criteria:
- Proven Conversion Rates: A minimum conversion rate of 3% is ideal.
- Reliable Data on Keywords & Ad Creatives: Use data-driven insights to guide campaign strategies.
- Strong eCommerce Performance: Shopping feeds should achieve a click-through rate (CTR) of at least 0.9%, ideally 1% or higher.
- Quality Audience Lists: Build audiences like “website visitors” of at least 1,000 users.
These benchmarks ensure that your campaigns are built on a foundation of strong performance and high-quality data.
PMAX vs. Demand Gen: Key Differences
Before diving deeper, let’s quickly compare these two campaign types:
- Performance Max Campaigns: PMAX displays ads across all Google networks, including Search, Display, YouTube, and Shopping.
- Demand Gen Campaigns: DGen focuses primarily on YouTube, especially Shorts, with an emphasis on visual, engaging content.
Despite these differences, both campaigns share some crucial similarities that impact how and when to use them effectively.
3 Key Factors for Using PMAX & Demand Gen Campaigns
1. Built for Conversions & Similar Audiences
Both PMAX and Demand Gen rely heavily on Google’s AI to optimize campaigns.
- Performance Max: Google’s AI identifies potential customers based on your goals and optimizes bids to maximize performance.
- Demand Gen: AI optimizes for website traffic, conversion rates, and efficient bidding, while leveraging data-driven attribution to measure results.
However, their reliance on AI makes them most effective when your account already has solid conversion and audience data. Without this, the AI lacks the information needed to deliver profitable results.
2. Success Depends on Quality Data
Although Google Ads recommendations may suggest launching PMAX or Demand Gen campaigns immediately, these campaigns perform best when backed by existing data.
- For PMAX: Start with search or shopping campaigns to generate conversions. PMAX uses smart bidding strategies like “Max Conversions” or “Max Conversion Value,” so conversion data is critical to success.
- For Demand Gen: Build robust audience seed lists. While you can start with just 100 users, better results come with seed lists of 10,000 or more.
Pro Tip: Think of these campaigns like feeding prompts into an AI system—the better the input (data), the better the output (campaign results).
3. Perfect for Finding New Customers
PMAX and Demand Gen campaigns are excellent tools for scaling your advertising efforts and finding new customers. I integrate them as part of a full-funnel strategy:
- Start with Search and Shopping campaigns to identify high-performing keywords and creatives.
- Add PMAX and Demand Gen campaigns to expand reach and target new audiences once reliable data is established.
How I Use PMAX & Demand Gen Campaigns in 2025
To summarize, here’s how I incorporate Performance Max and Demand Gen into my Google Ads strategy in 2025:
- Start with foundational campaigns: Focus on Search or Shopping to gather conversion and audience data.
- Introduce PMAX and Demand Gen as secondary campaigns: Use these tools to scale and find similar or new customers.
- Optimize based on performance: Continuously refine campaigns using data-driven insights.
👉Mastering Performance Max Campaigns: Step-by-Step Optimisation for Better Results
Ready to Level Up Your Google Ads Strategy?
Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns are powerful tools for scaling your Google Ads strategy in 2025. By using them as secondary campaigns, after building a solid foundation of data and conversions, you can optimize your ad performance and effectively reach new audiences. Stay strategic, and let these campaigns enhance your overall Google Ads efforts for maximum success.