Today’s savvy advertisers are leveraging Demand Gen campaigns to reach audiences across multiple premium Google placements, and more importantly, they’re taking precise control over exactly where their ads appear.

If you’ve been running standard Display or Performance Max campaigns and wondering how to tap into the visual first approach that’s working so well on social platforms, Demand Gen is your answer.

Here’s what makes it powerful: unlike Google Ads campaign types that prioritize automation over control, Demand Gen gives you granular channel controls to decide whether your ads show on YouTube, Maps, Gmail, Discover, or the Google Display Network.

This guide walks you through the exact settings you need to adjust to control your ad inventory and reach the right audiences on the right placements.

But First, What Is Demand Gen and Why It Matters

Demand Gen is a visual first campaign type built for brands that want to drive awareness and consideration among audiences who aren’t actively searching for them. It also is an excellent campaign type to target your key remarketing audiences. It’s truly a tool for any stage of the funnel.

Unlike Search campaigns (which engage people mid-research), Demand Gen reaches people during their browsing, scrolling, and streaming moments on Google’s most engaged audiences.

The Complete Inventory: Where Your Demand Gen Ads Can Appear

Before you start optimizing, let’s look at all of the available placements in Demand Gen:

YouTube Placements

• YouTube Shorts: These are full-screen vertical video format (9:16 aspect ratio) competing with TikTok/Reels
• YouTube In-Stream: The typical traditional video ads that play before, during, or after YouTube videos
• YouTube In-Feed (Home, Search, Watch Next): Visual ads appearing in YouTube’s recommendation feeds

Google Maps

• Maps Explore tab
• Location discovery feeds
• Nearby business suggestions
• Launching as a controllable channel in early 2026 (Yay!)

Gmail

• Ads in the promotional tab
• Best for image, carousel, and short-form video content

Google Discover

• Google’s content discovery feed
• Native-feeling visual ads
• High engagement placement

Google Display Network (GDN)

• Over 90% of internet population reach
• 3+ million sites and apps
• Image and video inventory

So, How Do You Control Where Ads Show?

Step 1: Access Channel Controls at the Ad Group Level

The real magic happens in ad group settings. This is where you decide which placements get your ad spend.

Navigate to Channel Controls:

1. Inside your campaign, go to the Ad groups settings
2. Click the Channels section in the settings panel

You’ll see two options:

Option A: All Google Channels (Default)

This is the default setting and runs your ads across YouTube, Gmail, and Discover, with the option to also include the Google Display Network. This configuration is best suited for maximizing reach when you are early in testing or want a simple, low maintenance setup. It works well when you need fast data and broad exposure without worrying about placement level optimization.

To use this option, select “All Google channels” in the channel settings and choose whether or not to include the Google Display Network based on how much reach you want (hint, leave this unselected…Display inventory is notoriously lower quality.)

Option B: Control Each Channel Individually

This gives you the highest level of control by allowing you to manually select exactly which placements your ads can appear on. This approach is best for sophisticated optimization, running controlled tests, or managing costs when certain channels perform better than others.

For example, you might choose to run only on YouTube Shorts for a Gen Z focused product or exclude Gmail to protect a premium brand image. To use this option, select “Let me choose” option in your channel settings.

So, What Channels Should You Select?

When you select “Let me choose,” you’ll see individual toggles for each placement.

Here’s what each does:

Placement	Location / Context	Best For
YouTube In-Stream	Within longer-form videos	Storytelling campaigns
YouTube In-Feed	Recommendation feeds	High engagement, visual-first
YouTube Shorts	Full-screen vertical format	Mobile audiences
Discover Feed	Google’s content discovery feed	Native feel, engagement
Gmail	Promotional inbox tab	Image and carousel ads
Google Maps	Maps platform (coming soon)	Local businesses, intent-driven searches
Google Display Network	Third-party sites and apps	Maximum reach

Advanced: Performance Analysis by Channel

Once you’ve configured your channels, you can segment by ad format to see which placements are actually driving results.

How to segment by channel:

1. Go to your Demand Gen campaign or ad group
2. Select Segments → Ad Format

You’ll see performance metrics for:

• YouTube In-Stream performance
• YouTube In-Feed performance
• YouTube Shorts performance
• Gmail performance
• Discover performance
• Display Network performance (if enabled)

Key Takeaways

• Demand Gen gives you unprecedented control over Google’s inventory. Use the “Control each channel individually” option to test and optimize

• Different channels perform differently for different businesses. YouTube Shorts may be your best performer, or it might be complete waste depending on your audience and assets

• Maps is coming! When Google fully rolls out Maps channel controls, it will be a game-changer for local businesses and intent-driven ads

• Measure everything. Segment your reporting by ad format to understand exactly where your most profitable conversions are coming from, then optimize accordingly

It’s all about understanding which of Google’s premium placements actually drive results for your business, then doubling down on those channels while excluding the waste. With the channel controls now available, there’s no excuse to keep running on defaults.

Demand Gen is an awesome compliment to your strategy that can target very specific audiences, from your customer lists, to colder audiences you define. It’s a great campaign type to test and control where your ads show (unlike Performance Max.)