PPC advertising can be a highly profitable marketing channel. But to generate the best return on your investment and get the most out of your budget, you need to fully understand the different types of PPC ads and campaigns, and how your target customers interact with them.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the various ad types, from search to shopping, and offer a few tips for maximising the performance of your paid media campaigns.
The different types of PPC ads
Search ads
Platform: Google Ads, Bing Ads
Ad type: text-based ads
Best for: intent-driven traffic, brand awareness, and conversions.
Search ads appear on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) when users query specific keywords. Advertisers bid on keywords relevant to their business, and ads are triggered when those keywords are searched. These ads are great for reaching users actively searching for products or services.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Headlines & descriptions: relevant, engaging copy that attracts the user.
Ad extensions: enhancements like callouts, site links, structured snippets, and location extensions to boost ad performance.
Targeting: keywords, negative keywords (to exclude irrelevant searches), and match types (broad, phrase, and exact match).
Pro tip: Utilise ad extensions as much as possible, as they increase click-through rates (CTR) and provide additional information to users without costing extra.
Shopping Ads
Platform: Google Shopping, Microsoft Ads
Ad type: product listing ads (PLAs)
Best for: ecommerce stores looking to promote physical products
Shopping ads display your product image, price, title, and store name directly on the search results page. Unlike search ads, these ads are more visual and focused on product discovery. They are particularly effective for users comparing products and prices.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Product feed: create and manage a product feed that includes details like product title, description, price, image, and GTIN.
Targeting: Google Shopping Ads are triggered by the relevance of product data rather than keywords.
Ad formats: showcase ads (which can display a range of products) or standard PLAs.
Pro tip: ensure your product feed is optimised with relevant keywords in titles and descriptions to improve ad visibility.
Video ads
Platform: YouTube Ads, Google Ads
Ad Type: video content
Best for: Brand storytelling, product demonstrations, and audience engagement.
Video ads are hosted on video platforms like YouTube and shown before, during, or after content that aligns with your target audience’s interests. These ads can be skippable or non-skippable and are often charged on a Cost Per View (CPV) or Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM) basis.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Ad formats: TrueView In-Stream (skippable), TrueView Discovery (appears in YouTube search results), Bumper Ads (non-skippable), and Outstream Ads (play on partner sites/apps outside YouTube).
Targeting: demographics, topics, keywords, and remarketing.
Engagement metrics: views, watch time, and CTR.
Pro tip: for skippable ads, ensure your key message or brand logo appears within the first 5 seconds to capture attention before users can skip.
Social media ads
Platform: Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Twitter Ads, TikTok Ads
Ad type: image, video, carousel, or story ads
Best for: engaging with specific audiences, retargeting, lead generation.
Social media platforms allow for highly targeted PPC campaigns using user data like demographics, interests, and behaviors. These ads can be visual or video-based and are integrated into users’ feeds or stories.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Ad formats: single image ads, video ads, carousel ads (multiple images/videos), slideshow ads, or story ads.
Targeting: custom audiences, lookalike audiences, interest-based targeting, or retargeting.
Ad objectives: reach, engagement, lead generation, traffic, and conversions.
Pro tip: test multiple formats such as carousel ads and videos to see which ones resonate best with your audience, and use custom audiences for retargeting people who’ve interacted with your brand.
Display Ads
Platform: Google Display Network, Bing Ads, Yahoo Gemini
Ad type: image or video-based ads
Best for: brand awareness, retargeting, and top-of-the-funnel marketing
Display ads are shown across a network of websites, apps, and videos that partner with ad networks (e.g.,
Google Display Network). These ads are designed to attract attention through visually engaging imagery, banners or videos. They are less intent-based but great for awareness and retargeting users who previously visited your website.
Google’s responsive display ads use AI to generate ad combinations for websites, apps, YouTube and Gmail. Asset enhancements such as stock images and AI-generated assets (backgrounds, images) may be used to help improve your ad performance.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Targeting: demographic, in-market audiences, interest-based, contextual, and placement targeting.
Ad types: static images, animated banners, or responsive display ads that auto-adjust based on the available space.
Remarketing: retarget users who have interacted with your site but didn’t convert, helping keep your brand top-of-mind.
Pro tip: use responsive display ads as they automatically adjust to different devices and placements, saving time and effort.
Native ads
Platform: Google Discovery Ads, Taboola
Ad type: in-feed or content recommendation ads
Best for: blending into the user experience, and content promotion.
Native ads are designed to match the look, feel, and function of the platform on which they appear. They often appear as “recommended” or “sponsored” content in newsfeeds or at the bottom of articles. Native ads are less intrusive and often generate higher engagement since they don’t “feel” like traditional ads.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Ad formats: sponsored articles, in-feed content, and discovery ads.
Targeting: Contextual targeting, behavioral targeting, or interest-based.
Engagement metrics: CTR, time spent on content, and conversions.
Pro tip: use attention-grabbing headlines and high-quality images that align with the organic content around them to improve engagement.
Remarketing ads
Platform: Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Bing Ads
Ad type: display, search, social, or video ads targeted at users who previously visited your website or app
Best for: re-engaging previous visitors and increasing conversions.
Remarketing ads target users who have already interacted with your brand (visited a webpage, added to cart, watched a video, etc.) but didn’t complete a conversion. These ads are highly effective because they are shown to users who already have some awareness of your brand or product.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Targeting: users who visited specific pages, performed specific actions, or abandoned their cart.
Ad formats: can be search, display, or social ads depending on the platform.
Ad objectives: drive users back to your site for a conversion, such as a purchase or sign-up.
Pro tip: use dynamic remarketing ads to display products users have previously viewed, encouraging them to complete their purchase.
Different types of Google Ads
Several ad types are specific to Google and its platforms.
Dynamic search ads
Platform: Google search engine results pages
Ad type: text-based ads
Best for: advertisers with well-developed websites or large product inventories
Dynamic search ads are designed to make it easier for brands to find the right customers searching on Google for the products and services they offer. These ads use your website content to target your ads and they can help to fill the gaps of keyword-based campaigns. Dynamic search ads can save you a lot of time as headlines and landing pages are generated using the content from your website. All you need to do is add a creative description.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Headlines & descriptions: relevant, engaging copy that attracts the user. While headlines are automatically generated, you’ll need to add the description yourself.
Website content: website content is the basis for dynamic search ads, so high-quality, relevant and up-to-date content is crucial.
Dynamic targets: at least one dynamic target is required per ad group.
Pro tip: dynamic search ads aren’t recommended if your website changes rapidly. For example, daily deals.
Discovery ads
Platform: Google Discover feed, YouTube homepage, and Gmail Promotions tab
Ad Type: visually rich ads that adapt across Google’s Discover feed, YouTube Home, and Gmail
Best for: reaching users based on interests and behaviors rather than keyword intent.
Discovery ads are shown to users based on what they’re interested in, not what they’re actively searching for. These ads are visually engaging and can appear as single images, carousels, or videos across various Google platforms.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Ad formats: single image ads, carousel ads, or video ads.
Targeting: audience targeting (e.g., in-market audiences or custom intent audiences).
Engagement-focused: designed to encourage engagement rather than immediate conversions.
Local ads
Platform: Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Display Network
Ad type: ads that promote local businesses and drive in-person visits
Best for: local businesses looking to increase foot traffic or phone calls.
Local ads appear when users search for local services or businesses. They are designed to help businesses drive visits to their physical locations by appearing in local searches or Maps results. These ads highlight information like store hours, directions, and phone numbers.
Microsoft offers a similar ad format, called Local Inventory Ads, but they look a little different to Google’s version.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Ad formats: text or image-based ads that appear with location extensions.
Targeting: local search terms, proximity, and device location data.
Call-to-action: driving calls, visits, or clicks to the website.
Smart ads
Platform: across all Google properties (Search, Display, YouTube, etc.)
Ad type: automatically created ads based on machine learning
Best for: small businesses or those new to PPC advertising who want simplified campaign management.
Smart campaigns use automation and machine learning to optimise ad performance. You provide a few basic inputs (like your budget, ad copy, and audience targeting), and Google automatically creates and optimises the ads across different networks.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Automation: Google manages bidding, targeting, and ad placements.
Ad formats: can include search, display, and video ads.
Goal-driven: campaigns are tailored to specific objectives like conversions or website traffic.
Types of Google ad campaigns
Performance Max
Performance Max (or PMax) campaigns were launched in 2021. This goal-based campaign type allows advertisers to maximise performance across all Google channels and inventory from a single Google Ads campaign. This means you can access all of Googe’s ad inventory (Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail and Maps) in one campaign, using machine learning to optimise placements and bids in real-time.
The key focus of a Performance Max campaign is automation to drive more conversions, achieve goals (like increasing sales or leads), and help advertisers reach a broader audience with minimal effort, reducing the amount of time spent manually adjusting campaigns.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Creative assets & asset groups: creative assets to generate ads across multiple channels and formats, including images and videos.
Audience signals: advertisers can provide Audience Signals to give Google’s algorithms a starting point for targeting.
Product feed integration: ecommerce brands can integrate Performance Max seamlessly with their Google Merchant Center product feed.
Note: Performance Max will show as a campaign type selection if your advertising objective is ‘Sales’, ‘Leads’ or ‘Local shop visits and promotions’
Demand Gen campaigns
Demand Gen campaigns are designed to help businesses drive demand and engagement through visually rich ads across platforms like YouTube, Discover and Gmail. Built to target mid-funnel audiences, these campaigns focus on users who are already familiar with the brand but need more engagement before making a purchase or taking the desired action.
Demand Gen campaigns place a strong emphasis on immersive, engaging content to foster brand consideration and drive users to conversion. They’re ideal for businesses looking to boost interest, increase product discovery, or remarket to potential customers.
KEY COMPONENTS:
Visual ad formats: static or carousel images that can be displayed across Google Discover, YouTube feeds, and Gmail, while short videos can be used to tell a story or showcase products
Cross-channel placements: Demand Gen campaigns run across multiple Google platforms where users actively discover content
Bidding strategies: automated bidding strategies ensure that you optimise performance for specific objectives
Ad creative customisation: each ad group contains a collection of creative formats (images, videos, text) that Google will test and optimise to find the best combinations
Need help understanding the different types of PPC ads and how to get the best ROI? Our PPC team can set your campaigns up for success – send us a message to get started.
