Google’s advertising platform (Google Ads) is one of the leading advertising platforms on the internet. The reason for this is, of course, the extensive advertising options on the platform that help advertisers reach a wide range of audiences. We use the Search Network to run campaigns targeting people actively searching for keywords relevant to a specific business, YouTube campaigns to advertise video content, Google Shopping campaigns to promote products from an e-commerce store, and a variety of other options. In this article, we will talk about paid advertising on Google with Discovery campaigns.
What is a Discovery campaign anyway?
A Discovery campaign in Google Ads gives you the ability to run ads across the Google Display Network, specifically on YouTube (not video ads), Gmail, and Google Discover. The ads in this campaign option are similar to native ads (popular on Taboola and Outbrain advertising platforms), which aim to blend into the digital space, combining content and visual media without disrupting users while fitting smoothly into the platform. You could say that a Discovery campaign in Google along with a Display campaign are Google’s native ads.
How to Create a Discovery Campaign in Google Ads?
In this guide, we will go step by step through creating your first Discovery campaign in Google Ads. We will also discuss potential targeting options in this campaign type and the recommended bidding strategy (in my opinion) for working with this kind of campaign.
Step 1 - Create a campaign in Google Ads
Under the Campaigns option in Google Ads, click the blue plus icon and then New Campaign to create your first Discovery campaign.
Step 2 - Choose the campaign goal
In a Discovery campaign, you can choose from three main campaign goals – Sales, Leads, and Website Traffic. If you choose a different goal, you will not be able to create a Discovery campaign. Keep in mind that if you want to use the Maximize Conversions bid strategy, you will need to choose Leads or Sales as the campaign goal to achieve the best results.
Step 3 - Choose a Discovery campaign
Next, in the list of campaign types, you will need to choose Discovery.
Step 4 - Add the destination website and name the campaign
After selecting a Discovery campaign, enter the URL where you want people who view the campaign to land, and give the campaign a name. I entered the desired page on the website, and in the campaign name, I include the business acronym, the campaign type, and the destination page. Finally, click Continue.
Step 5 - Choose location targeting and language targeting for the campaign
When it comes to campaign targeting, you need to decide where geographically you want your ads to appear and in which device interface languages you want them shown. Choose geographic locations where you want to provide your products or services. Personally, I set up the campaign for the entire country in this section and later exclude the West Bank after campaign creation. For the interface language, I choose Hebrew, English, and Arabic (in some campaigns I also add other languages spoken in Israel such as Russian, French, and more).
Step 6 - Choose the desired bidding strategy (Bid)
You can only choose Smart Bidding options such as Maximize Conversions or Target CPA. Discovery campaigns are designed to drive conversions for your business, which is why these conversion-focused bid strategies are used. If you have built campaigns in the past and know your approximate cost per conversion, you can choose the Target CPA option and enter your desired conversion cost for the system to work with. Since I am building a campaign for a cocktail workshop for the first time and don’t know the average cost per conversion, I will choose the Maximize Conversions bidding strategy.
Step 7 - Choose the desired budget
As a rule of thumb, I determine the desired monthly budget I want to spend on each Google campaign, divide it by 30, and thus arrive at my target daily budget. This will help you spend your monthly budget efficiently. In this case, I want my monthly budget to be 1,500 NIS per month for this campaign, so the daily budget will be 50 NIS. Then, click on Additional Settings.
Step 8 - Configure additional campaign settings (if needed)
Under the additional settings option in a Discovery campaign, you can schedule ads to appear on specific dates and times, set campaign start and end dates, add tracking parameters to the URL you enter in the campaign, and exclude sensitive content from the campaign. These options are optional. Finally, click Next.
Step 9 - Create the ad group and configure audience targeting
Now, it’s time to name your first ad group and define its targeting. You have plenty of options in Google Ads when it comes to targeting:
- Remarketing Audience – An audience that has already interacted with you via your website.
- Similar Audience – An option to expand your existing audience by finding people whose characteristics match your current audience (similar to Facebook’s Lookalike audience).
- In-Market Audiences – Consumers and potential customers across the web who are researching products and making comparisons online.
- Custom Intent Audiences – Targeting people based on custom search intent.
- Life Events – Targeting people based on major life milestones they have experienced, such as weddings, childbirth, moving into an apartment, and more.
- Affinity Audiences – Audiences with an affinity for products and services based on interest topics.
- Demographics – Targeting by standard demographics everyone knows – age, gender, and interests.
- Detailed Demographics – Detailed demographics are an expansion of the current demographic options in Google, allowing you to target by marital status, homeownership, education, and parental status.
Unless I am creating list-based campaigns like remarketing or similar audiences, I usually choose to target in my campaigns by demographics and interests relevant to the business I am promoting.
Step 10 - Create a Discovery ad and a Discovery carousel ad
A recommended practice in my opinion is to create at least 3 ads in each ad group in your Google campaigns. In a Discovery campaign, I recommend creating 2 standard ads and 1 carousel ad so you can test the ads and achieve the best results. Over time, Google Ads will continue serving your top-performing ads.
Important principles for creating quality ads in a Google Ads Discovery campaign:
- Use only one logo image.
- Use several different images to give the system multiple options.
- Use several different headlines to give the system multiple options.
- Use several different descriptions to give the system multiple options.
Standard Discovery campaign ad:
Discovery campaign carousel ad:
Step 11 - Create the campaign
Finally, after reviewing all the campaign settings and clicking continue – Google’s advertising platform will provide warnings or notes about the campaign you created (it is not mandatory to address them at the initial stage, and it is not certain that their recommendations will improve your campaign performance). After that, click on Publish Campaign to launch it live. Later on, you will be able to create additional ad groups, more ads, and make edits and adjustments.
Step 12 - Test every component of the campaign
To run Discovery campaigns in the most optimal way, you should create diverse targeting options, multiple ads in each ad group, and direct users to different landing pages. You can never know what will work better for you until you try it, which is why it is recommended to run as many tests as possible when creating the campaign.
3 Tips for Building a Winning Discovery Campaign in Google Ads
Now that you know what Discovery campaigns are in Google’s advertising system and decided you want to integrate them into your marketing plan, it is important to know 3 tips that will make your Discovery campaign higher quality.
- Use conversion tracking – Discovery campaigns will work much better when conversion tracking is set up properly in your Google Ads account. Once you have installed conversion tracking correctly, you can set up your campaigns to focus on your conversion action (or multiple conversion actions).
- Start with a remarketing audience – I recommend starting with remarketing targeting for an audience that is already familiar with your brand and has visited your website in the past to maximize campaign results. You can split your existing remarketing audience into those who converted in the past and those who didn’t, tailoring your ads for that audience.
- Discovery campaigns are also great for brand awareness – Since you can incorporate images along with the business name in this type of campaign, you can expose your brand to an audience that doesn’t know you yet, and later convert that audience in other campaigns or across different platforms.
Conclusion
There are many advertising options on the internet in general and in Google Ads in particular. Discovery campaigns are an option that businesses and brands usually don’t consider at the start of their website or business marketing journey, as they prefer to invest their initial budget in the Search or Display Networks. If you want to expand your audience reach and diversify your active ads with creatives that are a bit different from what you’re used to, it’s definitely worth trying Discovery ads on Google.
About the author
Dvir Naaman, 27, graduate of the digital marketing course at HackerU College. Experienced in building WordPress websites, paid marketing on Google, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. Specializes in organic search marketing (SEO) at Fialkov Digital. Has extensive experience in e-commerce and dropshipping, and is the owner of Merchant Center – a website aggregating information about e-commerce platforms and advanced marketing tools to boost business conversions, with an emphasis on e-commerce store sales.
