Types of Ads on Google: 2025 Updated Ultimate Guide

In today’s digital world, knowing the types of ads on Google is very important for every business. Google Ads now offers many different ways to reach your audience, and this guide will help you understand the nine main ad campaigns available. This article is written in simple English so that even those who speak English as a third language can easily understand it.

Google keeps updating its ad system with new features like better AI and easier targeting. In 2025, these updates make it simpler to connect with potential customers. In this guide, we explain the different types of Google Ads campaigns, talk about Google AdWords types of ads, and show the various types of campaign in Google Ads in a natural and easy-to-read way. We cover each ad type in detail, explain how they work, list their benefits, and share the latest improvements that help businesses succeed online.

Overview of types of ads on google

1. Search Ads: Getting High-Intent Users

Search Ads are one of the most common ad types on Google. They are the text ads you see at the top of the search results when people search for specific words or phrases. Because these ads appear when someone is actively looking for a product or service, they are very effective in capturing high-intent users.

How They Work

• Keyword Targeting: You choose specific keywords that people are likely to use when searching for your product or service. When someone enters these keywords into Google, your ad appears.
• Extra Details: Search Ads often include additional information like callouts, site links, and snippets. This extra detail helps users understand more about your business before they click.
• Voice Search Compatibility: More people are now using voice search on smart devices. Google has optimized Search Ads so that they work well with spoken queries, ensuring your ad reaches users even when they speak instead of typing.

Latest Updates

• AI-Powered Smart Bidding: New artificial intelligence tools help set the best bids automatically. This means your ad budget is used more efficiently, sometimes improving results by around 18%.
• Hyperlocal Targeting: With the latest updates, you can now target very small geographic areas, such as a specific neighborhood. This is especially useful for local businesses who need to reach customers close to their location.

Best For

• Lead Generation: Perfect for businesses that need immediate customer responses.
• Direct Sales: Ideal for online stores aiming to boost sales quickly.
• Local Services: Great for local service providers who want to reach customers nearby

2. Display Ads: Building Your Brand with Visuals

Display Ads are all about catching the eye. These ads use pictures, animations, and videos to grab the attention of users as they browse websites. They are shown on millions of sites that are part of the Google Display Network (GDN) and are perfect for building brand awareness.

How They Work

• Visual Appeal: Display Ads use clear and colorful images or animations. The visuals are designed to stand out and attract the user’s attention.
• Wide Reach: Since they appear on many websites, these ads can reach more than 90% of all internet users.
• Contextual Targeting: Google places these ads on websites that are likely to be visited by your target audience. This means your ad appears in a context that makes sense for your business.

Latest Updates

• Dynamic Creative Optimization: With the latest AI enhancements, Display Ads can automatically change images and text to show the best combination for each viewer.
• Augmented Reality Integration: Some Display Ads now offer augmented reality features. For instance, a furniture store might let users see how a sofa would look in their living room.
• Improved Audience Segmentation: The system now targets your ads even more precisely by understanding user behavior and interests better.

Best For

• Brand Awareness: Perfect if you want lots of people to remember your brand.
• Retargeting: Great for reaching out to users who have visited your site before.
• Product Discovery: Useful for introducing new products to people who may not be familiar with your business.

3. Shopping Ads: Showing Off Your Products

For businesses that sell products online, Shopping Ads are incredibly useful. These ads show your products with pictures, prices, and other key details right in Google search results. They are designed to help users compare products quickly and make a buying decision.

How They Work

• Product Feed Integration: Shopping Ads automatically pull product details from your online store feed. This includes images, prices, and stock levels.
• Side-by-Side Comparison: Multiple products can be shown at once, allowing customers to easily compare features and prices.
• Real-Time Updates: Since the ad information is connected to your product feed, it updates automatically. This means customers always see the latest information.

Latest Updates

• Voice-Activated Shopping: With the rise of voice assistants like Google Assistant, people can now shop using voice commands. Your Shopping Ads can be integrated with these features, making it easier for users to shop hands-free.
• Performance Max Integration: Shopping Ads can now be combined with other ad formats in a unified campaign, helping you reach customers across multiple channels.
• AI-Enhanced Bidding: The system now adjusts bids automatically based on market conditions and competitor activity, ensuring your products get the best visibility.

Best For

• Increasing Online Sales: Ideal for stores that want to drive direct purchases.
• Easy Product Comparison: Customers can quickly see what you offer alongside similar products.
• Promotions and Deals: Perfect for promoting seasonal offers or special discounts.

4. Video Ads: Telling Your Brand Story

Video Ads allow you to share your brand’s story in an engaging and memorable way. These ads are shown on YouTube and other video partner sites. They come in various formats—skippable, non-skippable, bumper, and outstream—so you can choose the style that best fits your campaign goals.

How They Work

• Multiple Formats: Video Ads can be set to play before, during, or after YouTube videos. They can also appear as standalone videos on partner sites.
• Interactive Elements: Many video ads include interactive features like clickable links or buttons, making it easy for viewers to take action.
• Storytelling Power: Videos allow you to demonstrate your products, share customer testimonials, or simply tell your brand story in a way that resonates emotionally with viewers.

Latest Updates

• AI-Driven Creative Variations: The latest updates allow AI to create several versions of your video ad. The system then shows the version that performs best, ensuring optimal engagement.
• 360° Video and AR: New formats include immersive 360° videos and augmented reality features, giving viewers an interactive experience that goes beyond traditional video.
• Enhanced Analytics: Improved tools now track viewer behavior more precisely, helping you understand how long people watch your video and where they click.

Best For

• Building Brand Identity: Video Ads are great for creating a strong, emotional connection with your audience.
• Product Demonstrations: If your product works better when seen in action, a video can show all its benefits.
• Event Promotions: Use video to generate excitement for live events, product launches, or special promotions.

5. App Ads: Boosting Mobile Engagement

In our mobile-first world, App Ads are crucial for promoting your mobile application. These ads help drive both downloads and in-app engagement by reaching users on platforms like Google Search, YouTube, and Google Play.

How They Work

• Multi-Platform Display: App Ads appear where mobile users spend most of their time. They are optimized to show up on various devices and platforms.
• Download Optimization: The primary goal of these ads is to encourage users to download your app. They often include previews so users can see what to expect.
• In-App Engagement: Once the app is downloaded, these ads can also promote new features or content updates to keep users engaged.

Latest Updates

• In-App Previews: The newest feature allows users to see a short demo of your app before they download it. This preview can increase the likelihood of a download.
• Real-Time Personalization: App Ads now automatically adjust their creative elements based on user interests and behavior, ensuring a more personalized experience.
• Cross-Promotion: If you have more than one app, you can run a campaign that promotes them together, helping to build a cohesive app ecosystem.

Best For

• New App Launches: Great for generating buzz and initial downloads.
• Increasing Engagement: Keep existing users interested by promoting new features or special in-app events.
• Multi-App Promotion: If you offer several related apps, these ads help drive traffic to all of them.

6. Discovery Ads: Reaching Users Who Are Exploring

Discovery Ads are designed for users who are exploring new content on platforms like Google Discover, YouTube Home, and Gmail. These ads blend naturally with the content users are already viewing, making them feel less intrusive and more part of the experience.

How They Work

• Seamless Integration: Discovery Ads appear in content feeds and look like natural parts of the page. They use strong visuals and clear headlines to catch the eye.
• Interest-Based Targeting: These ads are shown based on what users have shown interest in before. This helps make sure your ad is relevant to their current browsing.
• Engaging Formats: They can include interactive elements such as mini-games, quizzes, or other features that encourage user participation.

Latest Updates

• Interactive Features: The latest Discovery Ads may include mini-games or quizzes that allow users to engage directly with the ad.
• Real-Time Optimization: The system adjusts the ad content in real time based on trends and current user interests.
• Wider Placements: Discovery Ads now appear in even more places within Google’s network, increasing their reach and effectiveness.

Best For

• Brand Awareness: They are ideal for introducing your brand to new audiences.
• Content Promotion: Use them to drive traffic to blogs, videos, or news articles.
• Product Launches: They spark curiosity and interest when you have a new product or service to share.

7. Performance Max Ads: One Campaign, Many Channels

Performance Max Ads are Google’s all-in-one solution for advertising. With just one campaign, you can reach users across Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, and even Maps. This makes managing your ads easier and helps you reach more potential customers without the hassle of handling multiple campaigns separately.

How They Work

• Unified Campaign Management: Instead of creating separate campaigns for each platform, Performance Max Ads use one campaign to spread your budget across all channels.
• AI-Driven Optimization: Advanced AI tools continuously adjust your ad placements, bids, and creative elements in real time to get the best results.
• Centralized Reporting: You get one simple dashboard where you can see how your ads are doing across all platforms.

Latest Updates

• Predictive Audience Targeting: The system now predicts which groups of users are more likely to convert. This means your money is spent on the people most interested in what you offer.
• Automated Creative Generation: Multiple versions of your ad are created automatically, and the best-performing ones are shown more often.
• Simplified Setup: The new setup process is easier than ever, so even beginners can quickly launch a Performance Max campaign.

Best For

• Multi-Channel Strategies: If you want to reach users across many platforms with one unified campaign.
• Efficiency: Perfect for businesses that want to save time while still reaching a wide audience.
• Data-Driven Campaigns: Ideal for marketers who love using real-time data to make decisions.

8. Smart Ads: Simple Automation for Busy Marketers

Smart Ads are perfect if you have limited time for managing your advertising. They use full automation powered by machine learning to handle bidding, targeting, and even creating your ad copy. This makes them an ideal choice for small businesses or beginners who want a set-it-and-forget-it solution.

How They Work

• Full Automation: Set up your campaign once, and the system takes care of everything from there.
• Continuous Learning: The AI learns from the performance data and adjusts your ads over time to improve results.
• Minimal Manual Intervention: Once you launch the campaign, you don’t have to worry much about tweaking it frequently.

Latest Updates

• Enhanced AI Copywriting: New AI tools like Google Gemini help create more engaging and natural ad copy.
• Adaptive Budgeting: The system automatically adjusts your budget allocation to focus on the best-performing segments.
• Deeper Performance Insights: Detailed reports now provide more useful data so you can understand what is working without spending too much time analyzing numbers.

Best For

• Busy Marketers: If you have little time to manage ads manually, Smart Ads are a great choice.
• Small Businesses: Ideal for those who need effective advertising without a dedicated marketing team.
• Experimenting with New Ideas: Allows you to quickly try out different ad approaches without much hassle.

9. Local Services Ads: Connecting with Your Community

Local Services Ads are designed to help local businesses connect with customers nearby. They are especially useful for service providers like plumbers, electricians, or home repair companies. These ads build trust by showing customer reviews and a Google Guarantee badge, making users feel confident in choosing your service.

How They Work

• Geo-Targeting: Local Services Ads use location data to show your ad to people in your area. This ensures that only local customers see your message.
• Trust Signals: These ads include customer reviews, ratings, and a Google Guarantee badge, all of which help build trust.
• Direct Contact Options: Customers can call or book an appointment directly from the ad, making it easy for them to reach you.

Latest Updates

• Voice Search Integration: With voice commands becoming more common, local customers can now book services using devices like Google Assistant.
• Real-Time Availability: New features allow your ad to show live availability for appointments, so customers know exactly when you’re free.
• Improved Targeting: Advanced algorithms ensure that your ad reaches the right local audience more accurately than ever before.

Best For

• Local Service Providers: Perfect for businesses that operate in a specific area.
• Immediate Lead Generation: Great for getting quick, actionable leads.
• Community Engagement: Helps build a loyal customer base in your local community.

Choosing the Right Google Ads Campaign for Your Business

With these nine ad types available, picking the best types of campaign in Google Ads depends on your goals and audience. Here are some simple tips:

• Know Your Goal:
  
  • For leads and quick sales: Use Search Ads or Local Services Ads.
  • For brand building: Try Display Ads, Video Ads, or Discovery Ads.
  • For online shopping: Shopping Ads are the best choice.
  • For mobile apps: App Ads work great.
• Understand Your Audience:
  
  • People searching for something specific: They will respond well to Search Ads.
  • Browsers and explorers: They may like Display and Discovery Ads better.
• Consider Your Time and Budget:
  
  • If you want full control: You might choose Search or Display Ads.
  • For less management work: Performance Max and Smart Ads use automation to help you.

By matching your campaign choice to what you need and who you want to reach, you can get the best results from your Google Ads.

Final Thoughts

Understanding the types of ads on Google is the key to making the most of your online marketing. Whether you are looking at Google AdWords types of ads or the various types of Google Ads campaigns, this guide helps you see which one is right for you in 2025.

From Search Ads that capture high-intent customers to Video Ads that tell your brand story, each ad type has its own benefits. With the latest updates like AI-powered bidding, dynamic creative adjustments, and voice search features, Google Ads is easier and more effective than ever.

Remember, the best strategy is to test different ad types and see what works best for your business. Keep an eye on the updates and let data guide your decisions. With the right mix, you can reach more people, get more leads, and grow your business.

Also Read about performance marketing vs brand marketing