Demand Gen campaigns are still very new, and little public data is available for them.
So benchmarking them is harder than it looks.
In this article, we’ll piece together benchmarks that account for the multiple placements as well as different objectives that are available for Demand Gen.
Key Metrics to Track with Demand Gen
View rateView Rate
View rate measures the percentage of people who watched your video ad (as opposed to skipping or scrolling past it). For Demand Gen, you’re typically looking at 15 to 35 percent, depending on placement, video length, and how strong your hook is.
This metric matters more for Demand Gen than most campaign types because so much of your inventory is video-based (YouTube in-stream, in-feed, Shorts). If your view rate is below 15 percent, your creative isn’t holding attention. If it’s above 30 percent, your hook is working and you’re likely getting cheaper views.
View rate directly affects cost. Google’s auction rewards ads that keep people watching, so a higher view rate generally means lower cost per view (CPV) and better overall efficiency. If your view rate drops, check your first 5 seconds. That’s where most people decide to skip.
Click-through Rate (CTR)
CTR tells you what percentage of people who see your ad actually click it. For Demand Gen, you’re typically looking at 0.5 to 2 percent, depending on placement and creative quality.
That’s higher than pure Display (which usually sits at 0.1 to 0.5 percent). But it’s lower than Search Ads (which often run 2 to 15 percent).
The reason is straightforward. Demand Gen traffic is in-stream and contextual, not actively searching for your product.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
This varies massively by vertical and placement. Demand Gen CPCs typically range from $0.30 to $1.50, but I’ve seen luxury ecommerce push toward $2 to $3 per click.
YouTube placements tend to be pricier than Discover. Gmail usually lands somewhere in the middle.
If your CPC is consistently above $2, check your audience targeting. You might be bidding against high-value competitors unnecessarily, or your audience might be too small. The latter often happens when trying to do retargeting.
Conversion Rate
If you’re creating Demand Gen campaigns with product feeds, you’re typically seeing 0.5 to 2 percent conversion rate.
If you’re running awareness-focused Demand Gen, expect this to be way lower. Think less than 0.05 percent.
But it’s important not to be too focused on conversions. Demand Gen often does heavy lifting earlier in the funnel, so the true impact is higher than last-click attribution (or even data driven attribution) shows.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
This is what actually matters to your bottom line. For ecommerce, expect a range of $15 to $60 per acquisition, depending on your product price point, margin, and how optimized your account is.
A luxury skincare brand might see $45 CPA. A lower-priced fashion retailer might be $20. Your specific CPA depends entirely on your business model.
Similar to conversion rate, the less your campaign is focused on sales, the higher the CPA will be.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Mature Demand Gen campaigns often run 2 to 5x ROAS. But here’s what I suggest. Don’t expect that in month one.
New campaigns need a learning period (usually 2 to 4 weeks with sufficient conversion volume). If you’re running $10K per month in spend, you need enough conversions to give the algorithm room to optimize.
Too little volume, and you’ll see erratic performance.
Similar to conversion rate and CPA, the less your campaign is focused on sales, the lower the ROAS will be.
View-Through Conversions
Google loves this metric for Demand Gen. View-through conversions happen when someone sees your ad, doesn’t click it, but later converts on their own.
It makes Demand Gen look incredibly powerful. But be skeptical.
View-through attribution is controversial because it’s hard to isolate causation. Did your ad actually influence that purchase, or would they have converted anyway?
Google says view-through conversions add another 20 to 40 percent to your campaign impact. I’d discount that number significantly.
Conversions (Platform Comparable)
If you’re running ads on Meta or TikTok alongside Google, you’ve probably run into the comparison problem. Meta and TikTok report conversions in ways that make their campaigns look great. Google’s standard reporting is more conservative, which makes Demand Gen look worse by comparison. Even when it’s doing the same job.
Google’s answer is the Conversions (Platform Comparable) column. It’s a reporting-only column (it doesn’t affect bidding or optimization) that adjusts Demand Gen attribution to mirror how other advertising platforms count conversions. Two specific changes make this work.
Change 1: Demand Gen in isolation. Normally, Google’s data-driven attribution spreads conversion credit across all your Google campaigns. If someone sees a Demand Gen ad, clicks a Shopping ad, and then converts through branded search, Demand Gen gets a fraction of the credit. Meanwhile, Meta would claim full credit for a similar touchpoint. The Platform Comparable column removes other Google campaigns from the attribution path and gives full credit to the last Demand Gen touchpoint. This levels the playing field.
Change 2: View-through conversions included. Google’s standard conversion columns exclude view-through conversions (VTCs) by default. Other advertising platforms include them. The Platform Comparable column adds VTCs into the conversion count, which means your conversion numbers, CPA, and ROAS all shift. Often significantly. If your standard reporting shows 50 conversions and 20 additional VTCs, the Platform Comparable column would reflect 70 conversions. That’s a meaningful difference.
The attribution waterfall. When multiple Demand Gen interactions exist in a conversion path, credit follows a waterfall: last Demand Gen click gets priority, then last Demand Gen engaged view, then last Demand Gen view (impression). Each conversion is counted once. No duplication.
Besides the main conversions column, Google also provides related Platform Comparable columns for cost per conversion, conversion rate, conversion value, and ROAS. This gives you a full set of metrics to compare directly against Meta or TikTok reporting.
Here’s my take. The Platform Comparable column exists because Google was losing the reporting war. Advertisers would compare Meta’s inflated numbers against Google’s conservative numbers and shift budget to Meta. Now you can run a proper side-by-side comparison using the same attribution logic.
If you want to compare fairly, make sure you match conversion windows, audiences, budgets, and creative formats between platforms. The column gets you closer to parity, but it’s not perfect. And remember: it’s reporting only. Your actual Demand Gen bidding still runs on Google’s standard attribution.
Demand Gen Ecommerce Benchmarks (Realistic Ranges for 2026)
Here’s what I’m seeing across solid ecommerce accounts right now:
- CTR: 0.5 to 2 percent (higher on YouTube in-feed, lower on Gmail and Discover)
- CPC: $0.30 to $1.50 (varies by vertical. Luxury and competitive verticals run higher)
- Conversion Rate: 0.5 to 2 percent (for product feed campaigns actively pushing conversions)
- ROAS: 2 to 5x (after the learning period. Expect 1.5 to 2x in weeks 1 and 2)
- CPA: $15 to $60 (the wide range reflects different price points and margins)
One critical note. These are averages.
Your numbers will depend on your business, creative quality (which is number one), audience selection, product price point, seasonal timing, and whether you’re targeting new or returning customers. A remarketing campaign will crush these benchmarks. A cold audience test might be 90 percent worse.
That variance is normal. Don’t compare your cold traffic numbers to someone else’s remarketing numbers.
Google’s Official Numbers (and Why to Take Them with a Grain of Salt)
Google published some headline-grabbing Demand Gen metrics. Let’s unpack them.
“26 percent more conversions per dollar spent.” But compared to what? Google doesn’t specify the baseline.
Is this versus standard Display. Versus YouTube Ads. Versus their own previous results. The vagueness is intentional.
“58 percent higher ROAS than Video Action Campaigns.” Well, Video Action Campaigns were sunset.
That’s a convenient comparison. Google is comparing new tech to old tech that no longer exists. Of course Demand Gen looks better.
“40 percent more conversions when following best practices.” And what are these “best practices”? Usually, they mean larger budgets, more creative variations, and longer campaign runtimes.
In other words, the practices that make any campaign perform better. This is circular logic.
Here’s my philosophy. Trust your own data, not Google’s marketing claims.
Set up proper tracking. Run your campaigns for at least 4 weeks. Compare Demand Gen performance against your other channels’ benchmarks.
That’s the real benchmark you care about.
Benchmarks by Placement
YouTube (Your Best Proxy for Demand Gen Benchmarks)
Here’s something most people overlook. If your Demand Gen campaigns are focused on YouTube placements (and they should be), your best benchmark reference isn’t Demand Gen data. It’s YouTube Ads benchmarks.
The audiences are the same. The placements are the same. The creative formats are the same. Demand Gen is essentially running YouTube Ads with product feeds and better audience controls bolted on. So if you know what YouTube Ads cost in your vertical, you have a solid starting point for Demand Gen expectations.
YouTube placements typically have the highest CPC ($0.50 to $2 and up) but also strong engagement and conversion quality. In-feed ads are cheaper than in-stream. Shorts are still growing, with lower CPC but different audience intent (mobile, quick browsing).
The key difference: Demand Gen’s product feed integration tends to improve conversion rates compared to standalone YouTube campaigns. So if your YouTube Ads convert at 1.5 percent, your Demand Gen with product feeds might hit 2 to 2.5 percent on the same placements. The product card removes a step from the purchase journey.
YouTube traffic converts well for ecommerce because viewers are already engaged with video content. The drop-off happens between view and click, not between click and conversion.
My suggestion: if you’re already running YouTube Ads, pull those benchmarks before launching Demand Gen. They’ll give you a realistic CPC and CTR baseline. Then expect Demand Gen to improve on conversion rate thanks to the feed. For YouTube and CTV specific strategy, check out my guide on Demand Gen for YouTube and Connected TV.
Discover
Discover (Google’s content recommendation feed on mobile) usually has lower CPCs ($0.20 to $0.80) because the inventory is massive and the user intent is more casual.
Think of it as premium Display.
Conversion rates tend to be slightly lower than YouTube because Discover users aren’t actively seeking video content. But the lower cost can make up for it if your conversion rate holds steady.
Gmail
Gmail placements are hit or miss. Some accounts see solid performance. Others see high CPC with low conversion.
The issue. Email users aren’t expecting ads in their inbox, even if Google tries to make them “native-looking.”
I typically recommend testing Gmail but not betting your budget on it. If it works in your account, great. If not, dial it down.
How Demand Gen Benchmarks Compare to Other Campaign Types
vs. Shopping Ads
Shopping Ads have much lower CPCs ($0.30 to $0.80) because they’re pulling from commercial intent. People are actually searching for your product.
But Shopping campaigns are limited to paid search placements. Demand Gen has a higher cost but reaches people earlier in the funnel.
Here’s my suggestion. Use Shopping Ads benchmarks as your baseline for conversion cost. Then understand that Demand Gen should complement, not replace, Shopping.
Shopping is higher-intent, lower-cost. Use them together, not against each other.
vs. Search Ads
Search Ads typically have higher CTR (2 to 5 percent) and lower cost per conversion because the intent is explicit. People are actively searching for what you sell.
Demand Gen CPCs are lower. But conversion rates lag because you’re reaching less-qualified audiences.
Search is your cash cow. Demand Gen is your growth play. If you’re not running a solid Google Ads strategy with both channels, you’re missing out.
vs. YouTube Ads (Standalone)
If you’re comparing Demand Gen to standalone YouTube ad campaigns, Demand Gen usually wins because it includes product feeds and additional placements. But you’re also competing with YouTube’s own direct-response campaign types, which can be more specialized.
For ecommerce specifically, Demand Gen’s product feed integration makes it stronger than isolated YouTube campaigns.
That said, YouTube Ads benchmarks should inform your CPC expectations within Demand Gen.
vs. Performance Max
Performance Max and Demand Gen are Google’s two main automated campaign types. I often get asked which is better.
The answer depends on your goal. Performance Max is search-first with multi-channel reach. Demand Gen is video and discovery-first.
For awareness and consideration, Demand Gen tends to outperform Performance Max. For pure conversion, Performance Max’s search focus wins.
Many successful ecommerce accounts run both. Use Performance Max campaigns for your proven products. Use Demand Gen for discovery and new customer acquisition.
vs. Display
Demand Gen is essentially Display on steroids. Higher quality traffic, better placement control, and product-level targeting. CPCs will be higher, but so will conversion rates and ROAS.
If you have money in pure Display, consider shifting some budget to Demand Gen and measuring the uplift.
Factors That Affect Your Benchmarks
Creative Quality (Number 1 Factor)
The difference between mediocre creative and great creative is 2 to 3x performance. Full stop.
If your benchmarks are worse than average, look at your creative first before blaming the channel.
Based on my experience, UGC-style content (authentic, less polished) outperforms traditional brand videos. Real people using your product beats professional production.
This is why Demand Gen ad creative is so critical to get right.
Audience Selection (Number 2 Factor)
Targeting matters. Custom audiences, lookalike audiences, and refined in-market audiences will crush broad targeting.
If you’re running with no audience controls, your metrics will be worse than benchmark.
Remarketing audiences (past website visitors, cart abandoners) will beat cold audiences by 2 to 4x on ROAS. This is where Demand Gen audiences really shine.
Product Price Point
Lower-priced products ($20 to $50) convert faster and cheaper than high-priced items ($500 and up). Your benchmarks should reflect your product’s price, not generic ecommerce benchmarks.
A $15 impulse buy will hit 3 to 5 percent conversion rate. A $2,000 luxury item might only hit 0.5 to 1 percent. Both are normal.
Seasonal Timing
Q4 shopping season lifts ROAS across the board. January is softer. If you’re running in off-season months, your numbers will be lower than Q4 benchmarks suggest.
Budget and bid strategy around seasonality. Your December ROAS will look amazing compared to March. That’s expected.
New vs. Returning Customers
Returning customer campaigns will outperform new customer campaigns by 3 to 5x on ROAS. If your benchmarks are weak, check if you’re disproportionately targeting cold audiences.
Here’s what I suggest. Start with high-value audiences (past purchasers, cart abandoners). Then expand to lookalikes and interest-based once you have winning creative.
How to Know if Your Demand Gen Campaign is Working
Don’t Just Look at Last-Click ROAS
Demand Gen does a lot of heavy lifting in the awareness and consideration stages. Last-click attribution will undervalue its contribution.
Look at your overall account performance, not just that one campaign. If your total account metrics are improving, Demand Gen is working even if that single campaign looks weak.
Set up proper conversion tracking (GA4 with server-side tracking, or at minimum, Google Ads conversion tags) so you capture as many actions as possible. Don’t rely on browser-based cookies.
Consider View-Through Impact
Google’s view-through metrics are controversial, but they’re not meaningless. If your view-through rate is 20 percent or higher than your click rate, the campaign is creating awareness even if people aren’t immediately clicking.
The question is. How much incremental value is that awareness creating?
That’s where your own analysis comes in. Look at branded search volume, overall account ROAS, and customer acquisition trends across channels.
Check Branded Search Lift
If your Demand Gen campaign is working, you should see an uptick in branded search volume within 2 to 3 weeks. People are seeing your ads, remembering your brand, and searching for you directly.
Correlation doesn’t prove causation. But a lift in branded search alongside Demand Gen spend is a good signal.
Look at Overall Account Performance
Don’t evaluate Demand Gen in isolation. If your total account ROAS is improving, conversion volume is up, and cost per acquisition across all channels is stable or declining, Demand Gen is working.
Even if the individual campaign numbers look mediocre.
Be Skeptical of Attribution
Google’s attribution models are designed to make Demand Gen look good. That doesn’t mean Demand Gen isn’t working. It just means you should trust your own data more than Google’s internal attribution reports.
Set up conversion tracking properly. Focus on observable metrics. Actual conversions, actual ROAS, actual CPA. Not attribution percentages.
Advanced Benchmarking: Feed Optimization Matters
Here’s something many people miss. Your product feed optimization directly impacts your benchmarks.
If your product images are low quality, your titles are vague, or your prices are wrong, your conversion rate tanks. And that tanks your entire ROAS.
I’ve seen accounts improve their ROAS by 40 to 60 percent just by fixing feed issues. Good product title optimization alone can move the needle.
Your Demand Gen benchmarks aren’t just about the ad. They’re about the entire experience from click to conversion.
Bidding Strategy and Benchmarks
Your bidding strategy also affects what benchmarks look like. If you’re using Target ROAS or Target CPA, Google’s algorithm will pursue those numbers aggressively.
The tradeoff. If you set Target CPA too low, you’ll get less volume but hit your CPA target. If you set it too high, you’ll get more volume but higher CPAs.
Smart Bidding strategies like Smart Bidding are powerful. But they also mean you should expect your benchmarks to shift based on your strategy, not match some fixed industry number.
When to Cut a Demand Gen Campaign
Give It Time
Don’t kill a campaign in week one. Give Demand Gen at least 2 to 4 weeks to accumulate enough conversion volume for the algorithm to learn.
If you’re spending $10K per week but only getting 10 conversions, the algorithm is flying blind.
Look for Red Flags
If your CPA is 2 to 3x your target after the learning period, and your conversion rate hasn’t improved, something is fundamentally wrong.
Check your creative, your targeting, and your product feed quality.
If you’re seeing zero view-through conversions and your ROAS is below 1.5x, that’s also a sign the campaign isn’t resonating.
Make Changes Before You Cut
Before you pause the campaign, try these. Swap in different creative, tighten your audience targeting, check your product feed for errors, and increase bid strategy aggression (if you have budget flexibility).
A lot of “dead” campaigns just need better creative or tighter targeting. Don’t assume the channel itself is the problem.
The Final Metric: Profitability
Here’s the real benchmark. Are you making money?
If your CPA is within your target range and your ROAS is above 2x after the learning period, the campaign is working. If it’s not, it doesn’t matter what Google’s benchmarks say.
Cut it or significantly restructure it.
Your benchmarks aren’t Google’s benchmarks. They’re your own internal profitability thresholds.
The Big Picture
Demand Gen benchmarks matter. But context matters more.
A 3x ROAS in Q4 is normal. A 2x ROAS in January is actually pretty good. A $30 CPA for luxury products is cheap. A $30 CPA for $50 products is expensive.
Here’s what I’d do. Track your own benchmarks over time. Compare campaign performance month to month and season to season. Compare Demand Gen performance against your Google Ads benchmarks across all channels.
Run experiments to test different creative, audiences, and bidding strategies. That’s where real learning happens.
And read the complete Demand Gen guide to understand how all these pieces fit together.
Google’s numbers are marketing. Your numbers are the truth.
