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The Demand Gen Delusion
We tried something new on a landscaping account last month.
Google has been pushing Demand Gen campaigns hard. For this landscaping company (hardscaping, patios, retaining walls — high-ticket residential work), we thought it might be worth testing.
We gave Demand Gen $344 over the month. It got zero conversions. 0️⃣
Meanwhile, Performance Max — which ran at $398 — delivered 20 conversions. And Search? $2,543 → 60 conversions.
WHY DEMAND GEN UNDERPERFORMED HERE
Demand Gen is an awareness tool. For home services, the customer journey is: something breaks → search for help → call the first credible result.
These are high-intent, urgent buyers. Demand Gen is built for lower-intent, passive audiences. The match was wrong.
THE RULE I USE NOW
🛑 Demand Gen = awareness play. Use it when building a brand people need to recognize over time.
✅ Performance Max = lead generation play. Use it for local service businesses where urgency is high.
Not sure if your account structure is set up for actual leads? That's exactly what a Google Ads Audit is for.
I also use Optmyzr to spot budget waste like this across all my client accounts fast.
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Optmyzr
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