Set Up a Google Display Network Campaign

Prerequisites

• Google Ads account with API access enabled
• Conversion tracking configured (see google-ads-conversion-tracking)
• Banner creative assets in required sizes (see asset specifications below)
• Landing pages built and tracked

Authentication

Use OAuth 2.0 with the Google Ads API. Required credentials: developer token, OAuth client ID/secret, refresh token, and customer ID.

Steps

1. Create a Display campaign via API

POST /customers/{customer_id}/campaigns:mutate
{
  "operations": [{
    "create": {
      "name": "Display - Industry Sites - Q1 2026",
      "advertising_channel_type": "DISPLAY",
      "status": "PAUSED",
      "campaign_budget": "{budget_resource_name}",
      "bidding_strategy_type": "TARGET_CPA",
      "target_cpa": {
        "target_cpa_micros": 25000000
      }
    }
  }]
}

Start with TARGET_CPA if you have conversion data, otherwise use MAXIMIZE_CONVERSIONS for the learning period. Set campaign status to PAUSED until all ad groups and creatives are ready.

2. Configure placement targeting

Target specific industry sites and publications where your ICP reads:

Managed placements (specific sites):

POST /customers/{customer_id}/adGroupCriteria:mutate
{
  "operations": [{
    "create": {
      "ad_group": "{ad_group_resource}",
      "placement": {
        "url": "techcrunch.com"
      },
      "status": "ENABLED"
    }
  }]
}

Topic targeting (broader reach):

POST /customers/{customer_id}/adGroupCriteria:mutate
{
  "operations": [{
    "create": {
      "ad_group": "{ad_group_resource}",
      "topic": {
        "topic_constant": "topics/13"
      }
    }
  }]
}

Topic constants for B2B SaaS: /Business & Industrial/Business Services (13), /Computers & Electronics/Software (30), /Internet & Telecom (38).

Custom intent audiences:

POST /customers/{customer_id}/customAudiences:mutate
{
  "operations": [{
    "create": {
      "name": "Intent - DevOps Tools",
      "type": "AUTO",
      "members": [
        {"member_type": "KEYWORD", "keyword": "CI/CD pipeline tools"},
        {"member_type": "KEYWORD", "keyword": "deployment automation"},
        {"member_type": "URL", "url": "competitor-site.com"}
      ]
    }
  }]
}

3. Upload responsive display ads

Responsive display ads automatically adjust size and format to fit available placements:

POST /customers/{customer_id}/adGroupAds:mutate
{
  "operations": [{
    "create": {
      "ad_group": "{ad_group_resource}",
      "ad": {
        "responsive_display_ad": {
          "marketing_images": [
            {"asset": "{landscape_image_asset}"}
          ],
          "square_marketing_images": [
            {"asset": "{square_image_asset}"}
          ],
          "logos": [
            {"asset": "{logo_asset}"}
          ],
          "headlines": [
            {"text": "Cut Deploy Failures by 73%"},
            {"text": "Your Deploy Process Is Broken"},
            {"text": "500+ Teams Use This Playbook"}
          ],
          "descriptions": [
            {"text": "Free guide: the 5-step checklist used by leading engineering teams."},
            {"text": "Stop losing weekends to broken deploys. Get the fix."}
          ],
          "business_name": "Your Company",
          "call_to_action_type": "LEARN_MORE",
          "long_headline": {"text": "The Engineering Team's Guide to Zero-Downtime Deploys"}
        }
      }
    }
  }]
}

Required image assets:

• Landscape: 1200x628 (minimum 600x314)
• Square: 1200x1200 (minimum 300x300)
• Logo: 1200x1200 (minimum 128x128)
• Logo landscape: 1200x300 (optional but recommended)

Upload assets first via the AssetService:

POST /customers/{customer_id}/assets:mutate
{
  "operations": [{
    "create": {
      "name": "hero-banner-landscape",
      "type": "IMAGE",
      "image_asset": {
        "data": "{base64_encoded_image}"
      }
    }
  }]
}

4. Set frequency capping

Prevent ad fatigue by capping impressions per user:

"frequency_caps": [{
  "key": {
    "level": "AD_GROUP_AD",
    "event_type": "IMPRESSION",
    "time_unit": "WEEK"
  },
  "cap": 5
}]

Recommended caps: 5 impressions per user per week for awareness, 3 per week for retargeting.

5. Configure content exclusions

Protect brand safety by excluding low-quality placements:

POST /customers/{customer_id}/campaignCriteria:mutate
{
  "operations": [
    {"create": {"campaign": "{campaign}", "content_label": {"type": "SEXUALLY_SUGGESTIVE"}, "negative": true}},
    {"create": {"campaign": "{campaign}", "content_label": {"type": "BELOW_THE_FOLD"}, "negative": true}},
    {"create": {"campaign": "{campaign}", "placement": {"url": "parked-domains.com"}, "negative": true}}
  ]
}

Also exclude: mobile app placements (high accidental click rate), parked domains, and error pages. Add mobileappcategory::69500 as a negative placement to exclude all mobile app inventory.

6. Launch and monitor

Set campaign status to ENABLED. Monitor via the GoogleAdsService.Search endpoint:

SELECT campaign.name, metrics.impressions, metrics.clicks, metrics.ctr,
       metrics.cost_micros, metrics.conversions, metrics.cost_per_conversion
FROM campaign
WHERE campaign.id = {campaign_id}
  AND segments.date DURING LAST_7_DAYS

Check placement reports to identify where ads actually appear. Exclude low-quality placements weekly:

SELECT detail_placement_view.display_name, detail_placement_view.target_url,
       metrics.impressions, metrics.clicks, metrics.conversions
FROM detail_placement_view
WHERE campaign.id = {campaign_id}
ORDER BY metrics.impressions DESC

Error Handling

• CAMPAIGN_BUDGET_NOT_FOUND: Create the budget resource first via CampaignBudgetService
• INVALID_IMAGE_SIZE: Verify image meets minimum dimensions. Re-export at correct resolution.
• POLICY_VIOLATION: Review ad text for restricted terms. Google rejects ads with superlatives ("best"), misleading claims, or excessive capitalization.
• BIDDING_STRATEGY_NOT_AVAILABLE: Target CPA requires at least 15 conversions in the last 30 days. Fall back to Maximize Conversions.

Tool Alternatives

• Microsoft Advertising (Bing Display): near-identical API structure, lower CPM, smaller but less competitive inventory
• DV360 (Google Marketing Platform): programmatic display across premium exchanges; higher minimum spend ($10K+/mo), better brand safety controls, private marketplace deals with publishers
• The Trade Desk: independent DSP for programmatic display; transparent auction, cross-device targeting, strong reporting
• Amazon DSP: display ads on Amazon properties and partner sites; useful if ICP is Amazon-adjacent
• AdRoll: self-serve display retargeting; simpler than GDN, integrates with Shopify/HubSpot