The Google Ads Strategy Driving €100M+ in E-Commerce Revenue

Are you worried that your competitors are already using Google Ads strategies you haven’t even tested yet and quietly pulling ahead?

In performance marketing, standing still is the fastest way to lose market share. New campaign types, formats, and automation features are launched constantly. Brands that fail to understand and adopt them early don’t just miss opportunities, they fall behind.

One of the biggest shifts inside Google Ads right now is Demand Gen.

Still underestimated by many, Demand Gen campaigns are already helping ambitious e-commerce brands unlock seven- and eight-figure revenue growth.

In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know to evaluate Demand Gen seriously for your e-commerce business, including:

• What Demand Gen really is and why it works fundamentally differently from Search or Shopping
• Which funnel stages Demand Gen performs best in (and when you should avoid it)
• Why Creatives are the single most important performance lever
• Proven testing and scaling frameworks that actually work
• Why Demand Gen will play a central role in the future of Google Ads

You’ll also find a related podcast episode featuring Patrick from Ondevi, a Google Ads agency that has generated over €100 million in revenue for its clients using exactly these strategies.

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What Is Demand Gen — and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?

Traditional Google Search Ads respond to existing demand. Shopping Ads dominate when purchase intent is already high.

Demand Gen flips this logic.

Instead of waiting for users to search, Demand Gen focuses on creating demand before intent even exists.

It does this by combining:

• The massive reach of YouTube, Discover, and Gmail
• Google’s advanced targeting and automation
• Visually driven, creative-first ad formats

The result is a hybrid between performance marketing and awareness, designed specifically for brands that want to scale beyond intent-based channels.

For e-commerce brands, this is powerful: you reach potential customers where they spend their time, not just when they’re ready to buy.

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The #1 Success Factor in Demand Gen: Creatives

One of the most common mistakes in e-commerce Google Ads setups is over-focusing on audiences.

With Demand Gen, Creatives come first. Always.

If the Creative doesn’t work, no targeting strategy will save the campaign.

What this means in practice:

• Prioritize video formats
  Motion, storytelling, and emotion outperform static assets.
• Communicate value immediately
  Your value proposition must be clear within the first seconds.
• Design Creatives platform-native
  A Facebook ad copy-paste rarely works on YouTube or Discover.

👉 Only once a Creative proves traction does it make sense to test audiences against each other.

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Trend: Why Demand Gen Is Here to Stay

Google is heavily investing in Demand Gen and for good reason.

As user behavior shifts toward visual and video-first consumption, this campaign type will only become more important.

What to expect going forward:

• Increased automation across bids and placements
• More Creative-first formats, especially for YouTube Shorts
• AI-driven optimizations that make Demand Gen campaigns smarter over time

Brands that adopt Demand Gen early will build a clear competitive advantage before the channel becomes overcrowded.

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Final Takeaway: Why You Should Test Demand Gen Now

If you’re running Google Ads for an e-commerce brand and already rely on Search or Shopping, Demand Gen will be hard to ignore in the coming months.

The combination of reach, visual storytelling, and performance-oriented targeting is simply too strong.

Just remember:

• You need a clean setup
• You need strong Creatives
• You need structured testing

Without these, Demand Gen will burn budget. With them, it can become one of your strongest growth levers.