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Google Display Ads Integration

Reach people across millions of websites, apps, and YouTube display slots with Responsive Display Ads. Full campaign lifecycle — creation, five targeting surfaces, creative edits, frequency caps, and schedules — all managed through natural language.

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Prerequisites

  • Google Ads account (create one here)
  • An active ad account with billing information
  • Admin or Standard access to the account you want to manage
  • At least one landscape image (1.91:1) and one square image (1:1) for ad creative
  • Adspirer account connected via Claude Code, Cursor, or any supported AI client

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Connecting Display Ads

Display Ads runs through Google Ads — if you’ve already connected Google Ads, you’re ready. No separate connection needed.
  1. Open your AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, etc.)
  2. Say: “Connect my Google Ads account”
  3. Adspirer opens your browser for OAuth authorization
  4. Sign in to your Google account and select the ad account
  5. Approve permissions
Verify the connection: 
Check my connected ad platforms

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What You Can Do (27 Display Tools)

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Campaign Creation & Structure

  • create_display_campaign — Create a standard Display or Smart Display campaign (created PAUSED)
  • add_display_ad_group — Add additional ad groups with independent targeting
  • add_display_ad — Add additional Responsive Display Ads to an existing ad group
  • select_google_campaign_type — Choose between Search, PMax, Display, YouTube, or Demand Gen when the campaign type isn’t specified

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Targeting (5 Surfaces — GET / ADD / REMOVE each)

  • get_display_audiences / add_display_audiences — In-market, affinity, custom audiences, user lists
  • get_display_topics / add_display_topics — Google content categories (Finance, Travel, etc.)
  • get_display_placements / add_display_placements — Specific websites, apps, YouTube channels, YouTube videos
  • get_display_keywords / add_display_keywords — Contextual keywords (always BROAD match on Display)
  • get_display_demographics / update_display_demographics — Age, gender, parental status, income exclusions
  • remove_display_criteria — Unified removal across all 5 targeting surfaces

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Creative & Campaign Edits

  • update_display_ad_creative — Change colors, CTA, images, videos, promo text, format_setting on an existing ad
  • update_display_ad_group — Rename or repoint an ad group
  • update_display_campaign_schedule — Edit start/end dates and ad-schedule day/hour windows
  • get_display_frequency_caps / update_display_frequency_caps — View and edit impression caps per user
  • get_display_ad_group_settings — Inspect current bidding, status, and targeting on an ad group
  • remove_display_ad / remove_display_ad_group — Clean up ads and ad groups

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Geo & Language Resolution (Required Pre-Step)

  • resolve_google_locations — Resolve location names to exact geoTargetConstants/<id> (rejects ambiguous inputs — e.g., “Baja” surfaces 5 candidates, no silent US fallback)
  • list_google_languages — Resolve language codes (rejects unknown codes with a clear pointer)

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Reused Lifecycle Tools (Work Across All Google Campaign Types)

  • list_campaigns, get_campaign_structure, get_campaign_targeting
  • pause_campaign, resume_campaign, update_campaign_budget
  • add_sitelinks, add_callout_extensions, add_structured_snippets
  • get_campaign_performance, analyze_wasted_spend, optimize_budget_allocation

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Campaign Types

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Standard Display Campaign

Full manual control over targeting. You choose audiences, topics, placements, keywords, and demographics. Best when you have specific audience data or want to retarget website visitors. When to use: Retargeting, brand-safety-sensitive verticals, known audience segments, specific placement strategies (e.g., industry publications).

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Smart Display Campaign

Google-managed variant. Google’s AI auto-targets, auto-bids (TARGET_CPA required), and auto-generates ad combinations. Manual targeting fields are rejected. When to use: You have conversion tracking + 50+ Display conversions in the last 30 days and want Google’s AI to do the heavy lifting.
Smart Display requires bidding_strategy=TARGET_CPA and sufficient conversion history. If you pass any manual targeting (audience_segments, topics, managed_placements, display_keywords, demographics) with smart_display=true, the campaign creation will be rejected — Smart Display is fully automated.

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Campaign Creation Workflow

Display campaigns follow a 6-step workflow: 
1. resolve_google_locations
   -> (names -> exact geoTargetConstants/<id>; rejects ambiguous "Baja"-style inputs)
2. list_google_languages
   -> (validate ISO language codes; no silent fallbacks)
3. search_audiences (if using manual audience targeting)
   -> (find real in-market/affinity/custom audience IDs — never fabricate)
4. Prepare creative assets
   -> (1-5 headlines ≤30 chars, 1 long headline ≤90, 1-5 descriptions ≤90,
       ≥1 landscape image 1.91:1, ≥1 square image 1:1, optional logos/videos)
5. create_display_campaign
   -> (campaign + default ad group + RDA created PAUSED — you review before launching)
6. add_sitelinks + add_callout_extensions + add_structured_snippets
   -> (extensions lift CTR 15-25%)

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Asset Requirements

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Required

AssetCountSpec
Short headlines1-5Max 30 characters each
Long headline1Max 90 characters
Descriptions1-5Max 90 characters each
Business name1Max 25 characters
Landscape images1+1.91:1, min 600×314, max 5MB
Square images1+1:1, min 300×300, max 5MB
Final URL1Must be HTTPS

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Optional

AssetCountSpec
Landscape logos0-54:1
Square logos0-51:1, min 128×128
YouTube videos0-511-char YouTube video IDs
Main color1Hex (e.g., #112233)
Accent color1Hex (e.g., #FFAABB)
Price prefix1Max 10 chars (e.g., “from”)
Promo text1Max 20 chars (e.g., “Up to 50% off”)
You can also reuse existing image assets already in your Google Ads account via the existing_images parameter — pass resource names instead of re-uploading.

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Bidding Strategies

StrategyBest ForRequired FieldConversion Tracking
MAXIMIZE_CLICKS (default)Most campaigns, driving traffic—No
MAXIMIZE_CONVERSIONSOptimizing for signups/purchases—Yes
TARGET_CPACap cost per acquisitiontarget_cpaYes
TARGET_ROASE-commerce, revenue optimizationtarget_roas (e.g., 3.5 = 350%)Yes
MANUAL_CPCFull bid controlcpc_bidNo
MANUAL_CPMViewable CPM (awareness)cpm_bidNo
Smart Display requires TARGET_CPA.

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Targeting Surfaces

Standard Display campaigns support five independent targeting layers. Mix and match — they intersect, so narrower targeting = narrower reach.

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Audiences

  • In-market — People actively researching a purchase in a category
  • Affinity — Long-term interest-based segments (e.g., “Outdoor Enthusiasts”)
  • Custom audiences — Segments you build from keywords, URLs, or app interests
  • User lists — Your remarketing lists and Customer Match uploads
  • Combined audiences — AND/OR combinations of the above
Use search_audiences first to find real audience IDs — never fabricate them.

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Topics

Google’s content categorization tree (Finance > Personal Finance > Credit & Lending, etc.). Ads serve on pages matching the selected topics.

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Managed Placements

Target specific URLs, mobile apps, YouTube channels, or YouTube videos. Most precise targeting available on Display. 
[
  {"type": "website", "value": "example.com"},
  {"type": "youtube_channel", "value": "UCxxxx"},
  {"type": "mobile_app", "value": "com.example.app"}
]

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Display Keywords

Contextual — ads serve on pages about those keywords (always BROAD match on Display). Pass negative=true for negative keywords.

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Demographics

Exclude demographic groups you don’t want to reach. Age ranges, genders, parental statuses, income ranges.
Demographics on Display are exclusion-based. Whatever you list is kept; whatever you don’t list is excluded. Be deliberate — omitting genders entirely means no gender filter, but passing ["MALE"] excludes FEMALE and UNDETERMINED.

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Example Prompts

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Create a Standard Display Campaign

End-to-end Display campaign with audience + topic + placement targeting.

CursorOpen in Cursor

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Retargeting Campaign with User Lists

Display retargeting using an existing remarketing list.

CursorOpen in Cursor

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Smart Display Campaign

Google-managed Smart Display for advertisers with conversion tracking.

CursorOpen in Cursor

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Edit Creative on an Existing Display Ad

Refresh colors, CTA, and images on a live Display ad.

CursorOpen in Cursor

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Add Frequency Caps

Cap impressions per user across a Display campaign.

CursorOpen in Cursor

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Geo & Language Resolution

Always run resolve_google_locations before create_display_campaign (or any campaign creation). Location strings like “London” are ambiguous — the resolver surfaces candidates (London UK, London Ontario, Londonderry) instead of silently picking one.
The resolver:
  • Rejects ambiguous inputs with multiple candidates (you pick explicitly)
  • Rejects unknown locations with a clear error
  • Never silently falls back to “United States”
  • Returns exact geoTargetConstants/<id> values Google Ads accepts
list_google_languages works the same way for ISO language codes.

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Budget Guidelines

  • Minimum: $10/day (Google’s practical minimum for Display)
  • Recommended: $20-30/day for meaningful reach and data
  • Smart Display minimum: $20+/day (Google’s AI needs budget to learn)
  • Scaling: Once CPA is below target, increase 20-30% every 5-7 days — Smart Display learning resets on big jumps

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Best Use Cases for Display Ads

  • Retargeting: Re-engage website visitors and cart abandoners with visual reminders
  • Brand awareness: Top-of-funnel reach across 2M+ sites and apps
  • Product catalogs: Show product imagery at scale
  • Local businesses: Geographic targeting with visual creative (works where Search volume is too low)
  • App install support: Reinforce install campaigns with display creative
  • Complement Search: Catch audiences before they type the query
Not ideal for: High-intent demand capture (use Google Search Ads), B2B targeting by job title (use LinkedIn Ads), short-form social engagement (use TikTok Ads), video-first campaigns (use YouTube Ads).

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Display vs Performance Max

FeatureDisplayPerformance Max
PlacementsDisplay Network onlySearch + Display + YouTube + Gmail + Maps + Discover
Targeting controlFull manual (5 surfaces)AI-driven, limited signals
CreativeImages + optional videosImages + videos + feed required
RetargetingSupported (user lists)Limited
Minimum budget$10/day$20/day recommended
Best forRetargeting, specific placementsBroad reach + automated optimization
Run Display when you want precise control and specific audiences/sites. Run PMax when you want Google’s AI to decide across every channel.

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Troubleshooting

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”Ambiguous location” error

The resolver flagged your input because multiple cities match. Fix by narrowing:
  • "London" → "London, United Kingdom" or "London, Ontario, Canada"
  • "Baja" → "Baja California, Mexico"
Or pass the exact geoTargetConstants/<id> from the resolver’s candidate list.

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”Smart Display rejected manual targeting”

Smart Display is fully Google-managed. Remove audience_segments, topics, managed_placements, display_keywords, and demographics. Or switch to standard Display (smart_display: false).

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”Headline too long” error

Display short headlines are capped at 30 characters (stricter than Search). The validator tells you the exact character count and how many to remove. Long headline (separate field) is capped at 90.

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Low CTR on Display

Common fixes:
  • Add stronger color contrast (set main_color + accent_color explicitly)
  • Include a promo text or price prefix to draw attention
  • Test different CTA labels (SHOP_NOW, LEARN_MORE, GET_QUOTE, etc.)
  • Refresh creative — Display fatigue kicks in faster than Search
  • Narrow targeting — broad audiences dilute CTR

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”Audience ID not found”

Never fabricate audience IDs. Always run search_audiences first to get real resource names. In-market and affinity segments have Google-assigned IDs; custom audiences and user lists have account-specific resource names.

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FAQ

Yes — both use image + video assets. You can reuse existing assets via the existing_images parameter instead of re-uploading. However, PMax also requires a product feed for e-commerce use cases; Display does not.
Standard Display gives you full manual control — 5 targeting surfaces (audiences, topics, placements, keywords, demographics), any bidding strategy, fine-grained creative settings.Smart Display is Google-managed. Google’s AI auto-targets, auto-bids (TARGET_CPA required), and auto-optimizes creative combinations. You just upload assets and set a budget + target CPA. Requires conversion tracking and 50+ Display conversions in the last 30 days.
Only for Smart Display and for conversion-based bidding (MAXIMIZE_CONVERSIONS, TARGET_CPA, TARGET_ROAS). Standard Display with MAXIMIZE_CLICKS, MANUAL_CPC, or MANUAL_CPM works without conversion tracking.
Google Display reaches people across 2M+ websites, apps, and YouTube display slots. Targeting uses Google’s ecosystem (in-market segments, user lists, topics).Meta Ads retargeting reaches people on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network. Targeting uses Meta’s social graph (custom audiences, lookalikes).Most advertisers run both — Google Display catches users browsing the open web; Meta catches them in social feeds.
No. Adspirer manages campaigns, not asset generation. You provide image URLs (Google Drive, Dropbox, S3, CDN, or any public URL) and Adspirer validates + uploads them to Google Ads. Use your preferred design tools (Canva, Figma, Photoshop) for the creative.
ALL_FORMATS (default) serves across every Display placement — maximum reach.NATIVE restricts to placements where ads blend with the surrounding content (recommended for premium publishers, higher CPM, better engagement).NON_NATIVE restricts to standard banner placements (useful for testing reach vs quality).Start with ALL_FORMATS. Switch to NATIVE if you see low-quality placements consuming budget.
Adspirer pricing is based on tool calls, not ad spend. Free tier: 15 calls/month. Plus: 49/mofor150calls.Pro:49/mo for 150 calls. Pro: 99/mo for 600 calls. Max: $199/mo for 3,000 calls. A typical Display campaign creation uses 5-7 tool calls (resolve locations + resolve languages + search audiences + create campaign + add extensions). See full pricing.
Last modified on April 24, 2026