What this is
This guide explains the requirements, setup, and best practices for running Google Ads campaigns in Propensity, including audience targeting limitations, ad formats, and delivery considerations.
When to use this
Use this guide when:
- Setting up Google Ads campaigns in Propensity
- Assigning audiences to Google Ad groups
- Troubleshooting audience targeting or delivery issues
- Preparing creatives for Google Display campaigns
Before you start: Audience targeting requirements
To use Customer Match audience targeting in Google Ads, your account must meet specific requirements defined by Google.
If these requirements are not met, your audience can only be used in Observation mode, which limits targeting capabilities.
Required conditions for Customer Match targeting
Your Google Ads account must meet all of the following:
- At least 90 days of Google Ads activity
- More than $50,000 (USD) in total lifetime spend
- Strong history of policy compliance
- Solid payment history
Audience size requirements
- Google requires a minimum of 100 matched contacts
- Propensity recommends at least 1,000 contacts to ensure matching thresholds are met
If your audience is too small:
- Matching may fail
- Campaigns may underdeliver
CPM and delivery considerations
Even if all requirements are met, delivery depends on your bid and budget.
Low CPM impact
- If your CPM is too low, your ads may not serve
- Extremely low bids (e.g. $0.01 CPM) will result in zero impressions
Budget vs CPM
Google campaigns may underdeliver when:
- Daily budget is too low relative to CPM
Example:
- $5 daily budget
- $8 CPM
This can cause:
- Limited impressions
- Campaign stopping early in the day
To improve delivery:
- Increase your daily budget
- Or reduce CPM
Google access requirements
To run Google Ads campaigns, you must have:
Google login
- A personal or business Google account
Google Ads account access
- Required role: Admin or Standard Access
Google Display Ad specifications
Work with your design team to create graphics using the following specifications.
Supported image sizes
- 970 × 90
- 728 × 90
- 468 × 60
- 336 × 280
- 300 × 600
- 300 × 250
- 250 × 250
- 200 × 200
- 160 × 600
- 120 × 600
File requirements
- Supported file types: GIF, JPG, PNG, HTML5
- Maximum file size: 2MB
HTML5 ad requirements
To use HTML5 ads in Google Ads, your account must meet:
- Account open for more than 90 days
- At least $9,000 USD lifetime spend
- Good history of policy compliance
Responsive Display Ads
A Responsive Display Ad automatically adjusts its size, format, and appearance to fit available ad placements across the Google Display Network.
Key features
Dynamic format
- Ad adapts to different placements (banner, native, text, etc.)
Asset-based setup
- Upload multiple assets instead of fixed designs
Machine learning optimization
- Google tests combinations and optimizes performance over time
Wider reach
- Ads can appear across more placements
Required assets for Responsive Display Ads
- Headline
- Long headline
- Description
- Images
- At least one 1200 × 1200
- At least one 1200 × 628
- Logo (1200 × 1200)
- Business name
You can upload multiple variations to improve performance.
Best practices
- Ensure your account meets Customer Match requirements before launching
- Use sufficiently large audiences to support matching
- Avoid extremely low CPM bids
- Align budget with CPM to maintain consistent delivery
- Provide multiple creative assets for better optimization
- Monitor delivery early to catch issues quickly
Important notes
- Audience targeting depends on Google account eligibility
- CPM and budget directly impact delivery
- Small audiences or low bids may prevent campaigns from serving
Related documentation
Launching a Google Video Ad (YouTube) from Propensity