July 2026 Google Ads Update – Holiday Demand Gen Tools

Granular analysis and first look

Google Prepares Demand Gen for Holiday Shopping

Google is giving retailers more ways to turn holiday video engagement into measurable sales through Demand Gen. For brands building seasonal campaigns, Granular’s PPC management services can help connect creative, bidding, product feeds and landing-page strategy before peak demand arrives. Google’s July Demand Gen Drop focuses on reducing friction between product discovery and checkout while helping campaigns reach return-on-ad-spend goals faster.

Video continues to play an important role in the holiday shopping journey. In a Google-commissioned Ipsos study, 94% of surveyed holiday shoppers who used YouTube said they took an additional step toward purchasing after watching a related video.

What Is New in July’s Demand Gen Drop?

Google highlighted three areas retailers should consider as they prepare their 2026 holiday campaigns: expanded Checkout Links, upgraded Target ROAS bidding and more connected commerce experiences.

Checkout Links Expand to Nine Markets

Checkout Links allow advertisers to send shoppers from a Demand Gen ad directly to an optimized cart or checkout page rather than a general product or category page.

The feature is now available in nine additional markets:

• Argentina
• Australia
• France
• Indonesia
• Israel
• Mexico
• Poland
• South Korea
• Switzerland

Google reports that advertisers providing Checkout URLs increased Demand Gen conversions by an average of 6%. That result is based on U.S. Google data from September 2025, so advertisers should treat it as a directional benchmark rather than a guaranteed performance lift.

The opportunity is straightforward: fewer steps between an ad and a completed order can reduce purchase friction. However, advertisers should verify that every Checkout Link leads to the correct product, variation and price. Mobile load speed, inventory availability and conversion tracking should also be tested before seasonal traffic increases.

Target ROAS Bidding Should Ramp Up Faster

Google has also upgraded Target ROAS bidding for Demand Gen. The change is designed to prevent the bidding system from becoming overly cautious during a campaign’s early learning period, helping campaigns work toward their targets sooner.

For retailers, faster ramp-up could be especially valuable during short promotional windows when campaigns have limited time to gather data. Advertisers should still avoid setting an overly aggressive ROAS target at launch. Targets should reflect historical conversion value, profit margins and the level of demand expected during the promotion.

Product Feeds and Creator Content Support Commerce

Google is encouraging advertisers to build more connected Demand Gen experiences by combining product feeds, creator-led advertising and direct purchase functionality.

Product feeds can help match video and visual creative with relevant product information. Affiliate Partnerships Boost can extend creator content through paid promotion, allowing brands to use trusted voices while retaining greater control over distribution. Advertisers can then direct shoppers toward a purchase through Checkout Links or Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol, which is currently available only in the United States.

These tools are most valuable when they operate as one coordinated system. Strong creator content may generate attention, but accurate product data, relevant landing pages and reliable measurement are still needed to turn that attention into profitable revenue.

What Retail Advertisers Should Do Next

Retailers can take the following steps before holiday campaign activity accelerates:

1. Audit destination URLs: Confirm that ads lead to the most relevant product, cart or checkout experience and that all pages work properly on mobile devices.
2. Improve product feed quality: Review product titles, images, pricing and availability so Demand Gen ads receive accurate and useful commerce data.
3. Plan creator assets early: Identify creator content that supports specific holiday products, promotions or customer questions instead of relying only on general brand awareness videos.
4. Set realistic bidding targets: Base initial tROAS goals on historical performance and profitability, then adjust them as campaign volume and conversion data develop.
5. Verify measurement: Test conversion values, attribution settings and checkout tracking before launching high-budget seasonal campaigns.

Key Takeaways

• Checkout Links are now available in nine additional international markets.
• Google reports an average 6% Demand Gen conversion increase among advertisers that supplied Checkout URLs in its referenced U.S. study.
• Upgraded tROAS bidding is intended to reduce overly cautious behavior during the early campaign period.
• Product feeds and creator partnerships can help connect inspirational content with products available for purchase.
• Universal Commerce Protocol purchasing is currently limited to the United States.
• Landing-page quality, feed accuracy and conversion measurement remain essential to profitable holiday performance.

July’s Demand Gen updates reinforce Google’s goal of connecting video discovery more directly with commerce. For holiday advertisers, the biggest opportunity may not come from adopting one feature in isolation. It will come from combining compelling creative, accurate product information, practical bidding targets and a checkout experience that makes purchasing easy.

Retailers should begin testing these tools before peak-season competition and higher media costs arrive. Early preparation will give teams more time to identify tracking problems, improve product feeds and establish realistic performance benchmarks before their most important promotional periods.