In August, Google introduced several changes to Demand Gen at once. The traffic source updated its bidding algorithms and began restricting delivery more aggressively on low-trust accounts.
The month was difficult for affiliate marketers as well. In his Telegram channel, Martin Iden, the owner of a team specializing in Google traffic, said that August became a record low for his buyers in terms of delivery and bans.
Google Updated Bidding Algorithms in Demand Gen
At the end of August, Google began updating bidding algorithms for campaigns that hit their daily budget limits. This refers to situations where a campaign could receive more impressions and conversions, but the set budget runs out earlier.
After the update, Google will distribute the budget differently in such campaigns and adhere more precisely to the set cost per click, conversion, or return target.
The operating principle of such campaigns itself has changed. For example, a webmaster sets a target CPA of $10, but the campaign actually generates leads at $6. Previously, Google could continue delivering traffic at that price.
Now the algorithm will try to move closer to the set $10 target and use this to get more traffic within the same budget.
For Demand Gen, this may also affect delivery. Google warns that after the transition, a campaign may start receiving more or less traffic, while impressions may be redistributed across placements.
Delivery Restrictions Are Being Expanded
Another August change affects advertisers without sufficient history in Google Ads. Previously, delivery restrictions for such accounts were applied only in specific cases.
Google is now gradually expanding them to more advertising campaigns. Until an account builds up enough trust, the number of impressions may be limited.
August Became a Record Low for Delivery and Bans
Against the backdrop of these changes, individual affiliate teams are also reporting problems with Demand Gen.
Owner Martin Iden said that over the past six months, the team had faced delivery issues or bans roughly 75% of the time. During the remaining periods, profits were mostly spent on team salaries and other expenses.
The traffic source performed especially poorly in August. According to the owner, campaigns received almost no traffic, and after the first impressions appeared, bans for cloaking could follow.
For 2026, Demand Gen, according to his preliminary estimate, ended up roughly at break-even in terms of P/L. After August's record-low results, the team decided to stop working with the traffic source.
At the same time, the team's problems began around six months ago, so they cannot be attributed solely to Google's latest changes.
The August updates came during a period when the team was already regularly facing a lack of delivery and bans.
