> Quick answer: Google carousel ads live exclusively inside Demand Gen campaigns. Upload 2–10 images, write card-level headlines, assign destination URLs, and publish. For large product catalogs, product feed carousels auto-generate from Google Merchant Center and tend to outperform manual builds at scale.
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What Are Google Carousel Ads?
Google carousel ads let shoppers swipe through multiple image cards in a single ad. Each card can show a different product, angle, or scene. Each card links to its own URL.
Per Google's Ads Help Center, carousel ads are only available as a format inside Demand Gen campaigns. They don't appear in Search, Display, or Performance Max as a manual ad type. If you want swipeable product images on YouTube, Gmail, and Discover, Demand Gen is the only path.
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Manual Carousel Ads vs. Product Feed Carousel Ads
Two carousel formats exist inside Demand Gen. They work very differently.
When to use manual carousel ads
Manual carousels let you hand-pick every image and write card-level headlines. Good for product storytelling, showing multiple angles, or building a seasonal sequence. You upload images directly. No Google Merchant Center account required. You control every card.
When to use product feed ads (Demand Gen product feed format)
Product feed ads pull your catalog from Google Merchant Center and render in carousel format automatically. Per Google's Ads Help Center, Demand Gen product feed campaigns deliver an average 18% more clicks at similar cost compared to image-only campaigns.
They require at least 4 products. Google recommends 50 or more for best reach. If you run a large ecommerce catalog, product feed carousels scale faster than manual builds.
One hard rule. manual carousel ads and product feed ads are separate formats. You cannot attach a Merchant Center feed to a manual carousel ad.
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Image Specifications and Requirements
Supported aspect ratios
Carousel cards support three aspect ratios. horizontal (1.91:1), square (1:1), and vertical (4:5).
One rule governs every carousel. all cards must share the same aspect ratio. You cannot mix square and horizontal cards in the same carousel.
Image dimensions and file size limits
Per the Google Ads Help Center asset specification page:
- Horizontal: minimum 600×314px, recommended 1200×628px
- Square: minimum 300×300px, recommended 1200×1200px
- Vertical: recommended 960×1200px
- File size: 5MB max per image
Upload at or above the recommended dimensions. Low-resolution images may get rejected or render poorly across placements.
Logo and text asset specs
Every manual carousel needs ad-level assets. These apply across the full ad, not per card.
- Headline: 40 characters max
- Description: 90 characters max
- Business name: 25 characters max
- Square logo: recommended 1200×1200px
Card-level headlines (also 40 characters max) appear on YouTube and Gmail placements. On Discover, the ad-level headline shows instead.
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How to Create a Google Carousel Ad in Demand Gen
Step 1. Set up a Demand Gen campaign
In Google Ads, create a new campaign and select Demand Gen as the campaign type. Set your goal, audience signals, budget, and bidding strategy before moving to the ad group level.
Step 2. Create a carousel ad and upload images
Inside the ad group, click "New ad" and choose the carousel ad format. Upload 2 to 10 images. All images must share the same aspect ratio. Google AI selects which card displays first based on predicted user interest.
Step 3. Add headlines and descriptions
Write the ad-level headline and description. These appear across all placements that don't support per-card headlines. Keep the headline under 40 characters and the description under 90.
Step 4. Set card-specific URLs and CTAs
Assign a destination URL to each card. Cards can point to different product pages, which is useful for multi-product carousels. Add card-level headlines where placements support them.
Step 5. Review and publish
Confirm your logo is uploaded and approved. Then publish. Approval typically takes 24 hours. If one card gets disapproved, the remaining cards still serve. Your ad may show "Approved (limited)" status while a card is under review.
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Carousel Ad Best Practices for Ecommerce
Test multiple aspect ratios
Build one carousel with square images (1:1) and one with horizontal images (1.91:1). Run both and compare CTR. Performance depends on your placement mix and audience, not a universal format winner.
Tell a story across cards
Card 1 hooks attention. Cards 2 and 3 show product details or proof. The final card drives the click. A narrative arc keeps people swiping instead of scrolling past.
Use consistent branding
Keep fonts, colors, and photography style consistent across all cards. Visual inconsistency breaks the experience and can signal low creative quality to reviewers.
Set approval expectations
New logos or images can take 5 to 7 business days for a full review. Plan your campaign launch around asset approval, not just campaign setup time.
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How Coinis Accelerates Carousel Ad Creation
Building carousel creatives manually is slow. Coinis Image Ads workflow generates product images directly from a URL. Point it at a product page and get carousel-ready visuals in minutes. No photography session. No design brief.
Brand Profile stores your brand colors, fonts, and voice. Every image Coinis generates stays on-brand by default. That solves the card consistency problem without manual oversight.
Coinis publishes directly to Facebook and Instagram today. Google Ads publishing is on the roadmap. Use Coinis to produce and refine your carousel images, then upload them straight into Google Ads Demand Gen.
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Or let Coinis do it.
From a product URL to a live Meta campaign. AI-generated creatives. On-brand copy. Direct publish to Facebook and Instagram. Real performance reporting. All in one platform.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run carousel ads in Google Search or Display campaigns?
No. Google carousel ads are only available inside Demand Gen campaigns. Search, Display, and Performance Max don't support the manual carousel ad format.
How many images can a Google carousel ad have?
Between 2 and 10 images per carousel. Each image is called a card and can have its own headline and destination URL.
Can I mix different aspect ratios in one carousel?
No. All cards in a single carousel must share the same aspect ratio. You can build separate carousels with different ratios and test which performs better.
What is the difference between a manual carousel ad and a product feed carousel?
Manual carousel ads use images you upload directly and require no Google Merchant Center account. Product feed carousels pull products automatically from your Merchant Center catalog and render in carousel format. The two formats are separate and cannot be combined.