TL;DR: Adding image assets to Google Ads requires at least 3 rectangular and 3 square images, quality filtering for service relevance, and a structural decision: campaign-level upload works when one service runs across all ad groups, but ad group-level setup is required when services differ. Most advertisers skip that second method entirely.

| Metric | Value | |, -|, -| | Minimum square images recommended | 3 | | Minimum rectangular images recommended | 3 | | Maximum images per campaign | 20 | | Image sources available | Asset library, direct upload, website scan, Instagram, Facebook |

How to Add Image Assets to Google Ads: The Campaign vs. Ad Group Decision That Changes Performance

This post is based on a video Peterson published on the Creekside Marketing YouTube channel: Adding Image Assets to Google Ads Campaigns.

Adding image assets to Google Ads sounds like a quick setup task. Upload some photos, let Google optimize. The process is straightforward up until the point where you have to decide whether to add images at the campaign level or the ad group level. Most advertisers either skip that decision or do not know it exists. That gap creates accounts where the same image shows up across ad groups targeting completely different services. Here is the process we use and the reasoning behind each step.

What Are Image Assets in Google Ads and Why Do They Matter?

Image assets are visual elements that attach to Google Ads campaigns and show across placements that support them, including display, Performance Max, and responsive search ads. They extend your text-based ads with a visual component, giving Google additional creative combinations to test and optimize. The algorithm selects which image and copy pairings perform best within each ad group.

For advertisers already managing keyword lists, bid strategies, and conversion tracking, image assets are one of the more straightforward additions. You do not need to restructure anything to add them. If you run Performance Max, the image assets you add feed directly into the creative signal layer, which is part of the Performance Max signals setup framework that governs how the campaign learns. Without image assets, you leave that optimization path unused.

The caveat is that quality matters more than volume. Google can use up to 20 images per campaign, but adding 20 mediocre images does not outperform 6 strong ones.

How to Review Google’s Suggested Images

To review Google’s suggested image assets, navigate to the Images section inside your campaign and click the Review button. Google’s suggestions draw from your website, linked accounts, and its analysis of your business category. Evaluate every suggestion against two criteria before accepting it: image quality and service relevance.

Quality means the image is clear, professional, and communicates something meaningful about the business. Relevance means the image immediately shows what the ad is promoting, without requiring the viewer to connect dots between the visual and the service.

The relevance filter is where judgment comes in. According to Creekside Marketing’s analysis, images that immediately show the specific service or outcome perform better than images that are tangentially related to the topic. In a skydiving campaign, an image showing the actual skydiving experience performs better than a photo of the landing zone or a sign at the location, even if both images technically belong to the same business. If a viewer would need to read the ad copy to understand what the image is about, there is a stronger image available somewhere.

Unselect the borderline suggestions. You can always add images later. Starting with fewer, stronger images is the better default than accepting all suggestions just because they are available.

Square vs. Rectangular: Why You Need Both

Google Ads image assets come in two aspect ratios: square (1:1) and rectangular (1.91:1, also called landscape). Both formats are required because different placements render differently. A placement that displays rectangular images will not show your square-only assets, and vice versa. An account with only square images is leaving a full category of placements unserved.

Most advertisers who go through Google’s suggested images end up primarily with square assets. The automated suggestions skew square. Before finishing your upload, scroll through your options specifically looking for rectangular images.

Creekside Marketing recommends a minimum of 3 rectangular and 3 square images per campaign or ad group. The maximum is 20 images per campaign, but reaching that number is not the goal. Adding images you are unsure about just to raise the count gives the algorithm lower-quality material to work with. Three strong images per format, selected carefully, is a better starting point than ten mixed-quality ones.

Where to Source Images When Google’s Suggestions Fall Short

When Google’s suggested images do not give you enough variety, particularly for the rectangular format, you have four other sources to pull from. Each serves a different situation depending on whether you have existing creative assets or need to build from scratch.

Asset library: Images previously uploaded to any campaign in your account live here. If you have run image campaigns before, this is the fastest source.

Direct upload: Upload images directly from your computer. JPEG and PNG formats work for both square and rectangular aspect ratios.

Website scan: Google can scan your website and pull images from your pages. This is useful when your site has strong photography but those images have not been pulled into Google Ads yet.

Social platforms: If your Instagram or Facebook is connected to your Google Ads account, Google can pull images from those accounts. Creekside Marketing uses this for clients who have built a strong creative library on social but have not yet integrated those assets into Google Ads.

The goal is enough raw material for the algorithm to find high-performing combinations. Variety within your image set matters. Images that show different aspects of the service, different visual contexts, or different outcomes give the algorithm more combinations to test.

Campaign-Level vs. Ad Group-Level: The Decision That Separates Good Setup from Broken Setup

The campaign-versus-ad-group decision is the most consequential step in image asset setup. Campaign-level images apply to every ad group in the campaign simultaneously. Ad group-level images apply only to the specific ad group you select. When a campaign contains ad groups for different services with different visual needs, campaign-level images create mismatches that serve the wrong image alongside the wrong ad copy.

When the decision is simple: if every ad group in the campaign promotes the same service or product, add images at the campaign level. A single-service campaign has no mismatch risk.

When the decision is harder: if a campaign has separate ad groups for different services, each ad group needs its own image set. A home services company running ad groups for lawn mowing and home remodel work does not want the same image showing on both ad groups. Someone searching for mowing services and someone searching for home remodel work are looking for completely different things. Serving a mowing image to someone searching for remodeling reduces creative relevance in a way that is invisible in campaign-level reporting but shows up in performance.

According to Creekside Marketing’s analysis based on $20M+ in managed ad spend, campaigns with service-specific images at the ad group level produce more relevant ad combinations than campaigns where a single image set is applied broadly across different services. The extra setup steps are worth taking. Our broader Google Ads management checklist includes image asset review as part of the regular account maintenance cadence.

How to Add Image Assets at the Ad Group Level

When you are setting up a new campaign where every ad group promotes the same service, add images at the campaign level during initial setup. Navigate to the Images section in the campaign creation flow, review the suggestions, apply the quality filter, and upload rectangular options from the asset library or via direct upload.

For adding images to an existing campaign at the ad group level, the steps are:

Go to the Assets section of your account
Click the blue ”+” button to create a new asset
Select “Image” as the asset type
Choose the campaign from the dropdown and click Done
Click the dropdown and select “Add group”
Select the specific ad group and click Done
Upload or select images relevant to that ad group specifically

Repeat for each ad group with distinct visual needs. If a campaign has multiple ad groups for the same service, one pass at the campaign level covers all of them. If ad groups serve different services, each needs its own image set.

If you begin setting up a campaign and realize mid-process that it is a mixed-service campaign, stop and finish the campaign without adding images at that stage. Come back to the asset section afterward and add images at the ad group level. Fixing campaign-level image assignments after they are live is more work than building it correctly the first time.

FAQ

What types of images perform best as Google Ads image assets? Images that immediately and clearly show the specific service or product advertised outperform generic lifestyle shots. According to Creekside Marketing’s practice across home services, dental, and other service industries, images showing the actual work, the service environment, or the outcome tend to drive stronger engagement than vague brand photography.

Do I need to upload 20 images to get good results? No. The maximum per campaign is 20, but you do not need to reach that number. Creekside Marketing recommends a minimum of 3 rectangular and 3 square images per campaign or ad group. Adding images you are not confident in just to raise the count is counterproductive. Quality and relevance determine performance, not volume.

Can I use stock photos? Stock photos can technically be uploaded as image assets. Practically, branded photos showing your actual service or product tend to perform better. If you are starting without photography assets, stock photos can fill the gap. Prioritize service-specific imagery as it becomes available.

What happens if I only upload square images? Google will use your square images in placements that support them and leave the rectangular placements unserved. You miss a category of display inventory that requires the landscape format. Always confirm you have at least 3 rectangular images in addition to your square ones before finalizing the setup.

Can I add image assets to Performance Max campaigns the same way? Performance Max handles image assets through the asset group structure rather than the campaign or ad group sections used in standard campaigns. The principles of image quality and format variety still apply, but the navigation path differs. Each asset group in Performance Max gets its own set of images, which mirrors the logic of ad group-level image assignment in standard campaigns.

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About the author: Peterson Rainey is the founder of Creekside Marketing, a paid advertising agency managing $20M+ in Google and Meta ad spend across service businesses, healthcare practices, and e-commerce brands.