# Ad Assets Cheat Sheet

Six creative assets cover almost every placement across Google Ads and LinkedIn. Start here if you are planning a shoot, and jump to your platform if you already know what you are building.

## Six assets cover everything

Build these six and you cover every campaign type on both platforms. Stop at four if the campaign is desktop-focused.

| # | Asset | Ratio | Unlocks | Mobile only? |
|---|-------|-------|---------|:---:|
| 1 | Square image | 1:1 | All Google + all LinkedIn image placements | No |
| 2 | Landscape image | 1.91:1 | All Google + LinkedIn Single Image | No |
| 3 | Horizontal video | 16:9 | All video placements, both platforms | No |
| 4 | Square video | 1:1 | Feed-friendly video, both platforms | No |
| 5 | Vertical image | 4:5 | Demand Gen + PMax + LinkedIn mobile | Partial |
| 6 | Vertical video | 9:16 | Shorts and Stories inventory | Yes |

> [!TIP]
> **One to four** give solid cross-platform coverage on every device. **Five and six** are mobile-first vertical formats. Skip them if you are chasing desktop conversions.

Worth considering at the planning stage: if you shoot the 1.91:1 landscape as your master and keep the subject centred, cropping it to a square is straightforward. Deciding that before the shoot is cheaper than discovering it after.

**One 4:5 export covers both platforms.** Export vertical images once at 960 x 1200. That is Google's recommended 4:5. LinkedIn recommends 720 x 900 with headroom to 1080 x 1350 on the same ratio family, so 960 x 1200 sits inside both ranges. No second LinkedIn-only export.

## Where each asset can run

You have a file. This says where it goes.

| Asset | Build at | Google Search | Google DG | Google DG Carousel | Google PMax | LI Single Image | LI Carousel | LI Video |
|---|---|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| **Sq (1:1) image** | 1200 x 1200 | **R** | Y | Y | **R** | Y | **R** | - |
| **Land (1.91:1) image** | 1200 x 628 | Y | Y | Y | **R** | Y | - | - |
| **Vert (4:5) image** | 960 x 1200 | - | Y | Y | Y | M | - | - |
| **Port (9:16) image** | 1080 x 1920 | - | M | M | Y | - | - | - |
| **Horiz (16:9) video** | 1920 x 1080 | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | Y |
| **Sq (1:1) video** | 1080 x 1080 | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | Y |
| **Vert (9:16) video** | 1080 x 1920 | - | M | - | M | - | - | M |
| **Vert (4:5) video** | 1080 x 1350 | - | Y | - | - | - | - | Y |

> **Key:** R = required · Y = supported (all devices) · M = mobile only · - = not available
> **Columns:** DG = Demand Gen · LI = LinkedIn

**Build at** is one file per row that every platform in that row accepts. Google and LinkedIn publish different recommended sizes for some ratios, so a single "recommended" figure would be wrong for one of them. Where LinkedIn's recommendation is the smaller of the two, the Google figure still sits inside LinkedIn's own stated maximum, so one export covers both and there is no second LinkedIn-only file.

Two rows worth reading twice:

- **9:16 images in PMax.** Google publishes no 9:16 spec for Performance Max, but the crop tool offers the ratio. Absence of a spec is not a prohibition. Use the Demand Gen dimensions if you build one.
- **4:5 video in Demand Gen.** Google's Demand Gen page lists it at 1080 x 1350. PMax does not take it.

LinkedIn's current single-image spec supports three layouts only: horizontal, square and vertical 4:5. The older 2:3 and 1:1.91 ratios are gone.

## Google Ads: images

Performance Max and Demand Gen use the same dimensions, and Search shares the ratios it supports with PMax. The last three columns repeat where each ratio can run.

| Ratio | Name | Recommended | Format | Max size | PMax | Demand Gen | Search |
|-------|------|-----------|--------|----------|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| 1:1 | Square | 1200 x 1200 | JPG, PNG | 5MB | **R** | Y | **R** |
| 1.91:1 | Landscape | 1200 x 628 | JPG, PNG | 5MB | **R** | Y | Y |
| 4:5 | Vertical | 960 x 1200 | JPG, PNG | 5MB | Y | Y | - |
| 9:16 | Portrait | 1080 x 1920 | JPG, PNG | 5MB | Y | M | - |

> **Key:** R = required · Y = supported (all devices) · M = mobile only · - = not available

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **Keep the load-bearing content in the centre 80%.** Google's rule: content "needs to be in the center 80% of the image (the safe area that won't be cut off despite device screen size)". Let artwork bleed to the edge, but keep the subject inside. Google separately disallows "images that are cropped in a way that makes the subject of the asset difficult to distinguish", so a clipped subject is a policy problem as well as a design one.

**Google auto-crops.** The interface says so on both images and logos: "Selected images may be auto-cropped. You can always edit afterwards." That cuts both ways. You can supply fewer ratios and let Google derive the rest, and a crop you did not choose can cut your subject. The centre 80% rule is the defence.

## Google Ads: video

Video runs through YouTube. YouTube's file rules apply rather than an ad-platform cap: 256GB maximum, format MPG (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4). Shoot 1080p. Google recommends Full HD and advises against SD.

| Ratio | Name | Recommended | Performance Max | Demand Gen |
|-------|------|-----------|:---:|:---:|
| 16:9 | Horizontal | 1920 x 1080 | Y | Y |
| 1:1 | Square | 1080 x 1080 | Y | Y |
| 9:16 | Vertical | 1080 x 1920 | M | M |
| 4:5 | Portrait | 1080 x 1350 | - | Y |

### Duration

| | Performance Max | Demand Gen |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | **10 seconds** | **5 seconds** |
| Under 10 seconds | Not accepted | Accepted, but ineligible for YouTube In-stream |
| Maximum | Not stated | Not stated |
| Shorts eligibility band | 10 to 60 seconds | Not stated |

> [!WARNING]
> **A six-second Demand Gen video passes upload and loses inventory.** It clears the 5-second floor, then becomes ineligible for YouTube In-stream. Ten seconds is the practical floor in both campaign types: a hard rule in PMax, an inventory constraint in Demand Gen.

### YouTube Shorts

There is no Shorts-specific minimum duration. The floor comes from the campaign type, not from Shorts.

One asset covers both campaign types. A vertical of 10 to 60 seconds satisfies the PMax band and clears the Demand Gen In-stream threshold.

Shorts is not a 9:16-only surface. Vertical is "best suited" for the format, and horizontal and square "are also supported". Prioritised, not required.

### Where Google hosts the video

PMax offers a Google-managed House channel you can upload to during campaign setup, instead of linking your own YouTube channel. That matters for a client who does not want ads appearing on their own channel, and it removes the need for channel access before launch.

## Performance Max

Landscape and square are both required. Vertical is optional.

| Ratio | Status | Minimum | Rule of thumb | Maximum |
|---|---|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| 1.91:1 landscape | Required | 1 | 4 | 20 |
| 1:1 square | Required | 1 | 4 | 20 |
| 4:5 vertical | Optional | 1 | 4 | 20 |
| 9:16 vertical | Optional | not published | not published | not published |

## Demand Gen

At least one landscape or square image is required. One or the other, where PMax needs both. All four image ratios are supported and neither of the other two is mandatory.

Carousel accepts the same four image ratios, every card must share one aspect ratio, and carousel takes images only.

### Channel selection

Channels are chosen at ad group level, not campaign level. The interface offers **All Google channels**, or **Let me choose**, which limits the ad "to show only on the eligible channels of your choice".

| Channel | What it covers |
|---|---|
| YouTube in-stream | Ads before, during or after YouTube videos |
| YouTube in-feed | Ads in YouTube's watch next, home and search feeds |
| YouTube Shorts | Ads on YouTube's short-form video platform |
| Discover | Personalised content feeds on Google mobile experiences |
| Google Mail | Ads within Gmail inboxes |
| Google Display Network | Third-party sites and apps |
| Maps | Ads on Google Maps |

The three YouTube surfaces are independently selectable, so Shorts-only is achievable: choose "Let me choose", keep YouTube then Shorts, and clear everything else. Because the control sits on the ad group, a Shorts-only vertical and a broader multi-ratio set can live in the same campaign in separate ad groups.

> [!WARNING]
> **The Display Network reshapes creative.** The Display Network is the only channel carrying the warning "some ads may be modified to fit publisher formats". It is the one place Google says it will adapt your creative to a surface, so it is where you have least control over how the ad looks.

**Supplying one ratio does not restrict where it runs.** Google's wording: "If you only have one video in the ad, that video will serve on 'all formats.'" A vertical-only ad group is not a Shorts-only ad group, and Google will put that 9:16 on the horizontal surfaces too. Narrowing placement is the channel setting above, never a property of the asset.

Google recommends three videos per orientation and marks every video ratio as not required. A single-ratio build is inside the rules and well below what Google suggests.

## Google Ads: logos

Google treats logos as separate assets from marketing images. Every Google logo is square except the Performance Max landscape logo.

| Where it appears | Ratio | Min | Recommended / max | Format | Max file |
|------------------|:---:|-----|-------------------|--------|----------|
| Brand Profile (Merchant Center, Shopping, Business Profile) | 1:1 | 500 x 500 | up to 2000 x 2000 | BMP, JPEG, PNG | 5MB |
| Performance Max, square | 1:1 | 128 x 128 | 1200 x 1200 | JPG, PNG | 5MB |
| Performance Max, landscape | 4:1 | 512 x 128 | 1200 x 300 | JPG, PNG | 5MB |
| Demand Gen | 1:1 | 144 x 144 (help) / 128 x 128 (UI) | 1200 x 1200 | JPG, PNG | 150KB (help) / 5120KB (UI) |
| Search / business logo | 1:1 | ~128+ | 1200 x 1200 | JPG, PNG | 5MB |

> [!WARNING]
> **The Demand Gen logo has two different specs.** Google's help page publishes a 150KB cap and a 144 x 144 minimum. The campaign interface states 5120KB and 128 x 128. Unresolved, so treat it as a live disagreement rather than a settled figure.
>
> **Export at 1200 x 1200 and compress below 150KB.** That satisfies both positions, so you never have to settle it. A logo that passes PMax at 2MB may be refused under the help-page rule.

"Only approved logos will appear in your ads." There is a review step between upload and serving.

Merchant Center accepts a square logo only. LinkedIn has no separate logo asset, it pulls the company logo from the posting Page.

## What goes in a Google image

PMax builds ads at auction time, combining your image with headlines, descriptions, logo and a call-to-action button that vary by surface. Google publishes no creative-content rule specific to Demand Gen, so the guidance below is written for PMax and inherited by Demand Gen.

**What works:**

- A styled product or lifestyle shot with a clear focal point, strong enough to stand without text. Editorial, not banner.
- A single clear headline or value line, when it stands out and reads cleanly.
- A tasteful brand logo. It can help, since the surface's own logo placement is not always prominent.
- Subtle brand presence, like product packaging that naturally shows the logo.

**What fails, or defeats itself:**

- A baked-in call to action. Google renders its own button. Never draw "Shop now" or "Click here" into the image.
- Full banner-style creative with headline, body copy, CTA and border.
- A wall of copy that fights Google's composed text.
- An oversized logo or brand watermark.

Google recommends supplying at least one image without overlays for each aspect ratio.

### Text and overlays: the Search and PMax split

Google's own documentation contradicts itself here. Three official pages take three positions.

| Source | Position |
|---|---|
| Image assets format requirements (policy) | **Bans them.** Images with text or graphic overlay, brand logos included, are not allowed |
| About image assets for Performance Max | **Permits them.** Overlays are allowed, and at least one image without overlays per ratio is recommended |
| About image assets for Search campaigns | **Absolute prohibition.** "there are absolutely no digitally added text, logos, or graphic overlays, as these will be immediately disapproved" |

What holds in practice:

- **Search is the only campaign type where the stated rule is real and enforced.** Any digitally added text, logo or overlay gets disapproved. A Search image asset has to be a clean scene and nothing else.
- **The general policy ban does not hold for PMax.** Brand logos inside PMax image assets run in live accounts without issue.
- **PMax accepts image plus embedded text.** Where the policy page and the PMax page disagree, the PMax page governs.

## LinkedIn: specs

**Images** (LinkedIn's published recommendations)

| Ratio | Name | Recommended | Notes |
|-------|------|-----------|-------|
| 1.91:1 | Landscape | 1200 x 628 | Min 640 x 360 |
| 1:1 | Square | 1200 x 1200 | Min 360 x 360 |
| 4:5 | Vertical | 720 x 900 | Mobile only; export at the shared 960 x 1200 |

**Video**

| Ratio | Name | Recommended | Notes |
|-------|------|-----------|-------|
| 16:9 | Horizontal | 1920 x 1080 | Up to 1920 x 1080 |
| 1:1 | Square | 1080 x 1080 | Min 360, max 1920 |
| 4:5 | Vertical | 720 x 900 | Up to 1080 x 1350 |
| 9:16 | Vertical | 720 x 1280 | Up to 1080 x 1920 |

> Format: MP4 (H.264 or VP8). File size: 75KB to 500MB. Duration: 3s to 30min; LinkedIn recommends 15 to 30 seconds.

Vertical 4:5 images are mobile only and do not deliver to desktop. 9:16 video is mobile only. Carousel recommends square images and scales them to 312 x 312 on display, with 2 to 10 cards.

**Audience targeting:** Job Title must not be combined with Seniority or Job Function. LinkedIn rejects that combination outright, and it is a rejection rather than an audience-size collapse. Title combined with Skills is allowed, and is the better move when a skill alone is too broad.

## LinkedIn: ad copy and creative

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The first 150 characters of intro text are everything. Front-load a hook that reads as a finished thought before the mobile "see more" cut. If it does not land, nobody expands it.

| Element | Target | Maximum | Notes |
|---------|--------|---------|-------|
| Intro text | First 150 chars = a complete sentence | 3,000 chars | Mobile truncates at ~150 chars. After the fold, write as much as you like |
| Headline | 70 chars or fewer | 200 chars | 70 is where LinkedIn truncates. Under ~40 keeps it on one line |
| Description | 100 chars | 300 chars | Optional and rarely shown. Skip it |

- The headline sits below the image. Keep it punchy and direct.
- No CTA in the copy. LinkedIn renders its own button (Download, Learn More, Sign Up, Attend) beside the headline. Do not spend headline or intro space on "Download now".
- LinkedIn expects a professional tone, not corporate waffle. Specific outcomes, real numbers and peer-level language win.

**Why five ads per ad group**

LinkedIn shows a person at most one impression per ad per day. Five ads in one ad group means up to five impressions per person per day, one from each ad. The point is frequency and reach, not testing, though you get testing as a side benefit. Each ad only has to be technically different, so a single word change counts. Fewer than five leaves daily touchpoints on the table.

**What belongs in a LinkedIn image**

LinkedIn creative is image-led, and this is the opposite of the Google rule above. The headline and description fields sit below the image and are low-prominence, often needing a click to expand, so the image does the persuading.

- Bake the headline or pull-quote into the image. On-brand type is encouraged here, not penalised.
- No call to action in the image. LinkedIn renders its own button, so do not draw a "Sign up" button into the creative.
- Logo is optional. The ad already shows your company logo and name as the post author, so a second logo inside the image is usually redundant.

## Official documentation

**Google Ads**

- [Demand Gen asset specs](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13704860)
- [Demand Gen video asset specs](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17141078)
- [Demand Gen specs and format requirements](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17091672)
- [Creative preferences in Demand Gen campaigns](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/14552284)
- [About Demand Gen campaigns](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13695777)
- [YouTube Shorts ads asset specs](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16041697)
- [How to buy YouTube Shorts ads with Demand Gen](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16040528)
- [PMax image assets](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/14530211)
- [PMax video assets](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/14528532)
- [Best practices for image assets in PMax](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15995550)
- [Search image assets](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9566341)
- [Image assets format requirements (policy)](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/10347108)
- [Best practices guide for responsive display ads](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9823397)
- [Ad formats and sizes](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13676244)
- [Brand Profile logo requirements](https://support.google.com/brandprofile/answer/16785039)

**LinkedIn Ads**

- [Single Image Ads specs](https://www.linkedin.com/help/lms/answer/a426534)
- [Carousel Ads specs](https://www.linkedin.com/help/lms/answer/a427022)
- [Video Ads specs](https://www.linkedin.com/help/lms/answer/a424737)