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Google Ads Image Size Guide 2026: Display, Responsive, and Discovery

By Picovert Team2026-03-165 min read

Google Ads serve images across the Display Network (millions of websites), Discovery feeds, YouTube, Gmail, and Performance Max campaigns. Each format has specific size requirements, and uploading the wrong dimensions means your ad won't run or will be auto-cropped in ways that hurt performance. This guide covers every Google Ads image format with exact sizes, ratios, and file limits.

Google Display Network: Fixed-Size Banner Ads

The Google Display Network supports traditional fixed-size image banners alongside the newer Responsive Display Ads. If you run fixed-size image ads, these are the sizes that cover the most ad inventory:

  • Leaderboard: 728×90 px — top/bottom of web pages, very high volume
  • Medium rectangle: 300×250 px — the single most common ad unit online
  • Large rectangle: 336×280 px
  • Half page (large skyscraper): 300×600 px — high viewability
  • Wide skyscraper: 160×600 px — sidebar placement
  • Mobile banner: 320×50 px — the most common mobile format
  • Large mobile banner: 320×100 px
  • Billboard: 970×250 px — large format, premium inventory
  • Portrait: 300×1050 px

File requirements: JPG, PNG, or GIF. Maximum 150 KB per ad. Google recommends uploading the top 5 sizes (728×90, 300×250, 300×600, 320×50, 160×600) to cover 90%+ of available impressions.

Responsive Display Ads (RDA)

Responsive Display Ads are the default for Display campaigns. You upload assets and Google assembles them into ads that fit any placement automatically. You need:

  • Landscape image (1.91:1 ratio): 1200×628 px recommended, minimum 600×314 px. Used for most banner placements
  • Square image (1:1 ratio): 1200×1200 px recommended, minimum 300×300 px. Used for square and near-square placements
  • Portrait image (4:5 ratio): 900×1200 px recommended (optional but improves reach on portrait placements)
  • Logo (square): 1200×1200 px recommended, minimum 128×128 px
  • Logo (landscape): 1200×300 px recommended, minimum 512×128 px

File requirements: JPG or PNG, maximum 5 MB per image (logos: 5 MB). Google re-compresses and crops images to fit placements — upload at the recommended resolution to minimize quality loss.

Discovery Ads (now Demand Gen)

Discovery / Demand Gen ads appear in YouTube feeds, Gmail Promotions, and the Google Discover feed. They use the same image assets as Responsive Display Ads but with stricter quality guidelines.

  • Landscape image: 1200×628 px (1.91:1). Minimum 600×314 px. Main image in most placements
  • Square image: 1200×1200 px (1:1). Minimum 300×300 px
  • Portrait image: 900×1200 px (4:5). Recommended for YouTube Shorts feed placements
  • Logo: 1200×1200 px square logo, 1200×300 px landscape logo
  • File size: maximum 5 MB. JPG or PNG

Performance Max Campaigns

Performance Max uses all the same image asset types as Responsive Display Ads and Discovery. Upload all three image ratios (landscape, square, portrait) and both logo ratios to maximize coverage across Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and Maps.

  • Marketing images: landscape (1200×628), square (1200×1200), portrait (900×1200) — all three recommended
  • Logos: square (1200×1200) — required; landscape (1200×300) — optional
  • Maximum images per campaign: up to 20 marketing images, up to 5 logos

YouTube Video Thumbnails (for Ads)

Custom thumbnails for in-stream and video discovery ads:

  • Custom thumbnail: 1280×720 px (16:9 ratio). Minimum 640×360 px. JPG or PNG, under 2 MB. This is the image shown before the video plays in ad placements

Image Quality Rules for Google Ads

  • No blurry or pixelated images: Google's policy review rejects images that are unclear or low-resolution. Always upload at the recommended resolution, not the minimum
  • No text covering more than 20% of the image: heavy text overlay reduces ad quality scores. Keep branding and messaging in the ad headline/description fields
  • No animated GIFs in Display campaigns: animated GIFs are not supported for Responsive Display Ads. Use static JPG or PNG
  • Safe image content: no offensive, misleading, or prohibited content — Google reviews all creative assets before serving
  • No borders or letterboxing: do not add artificial white or black borders to your images — Google crops to the specified ratio and borders reduce usable content area

Step-by-Step: Prepare Google Ads Images

  1. For Responsive Display Ads, prepare three versions: landscape (1200×628), square (1200×1200), and portrait (900×1200). Having all three maximizes reach
  2. Crop your source image to each ratio. Keep the main subject centered — Google crops further when fitting to specific placements
  3. Resize to the recommended dimensions: 1200×628 px (landscape), 1200×1200 px (square), 900×1200 px (portrait)
  4. Compress to under 5 MB for Responsive Display Ads (under 150 KB for fixed-size Display banners). Smaller files load faster and reduce bounce rate before the ad is fully visible
  5. Upload all image assets in Google Ads Manager. Add both logo ratios for best coverage across placements

Google Ads Image Size Quick Reference

  • Responsive Display / Discovery landscape: 1200×628 px (1.91:1), JPG/PNG, max 5 MB
  • Responsive Display / Discovery square: 1200×1200 px (1:1)
  • Responsive Display / Discovery portrait: 900×1200 px (4:5)
  • Square logo: 1200×1200 px; landscape logo: 1200×300 px
  • Top fixed banner sizes: 300×250, 728×90, 300×600, 320×50, 160×600 px
  • Fixed banner file limit: max 150 KB, JPG/PNG/GIF
  • YouTube custom thumbnail: 1280×720 px, max 2 MB