What's the difference between DoorDash Ads and Promotions?
An ad (also known as a Sponsored Listing) allows your restaurant to get top visibility on relevant channels, such as the DoorDash homepage, search results page, and on partner platforms. DoorDash Promotions, on the other hand, give customers an extra nudge to order from you through discounted offers.
Ads (Sponsored Listings)
Increase visibility across relevant channels
You choose which customer segments to target
You pay only when an order is placed
Promotions
Discounts or delivery fee offers you fund
Applied automatically when customers meet eligibility rules
You pay only when a promotion results in an order
Which DoorDash Ads or Promotions should I choose?
When choosing whether to run a DoorDash Ad or Promotion, consider your business goals.
If you want to… | Use |
Appear higher in search results | Ads |
Offer a discount or deal | Promotions |
Target specific customer types | Ads or Promotions |
Limit redemptions by budget | Promotions |
If you're still unsure, use the Merchant Portal and click on either New Customer Growth or Attract All Customers to help you decide which promotion to choose.
What types of DoorDash Ads are available?
Also known as Sponsored Listings (Ads), a listing for your business that appears in search results. You choose the target audience: new customers, existing customers, lapsed customers (people who have ordered before but not in a while), and/or all customers. To improve your performance, your ad may utilize leftover budgets to also appear on partner platforms like Facebook and Instagram. All Sponsored Listing campaigns are automatically opted-in to this option – you have the ability to opt-out at any point.
Ads are pay-per-order not pay-per-click, so you only pay for them when you receive an order.
For merchants on the Premier pricing plan, DoorDash will automatically run ads run on your behalf at no extra cost.
What types of DoorDash Promotions are available?
DoorDash Promotions come in three categories:
Menu-wide promotions (entire menu)
Item-specific promotions (selected items)
Time-based promotions (specific hours)
Menu-wide promotions
This includes:
First Order, $0 Delivery Fee
Pay Customer's Delivery Fee
Discount for New Customers
Discount Promotion
Discount for Lapsed Customers
Free or Discounted Items
Happy Hour
Lunch Specials
Item-specific promotions
This includes:
Buy One Get One (BOGO)
Happy Hour
Lunch Specials
Time-specific promotions
This includes:
Happy Hour
Lunch Specials
What do I need to set up a campaign?
When creating a campaign, you'll need to add specific details, including:
Target Audience
What type of customer you want to reach.
Smart targeting: Only target the most valuable customers for your business
All Customers: All DoorDash customers within your delivery radius
New Customers: Only customers who have never ordered from you
Existing Customers: Bought from your business within the last six months
Lapsed Customers: Haven't bought from your business within the last six months or longer
Campaign Length
This is the length of time you wish for your campaign to run. If you select “Keep it going”, your campaign will run until you pause or cancel it. By letting it run, you can choose to extend the campaign if you see it’s successful. If you “Choose End Date”, your campaign will end the day you set. We recommend running campaigns for at least 30 days.
Average Weekly Budget
This is the amount you’re comfortable spending, on average, for orders each day across all the stores selected in the campaign. You’ll only pay for orders placed within 7 days of clicking your ad and making a purchase.
For Ads: The budget recommendation we provide is based on your past sales performance and the estimated ad sales we expect from your campaign.
For Promotions: You can either set “No cap on average weekly budget”, which allows every eligible customer to redeem the promotion, or can “Set your average weekly budget” to limit the number of customers who can redeem the promotion based on average budget.
Bid Strategy (only for Ads)
Your bid is the maximum amount that you’re willing to pay per order for the campaign. You can either set a “Custom Bid” that lets you set that maximum amount or you can select “Automatic Bidding”.
Automatic bidding optimizes the budget by minimizing the bid amounts and maximizing the return. We update the bid over time to ensure it remains competitive, maintains a healthy return, and doesn’t overspend.
If you don’t wish to let DoorDash automatically set the most competitive bid for you, you may set the maximum price you’re willing to pay for the order.
Expanded Ad Reach
To improve your performance, your ad may utilize leftover budgets to also appear on partner platforms like Facebook and Instagram. As always, you pay only if your ad leads to an order.
All Sponsored Listing campaigns are automatically opted-in to this option – you have the ability to opt-out at any point.
Customer Incentive (only for Promotions)
Depending on the type of campaign (dollar or percent amount off, free delivery), you will get to choose either the percentage or dollar amount discount, along with the minimum subtotal, and max discount amount for the campaign.
Stores
You can select up to 4,000 stores at a time to appear in a campaign. If some of your stores are eligible for the DoorDash Marketing free trial credit, you must create two separate campaigns for stores with and without the trial.
Item-specific options
Choose whether you want your promotion to include your entire menu or specific items.
For Happy Hour and Lunch Special promotions, your top 10 items will automatically be selected, but you can remove these items and/or select other items for the promotion. Make sure to pick which menu items you’d like featured in the campaign.
How do I set up a campaign?
To set up a campaign:
Log in to the Merchant Portal
Click on the Marketing tab
Tap Run a Campaign
How much do DoorDash Ads and Promotions cost?
DoorDash charges only when an order is placed through an Ad or Promotion. Here's how it works:
Ad bidding
You set a maximum bid per order, either as a Custom Bid or Automatic Bid
The customer searches for the relevant keyword or sees your ad after browsing on the app
When your ad matches a customer's search, you enter an auction to secure the ad spot
If your store has the highest bid and best relevancy score, you win and pay the second-highest bid amount after checkout
For example, if you bid $100 but the second bid is $3, you win the bid and are charged for the minimum amount needed to win
Promotions
DoorDash Promotions work similar to Ads — you're only charged for a promotion when it leads to an order, not for views or clicks.
Cost includes the customer discount (% or $ off) or delivery fee ($4.99) plus the DoorDash Marketing Fee
What is smart targeting?
Smart targeting automatically adjusts your audience to improve campaign efficiency at no extra cost. It's:
Available for US SMBs
Enabled during campaign creation for a Discount Promotion type (choose Smart Targeting)
Can be turned off at any time from the Campaigns tab under Marketing
How do I manage and review campaigns?
All campaigns can be reviewed and managed in the Merchant Portal.
Go to Merchant Portal and click on Marketing, then select Campaign Reporting
Pause, edit, or end campaigns as needed
How does the DoorDash Marketing free trial work?
Eligible stores in the US, Canada, and Australia may receive up to $200 in Marketing Credits for Ads and Promotions. This can be used for $100 off Promotions or $100 for Ads.
To check eligibility
Log in to the Merchant Portal
Go to the Marketing tab
Look for free trial campaigns under recommended marketing campaigns
To end a free trial
Go to Campaign Reporting
Select the three-dots on the far right side of the campaign
Choose End Campaign
How do taxes work with DoorDash Ads and Promotions?
Taxes and tax reporting can vary based on where your store is located and the type of campaign you run. For a full explanation of how taxes work on Ads and Promotions, visit the following pages:
