--- title: "Google Ads vs The Trade Desk: Which is more popular in New Zealand?" description: "Is Google Ads or The Trade Desk more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Digital ad buying platforms set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/google-ads-vs-the-trade-desk" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Google Ads vs The Trade Desk: Which is more popular in New Zealand? Is Google Ads or The Trade Desk more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Digital ad buying platforms set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Google Ads and The Trade Desk - **Competitive set**: Digital ad buying platforms - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Oct 2026 - **Google Ads Share of Search**: 88.9% - **The Trade Desk Share of Search**: 0.34% ## Is Google Ads or The Trade Desk more popular in search? - In October 2026, Google Ads had more branded searches than The Trade Desk among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand. Google Ads had about 18,100 branded searches, while The Trade Desk had 70. Google Ads made up 88.9% of all digital ad buying platform searches we track, and The Trade Desk accounted for 0.34%. - Google Ads was ahead of The Trade Desk in every measured month of the 12 months ending October 2026. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Google Ads’ share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand moved from 89.6% to 88.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 14.8K to 18.1K. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, The Trade Desk’s share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand moved from 0.67% to 0.34%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 110 to 70. ## Top digital ad buying platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, The Trade Desk was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Google Ads was mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Google Ads was listed before The Trade Desk in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Google Ads | 1st | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Meta Ads | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | The Trade Desk | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | LinkedIn Ads | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | StackAdapt | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | AdRoll | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Basis Technologies | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Quantcast | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about digital ad buying platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which digital ad buying platform should I use in New Zealand?": 1. Google Ads, 2. Meta Ads, 3. The Trade Desk - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand?": 1. Google Ads, 2. Meta Ads, 3. The Trade Desk, 4. LinkedIn Ads, 5. StackAdapt - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best digital ad buying platform in New Zealand for a marketing team?": 1. Google Ads, 2. Meta Ads, 3. LinkedIn Ads, 4. The Trade Desk - Searched Google, AI Overview "programmatic advertising platform": 1. The Trade Desk - Searched Google, AI Overview "digital media buying platform": 1. Meta Ads Not named in any answer: AdRoll, Basis Technologies and Quantcast. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand digital ad buying platforms in October 2026? - In October 2026, Google Ads gained share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand, from 86.2% to 88.9%. - In October 2026, The Trade Desk fell from 4th to 5th among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand. ## How has branded search for Google Ads and The Trade Desk changed in New Zealand over the last 12 months? | Month | Google Ads estimated searches | Google Ads Share of Search | Google Ads rank | The Trade Desk estimated searches | The Trade Desk Share of Search | The Trade Desk rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Nov 2025 | 14.8K | 89.6% | 1 | 110 | 0.67% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | 9.9K | 88.1% | 1 | 90 | 0.8% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | 12.1K | 85.4% | 1 | 140 | 0.99% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | 12.1K | 87.2% | 1 | 140 | 1% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | 14.8K | 87.1% | 1 | 210 | 1.2% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | 14.8K | 87.9% | 1 | 110 | 0.65% | 4 | | May 2026 | 14.8K | 86.3% | 1 | 110 | 0.64% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | 14.8K | 87.6% | 1 | 110 | 0.65% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | 14.8K | 87.6% | 1 | 90 | 0.53% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | 14.8K | 87.7% | 1 | 140 | 0.83% | 4 | | Sep 2026 | 14.8K | 86.2% | 1 | 110 | 0.64% | 4 | | Oct 2026 | 18.1K | 88.9% | 1 | 70 | 0.34% | 5 | ## How are Google Ads’ and The Trade Desk’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Google Ads’ and The Trade Desk’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Google Ads**: Measured on the search term “google ads”. - **The Trade Desk**: Measured on the search terms “the trade desk” and “thetradedesk”, summed into one figure. - [Google Ads profile](/demand/nz/brands/google-ads) - [The Trade Desk profile](/demand/nz/brands/the-trade-desk) - [All digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-digital-ad-buying-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Google Ads or The Trade Desk more popular in search? In October 2026, Google Ads had more branded searches than The Trade Desk among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand. Google Ads had about 18,100 branded searches, while The Trade Desk had 70. Google Ads made up 88.9% of all digital ad buying platform searches we track, and The Trade Desk accounted for 0.34%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Google Ads vs The Trade Desk: Which is more popular in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/google-ads-vs-the-trade-desk This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/google-ads-vs-the-trade-desk. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.