Optimizing Google Performance Max Campaigns for Better Results

Advertisers have been using Performance Max for some time, and now they are gaining experience and exploring new features to attract potential customers. Some parts to create a Performance Max campaign may seem entirely new, like an auto-creating video asset feature and URL expansion, while others feel more traditional with responsive ads, as well as conversion-only bidding being set. In this article, you will learn more about Performance Max and a list of the top 10 dos, don’ts, watchouts, and workarounds for success with PMax. 

What is Performance Max? 

Performance Max is a campaign type based on a goal that combines all readily accessible Google Ads show inventory within a single campaign for performance advertisers. The strategy is meant to work in tandem with your keyword-based search campaigns to help identify more customers who are likely to convert through the various Google services, such as YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail, and Maps.

Performance Max asset allows you to drive performance based on your defined conversion goals, providing higher value and more conversions by using Smart Bidding to help you optimize in real-time and across channels. From bid and budget setting to audience selection, creatives, attribution, and even more, Performance Max uses Google AI for everything under the Google umbrella. All of these aspects work towards your advertising goal; for instance, Performance Max helps if there is a CPA/ROAS target along with provided creative assets or optional data feeds you define.

10 Dos and Don’ts for Success with Google Ads Performance Max

These are some dos, don’ts, watchouts, and workarounds to help you understand how to optimize Performance Max campaigns. 

1. Do Set Up Accurate Full Funnel Conversion Tracking

Performance Max, like app campaigns, Smart Display, and local campaigns, uses heavy automation for both bidding and targeting, which makes conversion tracking more crucial than ever. Managing tracking is always critical in any Google Ads account, but it becomes paramount in Performance Max. In e-commerce, this is relatively simple, but with rising search trends, many lead gen companies have grappled with lead quality.

In our viewpoint, that’s not a failing of the template, but instead a clear illustration of the need for things like enhanced conversions, offline tracking, CRM integration, and so forth.

2. Create a Google Analytics PMax Segment for Enhanced Reporting

Google Ads provides several reporting options that may not be available in Performance Max, such as landing page and geographical reports. However, Google Analytics is found to be useful in these situations.

All you have to do is create a segment of users for whom the acquisition campaign has Performance Max (or whatever it is you call it), and you will be able to know how deeply these users are engaging with your business. For example, a Google Analytics segment can be used with the Landing Page Report and you will see if you need to do anything to the URL exclusions or if you need to reduce macro URL expansion.

3. Be Careful of URL Expansion

Performance Max is simply the combination of every single Google Ads type available, which includes Search, Display, Discovery, Video ads, Shopping, and Local ads… Everything but Apps for the time being. And just like every other campaign type, Performance Max has a subset of features that are “borrowed” from other campaigns.

One of the lesser-known features of Performance Max campaigns is URL Expansion, which works more like PMax Dynamic Search Ads. For Performance Max campaigns, URL Expansion is automatically activated. Unless you switch it off, the campaign is able to direct users to landing pages beyond your specified final URL, similar to a dynamic ad group.

4. Remember to Include At Least 1 Video Asset

Whereas the bid strategy and audience signal are flexible, for a Performance Max campaign, one of the most rigid aspects is the provision of assets for the design-starved campaign. Because different campaigns encompass so many different types of inventory, you’ll need to feed it lots of text, image and video assets.

If you have ever created a Display campaign, you know you can choose to add video assets, but in PMax you cannot. You can opt not to provide video assets, but then Google Ads will automatically generate them for you. Currently, the auto-generated video assets fall short of expectations, leaving room for improvement over time.

Users that wish to use Performance Max but don’t have an existing video asset can make use of a free tool like Canva to convert their image assets into videos.

Just like all Google Ads campaigns, videos must first be uploaded to YouTube. You can change the visibility settings on your YouTube channel to “Unlisted” if you don’t want your video ad to be publicly available.

5. Be Careful with Deceptive Location Targeting Options

For location targeting, you can choose to target by Presence or interest (people in the location or people interested in the location) or Presence only. We suggest using Presence only as it prevents your ads from showing to users outside of your defined locations.

Most people will use the former option since it is set as default, make sure to switch that. If you mistakenly ran a campaign with Presence or interest for an extended period, the Analytics segment suggested earlier will be quite useful because it will show you the active location traffic.

6. Do Optimize-for-Only Conversion Objectives in Performance Max

Just like with Discovery campaigns, for this type of campaign, the only possible bids are for Conversion and Conversion Value. We may one day see the emergence of an ‘Awareness-Max’, but in the meantime, this format is useful only for conversion-based objectives. 

If you still want to leverage Performance Max for mid-funnel or upper-funnel objectives, you can set conversion actions at the campaign level. For example, if you want to experiment with PMax on an awareness objective, create a “Page View” conversion action and set the campaign to optimize for page views only. 

7. Do Use An Audience Signal

The most striking change that came with Performance Max campaigns is, as we know, the introduction of Google Ads signals. In a typical scenario, adding audiences to the campaign means you have a specific subset of users you intend the ads to be served to, and you have defined these parameters. You have the power to define your targeting.

Creating an audience signal in Performance Max puts Google Ai Ads on notice about whose users are of interest to your business. However, with PMax, these audience segments are only used as a basic starting point to serve ads. After data gathering has started, the PMax account will advertise further beyond your audiences by targeting users who show certain behaviors that would indicate they are likely to convert.

This channel is a bit different from how optimized targeting works in Display, Discovery, and conversion video campaigns: you pick the audience segments, but automatically, ads are served to the audience that is presumed to convert. It is smart to grab the term “optimized targeting” and rebrand it into “audience signal” because now it sounds like there is more power of decision to the user in contrast to AI taking command.

8. Do Check The Insights Tab For Report Transparency Improvements

Performance Max users have, and the majority of them have so much to say concerning the report opacity that PM imposes, and though there is a grain of truth in that, the amount of useful information rendered under the Insights tab is astounding.

For “Search categories” and “Audience segments,” you will see top performers after a few days or weeks of running a campaign, depending on your budget. A search category is a set of closely related search terms.

It may not be as precise as a search terms report, but it will solve two of your queries: Is PMax concentrating on brand or non-brand searches? Is PMax acquiring new searches or are the same ones targeted in your search campaigns? In this instance, the top search category contained well-performing existing search terms as brand terms. As you can see, that search category has not been targeted and thus has a big incremental opportunity cap.

9. Don’t Duplicate Image Assets in Your Merchant Center Feed

If you link your Google Merchant Center feed to Performance Max the same way as a Shopping campaign, PMax will retrieve the information in your feed (titles, pricing, images, availability, etc.) and create ads from them. 

Alternatively, include lifestyle photos that depict actual people using your goods or services. Some of the most helpful tips for which images perform best come from Google’s own guidance for Discovery assets, which includes: 

• Minimize or avoid completely any overlaid text.
• Use out-of-the-ordinary stock photograph settings such as everyday places. 

Rather than startling wide shots, focus on a subject that takes up 30-40% of the image and center it. 

10. Be Careful With Customer Acquisition Constraints 

Even though Smart Shopping is no longer available, having been replaced by Performance Max, it is still known for its legacy of customer acquisition constraints. You have the ability to only target new customers when bidding in your PMax campaign settings. 

If your Performance Max campaign is struggling with branded search and retargeting, then bidding for new customers is a perfect option because it will allow you to switch your focus towards acquisition. Just be sure to manage your expectations in terms of performance; a PMax campaign with an acquisition focus will not perform as well as a PMax campaign with a conversion focus because the latter would take less time and ads to convert these new users into customers.

Conclusion

To achieve high goals with Performance Max campaigns, the setup and strategy must be correct. Remember to always monitor reports to see what is working and make the necessary adjustments. With the right approach, Performance Max Google Ads will increase sales and performance results. Their mistakes can be obvious, like using inappropriate ad channels, avoiding location settings, and others with the most common performance gaps. The value of preprocessing conversion tracking, audience selection, and creative materials is priceless.