Performance Max

Performance Max is a type of Google Ads campaign introduced in late 2021 in response to rapidly changing online consumer behaviors. It represents a further step towards leveraging modern technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and machine learning. Although Google has been using these elements for some time, Performance Max is the first highly advanced and automated campaign type. Its primary objective is to increase the number and value of conversions by identifying the right customers across all available Google channels—search and display networks, YouTube, Gmail, Discovery cards, and Maps.

Consumers, when searching for the products or services they need, are increasingly using various online and offline channels. The number of platforms enabling search and purchase transactions is growing rapidly, and internet users are seamlessly switching between devices. As a result, the path to conversion (e.g., product or service purchase) is becoming longer and more complex. A user might discover a product while watching a YouTube video on their smartphone, search for it a few days later on a work laptop, and make the purchase a week later on a tablet after seeing a banner with the product image while browsing the web before bed.

To reach the right audience at the right time and place (or re-engage them with an offer), it is essential to maximize ad reach and connect with as many customers as possible, regardless of where they search for information and make purchases. With Performance Max, advertisers gain access to various ad formats (e.g., text, display, or video) within a single campaign, enabling them to reach internet users across all Google channels. Thanks to artificial intelligence and algorithms, they can expect significantly better results compared to traditional campaigns, such as those limited to a single network.

Performance Max campaigns are goal-driven. Depending on the demand and location of the potential customer, PMax ads (within a single campaign) can be displayed anywhere they are needed—e.g., in Google search results as well as on YouTube.

Ads displayed across multiple channels simultaneously allow advertisers to reach a large number of valuable customers and maximize effectiveness through various resources, their combinations, and types of ads. Performance Max, by monitoring customer intentions and behaviors in real-time, is able to select the best possible ad creative and bid for clicks at any given moment. The attribution model used in PMax, based on data from all active channels, allows for a more accurate identification of the path leading to a purchase. Ultimately, this enables the advertiser to invest in the most important touchpoints of the customer’s journey.

Performance Max campaigns utilize cutting-edge automation solutions in the following areas:

• Setting bids for ad interactions
• Creating audience-tailored ad creatives (text, graphics, video, and combinations thereof)
• Targeting ads to the right audience groups in the best locations across the network
• Optimizing budget allocation for maximum impact

For PMax campaigns to function effectively, it is crucial to provide as much data as possible (both advertising materials and audience signals) to support the algorithms’ performance.

Creating a Performance Max Campaign
To launch a Performance Max campaign, the first step is to define its primary objective and key conversions that will help optimize effectiveness. Once the goal is set, a bidding strategy should be chosen (it should align with the advertiser’s business objectives). Next, select the location and language settings. It is also worth considering the feature to expand the final URL, which helps discover new relevant queries not covered by search network campaigns or those where Performance Max has a higher ad rank.

Adding Advertising Assets
The quality and variety of the provided advertising assets play a crucial role in the success of smart campaigns. Assets in Performance Max campaigns include:

• Final URL (the destination page to which the user is directed after clicking the ad)
• Images (max. 20)
• Advertiser’s logo (max. 5)
• Video ads (max. 5)
• Short headlines (max. 5)
• Long headlines (max. 5)
• Short ad text (max. 1)
• Long ad text (max. 4)
• Company name
• Call to action (CTA)

PMax campaigns automatically combine the uploaded assets into all available ad formats that match conversion goals. A larger number of assets enables the creation of more formats and ad combinations, showing more engaging creatives to users and covering more available ad placements, which ultimately aims to increase the number or value of conversions.

It is also important to add all possible ad extensions to the PMax campaign (links to subpages, promotions, prices, calls, explanations, information, locations, and contact forms). Extensions are key elements of ads that allow for delivering more information about the offer and increasing the ad’s visibility. Ads with extensions are more noticeable.

Targeting Performance Max Ads
A major advantage of campaign automation is the ability to reach new audience segments that the advertiser may not have considered previously. PMax campaigns allow ads to be shown to new, valuable customers and do not limit targeting to fixed groups, as is the case in search network campaigns, where ads are displayed based solely on selected keywords.

Performance Max campaigns are directed based on so-called signals. These audience signals guide the campaign algorithms in the right direction—they provide critical information and significantly speed up campaign optimization. The best signals for the system are custom segments and customer lists and website users. These signals contain valuable insights into the likelihood of conversion, as they indicate who, where, and how quickly conversions occurred. This data allows the system to “learn” the best practices.

Product Feed in Performance Max Campaigns
For online store promotions, a product feed is an essential element of the Performance Max campaign—this is the same feed used in product listing ads (PLA) campaigns.

With the introduction of Performance Max campaigns and based on highly satisfactory results from conducted tests, Google decided to convert Smart Product Campaigns and Local Campaigns into Performance Max. By the end of September 2022, all such campaigns were automatically converted to PMax, and the creation of new Smart Product Campaigns and Local Campaigns was disabled.

Performance Max campaigns should deliver similar or even greater effectiveness than Smart Product Campaigns and Local Campaigns. During beta tests, retailers who migrated from PLA Smart to Performance Max campaigns experienced an average 12% increase in conversion value with the same or better ROAS.

Performance Max offers the same core features that were available in both Product and Local campaigns. This means that after the conversion, advertisers do not lose anything but rather gain more, as they now have access to new advertising assets and automated statistics, which were previously unavailable.

According to Google data, around 70% of consumers now make online purchases more frequently than before the pandemic. For some purchases, internet users interact with a product or service up to 500 times online before making a purchase. This is why more and more advertisers are turning to automation to effectively reach customers with their offers.

Performance Max campaigns are an excellent tool for advertisers who need a solution tailored to the current needs of consumers and longer conversion paths. It is Google’s latest method for increasing online sales, maximizing the number of potential customers, and driving in-store visits.

PMax campaigns leverage real-time consumer data and allow advertisers to present their offers at the most opportune moments. In addition to maximizing efficiency, they also enable campaign optimization for new customers. Modern automation makes it easier to invest the budget more effectively and dynamically allocate spending where the highest return on investment opportunities exist.

Reporting available within this type of campaign provides valuable and transparent insights into how automation is working and how ads can be improved. It identifies which audiences, creatives, and other factors (including consumer statistics and trends) are influencing campaign results.