What is Performance Max?
According to Google Ads Help, Performance Max, or PMax for short, gives you access to all Google Ads inventory from a single campaign. Google describes the campaign type as a complement to classic Search campaigns, which are controlled via keywords.
The key difference: in a Search campaign, you decide which search terms your ad may appear for. In Performance Max, you set a goal, such as sales or enquiries, and Google looks across all channels for the auctions in which a conversion is most likely. Smart Bidding, Google’s automated bidding, sets a new bid for every auction.
The building blocks of a campaign
- Conversion goals: you define which actions count and can optionally set a target CPA (cost per conversion) or a target ROAS (revenue per unit of ad spend).
- Asset groups: collections of ad assets such as headlines, descriptions, images, logos and videos. Google combines them into suitable ads for each channel. If you do not provide your own videos, Google creates some from your other assets.
- Audience signals: hints about who your customers are, for example your own customer lists or visitors to your website. They speed up the campaign’s learning but do not restrict serving. Ads can also reach people outside these signals.
- Product data: online retailers connect the campaign to their Google Merchant Center. Shopping ads then also appear in Search, on YouTube and in Maps, along with dynamic remarketing ads on the Display Network.
- Final URL expansion: when enabled, Google may send users to other, more relevant pages on your domain and generate its own headlines for them. You remain responsible for this content.
Controls and reports
Performance Max initially offered few ways to intervene. Google has since added a good deal:
- Search themes: terms that tell Google which search queries you are relevant for. Since 2025, up to 50 per asset group are possible.
- Brand exclusions: prevent the campaign from serving on searches for your own brand or another brand. Unlike negative keywords, they also cover misspellings.
- Negative keywords: since 2025 also available at campaign level for all Performance Max campaigns. They apply to Search and Shopping inventory.
- Reports: a search terms report, metrics per asset and a breakdown by channel.
Important for the interplay with Search campaigns: if a search query is identical to an exact match keyword in a Search campaign, the Search campaign takes priority. Search themes have the same priority as phrase match and broad match keywords.
When Performance Max is worth it
Google recommends the campaign type if you have clear conversion goals, want more reach than Search alone provides and do not want to restrict serving to particular channels. In practice, success depends mainly on three prerequisites:
- Reliable conversion measurement: the campaign optimises for whatever you report as a conversion. If a newsletter click counts there too, Google will buy exactly those clicks. In the European Economic Area, this includes Consent Mode v2.
- Enough data: without sufficient conversions, the algorithm lacks a basis. Google advises starting with easier intermediate goals if necessary and switching to more valuable actions later.
- Good assets and data: meaningful images, videos and texts, and for retailers a well-maintained product feed. Your own customer data can be added via Customer Match.
Common mistakes
- Brand searches flatter the figures: people already searching for your brand might buy without an ad. Brand exclusions separate new business from brand traffic.
- Targets that are too tight: a very low target CPA or high target ROAS slows down serving. Google explicitly advises against overly restrictive targets.
- Judging by individual channel: Performance Max moves budget to wherever it delivers most overall. Google recommends measuring the campaign against its overall goal.
- Unsupervised final URL expansion: without exclusions, users may land on blog articles or careers pages. Check which pages Google uses.
Would you like to know whether Performance Max suits your goals, or have your existing campaign reviewed? Then get in touch with us or read more about our Google Ads management!
