Performance Max runs across Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and Maps from a single campaign. Most advertisers set it up wrong — letting Google's automation overspend on low-intent Display placements while cannibalising their Search campaigns. We architect pMax with precise asset groups, refined audience signals, optimised data feeds, and brand exclusions that channel Google's AI toward your highest-value conversions instead of vanity impressions.
Average Improvement in Conversion Volume
Lower CPA vs. Standard Shopping Alone
Google Channels Covered in One Campaign
What We Deliver
Structured asset groups segmented by product category, service line, or audience theme — each with tailored headlines, descriptions, images, and videos that match specific conversion goals.
Custom audience signals built from first-party data, customer lists, website visitors, and in-market segments that guide Google's AI toward your ideal customers instead of broad, low-intent traffic.
Product feed enrichment with keyword-rich titles, structured descriptions, custom labels, and supplemental attributes that improve Shopping placement quality within your pMax campaigns.
Brand term exclusions prevent pMax from cannibalising your branded Search campaigns. Placement exclusions block low-quality Display and YouTube inventory that wastes budget on bot traffic.
Deep analysis of pMax search term reports to identify which queries are driving conversions, which are wasting spend, and where to add exclusions or create dedicated Search campaigns.
Conversion path analysis that shows how pMax contributes across touchpoints — separating genuine incremental conversions from re-attributed conversions your Search campaigns would have captured anyway.
Our Process
We audit your existing campaigns, conversion tracking, product feeds, and audience data to identify how pMax should integrate with your broader Google Ads strategy without cannibalisation.
Build structured asset groups with tailored creative, audience signals, and conversion goals. Configure brand exclusions, placement exclusions, and URL expansion rules before launch.
Controlled launch with daily monitoring through the 2-4 week learning phase. We track spend distribution across channels and adjust signals to prevent budget waste on Display placements.
Ongoing asset rotation, audience signal refinement, search term harvesting, and budget scaling on high-performing asset groups. Monthly reports with channel-level performance breakdowns.
FAQ
Performance Max works best alongside standard Search campaigns, not as a replacement. It excels at filling gaps across Display, YouTube, and Discover that Search does not cover. We typically run pMax for incremental reach and remarketing while keeping dedicated Search campaigns for your highest-intent keywords where you need granular control.
The primary levers are strong audience signals, placement exclusions, and proper conversion setup. We block low-quality placements, build tight audience signals from first-party data, and ensure your conversion tracking prioritises high-value actions. This steers Google's AI away from cheap Display impressions toward genuine conversion opportunities.
We layer customer match lists, website visitor segments, in-market audiences, and custom intent signals. The key is giving Google strong seed data about who your best customers are. We also use search theme signals to anchor pMax toward specific keyword themes. Audience signals are suggestions, not restrictions — but strong signals dramatically improve performance.
Google provides limited search term data for pMax compared to standard Search campaigns. We use the Insights tab, search term reports, and third-party scripts to extract as much query data as possible. This analysis informs negative keyword additions and helps us identify queries worth breaking out into dedicated Search campaigns.
The learning phase takes 2-4 weeks, during which performance fluctuates as Google's AI tests different channel and audience combinations. We typically see stable, optimised performance by week 6-8. During the learning phase, we monitor daily and intervene only when necessary to prevent budget waste on clearly irrelevant placements.
Get a free pMax audit that analyses your asset groups, audience signals, and channel distribution to identify exactly where your budget is being wasted.
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