A new campaign type has been introduced by GoogleAds. The Performance Max campaign is replacing the Smart Shopping and Local campaigns with a new all inclusive approach. Advertisers can start upgrading their Smart Shopping and Local Campaigns now but soon all Smart Shopping Campaigns will be automatically upgraded. Here’s what you need to know in order to launch or maximize your Performance Max campaigns.
Table Of Contents
- What is a Performance Max campaign?
- Converting a campaign to Performance Max
- Addressing some concerns
- What changes to expect with Performance Max
- Receiving hands-on assistance
What is a Performance Max campaign?
Performance Max is the newest GoogleAds campaign type. Performance Max is fully automated and uses the entire suite of Google Ads campaign types, including search, display, discovery, gmail and YouTube homepage ads.
According to Google, advertisers can target people searching for products they sell, people who have already browsed their site, new potential customers based on recent interest and existing customers.
Converting a campaign to Performance Max
Google recommends using the upgrade tool found in either the shopping or local campaign types to initiate the upgrade. Advertisers can also wait for these campaigns to auto upgrade. To do this, first find which campaigns are marked “Upgrade available” in the campaign type column as shown below.
Then, select the campaigns you would like to upgrade, select edit, and then select “Upgrade to Performance Max” as shown below.
Upgrading your existing Shopping or Local campaigns is imperative in ensuring a smooth transition where settings, assets, and budget carry over to the new Performance Max campaign. It also helps the new campaign avoid a lengthy learning period. If you are anything like us and have concerns about accessing historical data, you will be happy to know that although the original shopping ad will no longer appear nor will you be able to edit it, the historical data will still be accessible through the PMax campaign.
Addressing some concerns
Considering that Performance Max campaigns will use the entire suite of Google Ads campaign types, you might have concerns about overlap or using negative key terms and to that I say hakuna matata (it means no worries).
Starting off with overlap between Performance Max campaigns and your other existing ads, Google has ensured that other campaign types will still be served despite being offered through Performance Max ads. Google has provided the following table to show when a Text ad or other ad type will show instead of a Performance Max ad.
Moving on to negative key terms, Google has suggested that the use of negative key terms in the Performance Max campaigns should be carefully thought out. This is because any key term added to a Performance Max campaign will apply to every ad type. For example, adding a branded negative key term in hopes of not paying for branded text ads will also block a user’s search for a branded term and a product from seeing a shopping ad. This would give competitors valuable real estate in the shopping ads being served to high intent users. Therefore, when adding negative key terms it is important to consider if you are okay with your ads not showing through a text ad, shopping ad, or even on a Youtube video with that word in the title.
What changes to expect with Performance Max
Here at Data Lumination we tested out Performance Max campaigns early and began using them amongst a variety of clients and verticals. We have had success for clients in multiple industries, serving both B2B and B2C, as well as targeting varying goals including phone calls, lead generation forms, and of course, transactions. On average, we’ve seen ROAS increase by +200% in the 4 weeks following upgrading shopping campaigns to Performance Max campaigns.
Receiving hands-on assistance
Data Lumination offers a full range of services including assisting with Performance Max campaigns. Contact us to create your Performance Max campaigns or optimize your current campaigns. Contact a Performance Max expert now to maximize your ad performance!
If you’ve already made the switch to PMax read our blog on 4 Proven Ways To Fix Your Performance Max (PMax) Campaigns
Tell us what you think about Performance Max in the comments below.
Written by John Lucero
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