What is Performance Max?

Performance Max (or PMax) is a campaign type within Google Ads. What makes PMax different from other campaign types is that the campaigns can run with a mix of text, images and video. This is because they run across quite a few Google Platforms, including:

• Search
• Display
• YouTube
• Gmail
• Maps
• Discover

Across these platforms, PMax campaigns focus on increasing conversions.

How does Performance Max work?

Performance Max uses Google’s AI and machine learning algorithms to drive conversions by optimising bids and placements in real time. In order to achieve this, PMax uses Google’s Smart Bidding. This means the machine learning algorithms look at some key aspects of your campaign’s setup, including:

• Assets and creatives
• Audiences
• Bidding strategy
• Budgets

In terms of targeting, PMax campaigns focus on ‘search themes’ rather than keywords, as this allows the algorithm to pick from a much broader target audience. If it finds that certain search themes aren’t driving conversions, it will place lower emphasis on those themes. Here’s the difference between search themes and keywords:

Search themes are broad, top-level terms which include multiple keywords and related terms, for example: “men’s footwear”. Keywords, on the other hand, are specific words or terms that are generally more targeted. For example: “men’s blue trainers”.

You can also set up custom audiences to target alongside your search themes, so if you want to target people who are interested in a particular topic, or people of a certain age, you can do that. There are plenty of combinations you can use, so you can make your targeting as specific as you like.

Why and when you should use PMax

PMax campaigns are ideal when you’re looking to drive conversions/leads and those conversions have been set up correctly in Google Ads. The whole idea of PMax is to drive conversions regardless of which Google platform the user is on.

If you’re looking to increase brand/product awareness, then we’d advise you not to use Performance Max, and instead use a campaign like Display or Video.

What you need to run Performance Max campaigns

As mentioned at the start of the blog, PMax ads use a combination of text ads, image ads and video ads. So ideally you need all three to run a PMax campaign - this is called an asset group. You can forgo a video ad, but this means your overall campaign won’t be as effective. If you’re looking for the requirements of an asset group, you can find them all here.

You also need to make sure your account is tracking conversions properly, and you’ve defined which conversions the Performance Max campaign should optimise for. This will help machine learning identify the users who are most likely to convert.

A few tips for setting up your PMax campaigns

• If you’re struggling with generating text ads, you can use Google’s built-in generative AI tool to help create text assets. (Just remember to double check they’re relevant).
• If you don’t have any creative, there are a few ways to still provide imagery:
  • You can enter your website’s URL and Google will pull any imagery from the website - you’ll just have to resize the images using Google’s built-in tool.
  • You can use stock imagery
  • You can also use Google’s generative AI tool to create some basic imagery. We don’t tend to use this, but it’s helpful if you’re struggling to find relevant images.
• Make sure to double check that your conversion tracking is working correctly. If your tracking isn’t working or it’s misfiring, this could lead to the algorithm optimising itself incorrectly.

Maximising your Performance Max campaign

Performance Max campaigns offer a powerful, automated approach to driving conversions across Google's vast network. By using machine learning and AI, PMax campaigns optimise bids and placements in real-time, targeting users across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, and Discover.

What makes them particularly handy is their ability to run across so many platforms at once. While they do require a diverse range of assets, including text, image, and ideally video, PMax campaigns are best suited for goals focused on conversions and lead generation.

By carefully configuring the campaign, providing high-quality assets (utilising AI tools or stock imagery if necessary), and ensuring accurate conversion tracking, businesses can effectively use PMax to maximise their advertising ROI and achieve their desired outcomes.

However, it's important to remember that PMax isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, and other campaign types like Display or Video may be more appropriate for brand awareness initiatives.