Performance Max
Google AdsDefinition
Performance Max (PMax) is a Google Ads campaign type that uses machine learning to serve ads across all Google inventory — Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and Maps — from a single campaign.
PMax replaced Smart Shopping and Local campaigns in 2022. It uses AI to determine which audiences, placements, and creatives drive the most conversions. You provide creative assets, audience signals, and a conversion goal; Google handles the rest.
The trade-off is control versus automation. PMax offers limited visibility into which channels, search terms, or placements drive results. You cannot add negative keywords directly. This makes it powerful for reaching new audiences but challenging to troubleshoot.
Upload creative assets in multiple formats. Set audience signals to guide the algorithm. Choose a conversion goal and bidding strategy (typically Maximize Conversions or Target ROAS). Google distributes budget across channels based on predicted conversion probability.
PMax can unlock incremental conversions across channels you may not run separately. For e-commerce with product feeds, it is particularly strong. It requires solid conversion tracking and sufficient volume (50+ conversions/month) to optimize effectively.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Run both. Standard Search gives control over high-value keywords. PMax complements it by finding incremental conversions across all channels. Do not let PMax cannibalize top Search keywords.
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Provide the maximum: 15 headlines, 5 descriptions, 15 images, and 5 videos. More assets give the algorithm more combinations to test.
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Google provides limited search term data for PMax. You can see top categories and some terms in the insights tab, but granular term-level data is not available.
Getting the most from Performance Max?
We structure PMax campaigns to complement your account strategy, not cannibalize it.