Since Google released its new campaign type, Performance Max, there has been a lot of speculation about whether or not businesses should switch. This blog post will look at what Performance Max is and how it compares to other campaign types. We will also give you our thoughts on whether or not you should switch to Performance Max. Keep reading to learn more!
What is Google Performance Max?
Google Performance Max is a new Google Ads campaign type that uses machine learning to determine the best bids for your campaigns across all Google inventory. Benefits of using Performance Max include:
- Improved performance
- Respect for your keyword targeting
- Enhanced machine learning when audience signals are added
Performance Max can be considered helpful to advertisers with a Google Merchant Center feed as they will not need to provide creative assets themselves. However, all advertisers can use Performance Max to target offline goals using the same budget and inventory as their previous Local campaigns. However, there are some drawbacks, including the need to provide additional inputs like audience signals, conversion values, and account-level brand safety settings. The various marketing features that are unique to Google Performance Max include:
- Machine learning: The campaign type uses machine learning to determine the best bids for your campaigns. This is done by considering various factors, including historical performance and real-time signals.
- Enhanced machine learning: When you add audience signals to your Performance Max campaigns, the machine learning algorithms can learn and optimize even more effectively. This can lead to improved performance for your campaigns.
- Respect for keyword targeting: Another benefit of using Performance Max is that it respects your keyword targeting. This means you can be confident that your ads will only appear for the keywords you have explicitly chosen.
- No need to provide creative assets: If you have a Google Merchant Center feed, you will not need to give any creative assets to launch a Performance Max campaign. However, we recommend you provide creative assets to allow your campaign to serve maximally across surfaces and have optimal performance.
- Auto-generated ads: Ads may be auto-generated on your behalf, meaning that you don’t need to spend time creating them yourself.
- Signalize conversion actions: When you set up a Performance Max campaign, you will need to specify the value of each conversion action separately, for example, purchases.
- Dictate were to Send Traffic: Choose whether to send traffic to the most relevant URLs or use provided URLs only with this new feature.
- Short descriptions: Descriptions are auto-generated for Discovery, Email, Internet, and Youtube search ads.
- Audience Signal: Google requires an audience signal for Performance Max to gather data for these audiences and find the most relevant audience looking for this product.
- Constrain the demographic in audiences: Google gives control to limit the demographic within the audiences to constrain the targeting as much as possible and set best practices.
Unlike other Google Adword Campaign types, Google Performance Max offers marketers various features that make it easier to understand how users interact with their ads. It also allows for more seamless integration between online and offline marketing strategies by allowing for local campaigns with no additional budget or inventory required. However, there are some drawbacks to using this campaign type, including:
- You will need to provide extra inputs like audience signals and conversion values to use all the features that Google Performance Max offers. This can be time-consuming and may require additional resources from your team.
- Account-level brand safety settings must be enabled to use the campaign type. This can be restrictive for some advertisers who have strict brand safety requirements.
- Performance Max works with search ads because it will also be cycling extensions. If you select an extension, it can appear in the Google search ad, and there might be some cannibalization due to this feature where Performance Max is overtaking the search.
Overall, Google Performance Max is a powerful tool that can improve your campaigns’ performance. However, weighing the benefits and drawbacks is essential before deciding if it is the right campaign type for you and your business.
How Performance Max is Different from Other Campaigns
Google Performance Max is a new Google Ads campaign type that uses machine learning to determine the best options for your campaign across all Google inventory and to determine bids on the auctions with the highest probability of meeting your business goals in real-time. Performance Max machine learning is enhanced when you add audience signals to your Performance Max campaign. Other Google Ad campaigns traditionally only allow you to focus on one goal, such as clicks or conversions. Still, with Performance Max, you can also optimize for return on ad spend (ROAS). You can use Performance Max if you have a Google Ads account and any of the following:
- A Merchant Center feed
- An e-commerce website
- A store visits only (local) goal
Other Google Ad campaigns usually require you to set up a separate campaign for each ad type, but with Performance Max, you can use the same campaign for all ad types. This includes:
- App ads
- Video ads
- Gmail ads
- Search ads
- Display ads
You can create audiences, business goals, and ad types in your Performance Max campaign, which will then use machine learning to show your ads to people who are more likely to convert. You can also add negative keywords and placements to exclude specific traffic sources you don’t want to target in your campaigns.
Who Performance Max is Best Suited For
Google Performance Max is best when utilized only for shopping because of how machine learning can change the shopping experience and create targeted ads better. With its features like keyword exclusion, you can better control your campaign by excluding terms your data shows is not as effective at targeting shoppers. Another great feature is the ability to see what your competitors are doing. By looking at their ads, you can learn from what’s working for them and implement those strategies in your campaign to better compete with them. You can also use Google Performance Max to improve your online presence with SEO and other marketing strategies that can be included in your campaign.
That said, there are some potential drawbacks to using Performance Max that advertisers should be aware of. First, it is still in beta, which means there may be some bugs that have not yet been ironed out. Second, it requires a Merchant Center feed, which means additional work for advertisers who do not already have one. It makes Performance Max less suitable for businesses that are not commerce-focused with these added hurdles. In addition, if you do not have a Merchant Center feed or your campaign is limited by budget, Performance Max might not be the best option. Google Performance Max might not be the best solution for every advertiser. If you are happy with your current campaign strategy and results, there is no need to switch over to Performance Max.
On June 30th, Google Performance Max campaigns will become the new Smart Shopping campaign type. This will provide access to additional inventory on YouTube, Search, and Discovery networks for Google. Additionally, advertisers can upgrade their campaigns using a one-click tool or by creating new campaigns. Advertisers who choose to upgrade using the one-click tool will access new automation insights. This will help to optimize campaigns faster and find new customers. The switch from Smart Shopping to Performance Max will be primarily felt by those in the shopping industry who rely on performance-based advertising to succeed. However, the change will benefit all advertisers by giving them access to additional previously unavailable resources.
The Performance Max bottom Line
Performance Max is a great way to optimize your bids and placements for conversions or conversion value. You can also provide important inputs about what types of conversions are most valuable to your business by applying conversion values and setting value rules. Account-level brand safety settings are also available so you can tell Google Ads about the types of content where you don’t want your ads to appear.
To sum it up, Performance Max is perfect for advertisers who:
- Need account-level brand safety controls
- Are looking for an efficient way to manage their campaigns
- Want to optimize their campaigns for conversions or conversion value
- Are looking for an automated way to get the most out of their campaigns
If you’re unsure whether Performance Max is right for you, talk to our team at Fetch & Funnel. We can help you assess your needs and objectives to determine if Performance Max is a good fit for your business. If your industry is commerce, you should eagerly await the switch from Smart Shopping on June 30th. We feel Performance Max offers new advertising opportunities and the ability to personalize campaigns with machine learning. By utilizing this technology to improve your campaigns, you can focus on other areas of your business while still seeing an increase in conversions. Still, switching to Performance Max may not be the best decision for every advertiser, and for some, current campaigns may still be better.
By taking advantage of cross-media advertising, keyword exclusion, and machine learning, the quality of campaigns can be significantly improved. Being one of the first marketing campaigns to utilize machine learning and enhanced machine learning makes Performance Max an option for those who are looking for an automated way to get the most out of their campaigns.
If you want to discuss if Performance Max is right for your business, get in touch with us today and speak with an expert about your business.
