Do Performance Max like a pro!

With all the automation, easiness of setup, self-testing and retargeting, Google Performance Max (PMax) seems like a dream come true for the newbie marketer or business owner.

But that couldn’t be more misleading…

Performance Max is an Ad campaign for advanced advertisers with clear performance objectives, who like to experiment with the newest Google AI-supported innovations. Also, it’s for advertisers who can input high quality data with confidence to bring better results.

From ad headlines to images, conversion tracking, audience signals, assets build and structure must be of the best possible quality, as this is the ultimate success factor of a PMax campaign.

So, you should not get blinded by Google recommendations, instead, you should first understand this AI-shiny and bright Google tool to get the ultimate results for your business.

Did we get you interested?

Let us share some of our experiences.

How does the Performance Max campaign work?

Google’s PMax is strongly goal oriented. It means that with the right setup, it can significantly boost conversions. The goal-orientation also requires the implementation of accurate, full-funnel conversion tracking.

Yes, the conversion goals have to be set up at the campaign level. To get yourself the best chance to win, you should give Google your Target Cost Per Conversion or Target ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) which you want the campaign to optimise for.

Set it up based on your knowledge of your business’ historical performance, profit margin and ad campaign performance.

Tip 1 Set up lower ROAS during the season of lower PPC (Pay Per Click) when you know of seasonal fluctuation!

Tip 2 Do not rely solely on Google’s initial recommendation! Google is incentivised to suggest lower target ROAS because Google wants you to spend as much as possible with them.

Where do PMax Ads show?

Google Performance Max is an All-in-one Google Ads campaign type, which gives the advertisers maximum exposure from a single campaign.

It allows you to cover all Google channels at once, from Search, Shopping*, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail up to Google Maps.

(*N.B. Shopping channel won’t be included unless a Google Shopping feed is added to the campaign).

Is Google Performance Max expensive?

As it can cover all Google channels with a single budget, the PMax is considered very cost-effective. Although, for the same reason, it might be tricky, and not always boost the best performance.

The most current report on paid ads success for one of our e-commerce clients is the best proof of cost-effectiveness. For a very similar cost (£764.01 vs £792.85) the Performance Max campaign brought over 6x more conversions than the Google Ads campaign, lowering the CPC (Cost Per Conversion) to £1.70

Tab1. Google Performance Max vs Google Ads vs Google Shopping Ads cost-effectiveness for e-commerce (Source: Relton Digital Marketing own content)

To give perspective – the average Conversion Rate (CR) of Google Ads (e-commerce industry)** is 2.82%, Google Shopping Ads – 1.91%, and for Google Performance max CR*** is  1.83%

Saying that we are aware that Google Performance Max is still in BETA stage, which means Google still testing the tool. And so, there are many agencies and businesses that are not utilising PMax properly. Once the statistics improve and more businesses start successfully using PMax campaigns, it is likely to become more expensive.

Performance Max asset requirements

The performance of your PMax campaign will be massively influenced by the performance and quality of your assets. Do not get lazy and rely on PMax automation AI-generated assets, as those in many cases can often go wrong.

The list of assets you should be creating for your successful PMax campaigns include:

• Headlines – Up to 15 headlines can be added. Each headline has a 30-character limit.
• Long headlines – Up to five long headlines can be added. Each has a 90-character limit.
• Descriptions – A short description of 60 characters is required. Up to 4 additional descriptions with a 90-character limit.
• Business name – This field is required, with a 25-character limit.
• Final URL – This is where the user will be directed after clicking on an ad.
• Images – Up to 20 images can be added. A combination of landscape, square, and portrait orientations is recommended.
• Logos – At least one square logo is required. Optional landscape logos are recommended.
• Videos – Up to five videos can be added. Note that if no videos are added, Google will create automated videos when possible, and these are hit or miss!
• Sitelinks – At least two are required in order for sitelinks to show in ads. The recommended number is at least five, so they can rotate depending on the performance (the best performing sitelinks will be displayed in the ad).
• Call to action – This can be automated, where Google tests different CTAs, or you can choose from different options. We would strongly recommend you choosing the best CTA for your business. If you are an E-comm shop, then it should be ‘Shop Now, or if you want to boost calls/emails/contact forms to your business, then you should choose ‘Contact Us’.

What is the difference between Google Performance Max and other Google campaigns?

Tab2. Performance Max vs other Google campaigns. Main differences (Source: Relton Digital Marketing own content)

The good news is: We don’t have to choose between Performance Max vs Search campaigns, Performance Max vs Display campaigns, or Performance Max vs YouTube.

According to the Google Help Centre*, Performance Max campaigns are meant to complement the other campaigns, not to replace them.

Google Performance Max from a Digital Marketing Agency perspective

It is both praised and criticised by advertisers, so can be concluded that there is a mixed opinion around it. Apparently, those advertisers who could get most of it are happy and praise it, whilst some are disappointed because of the (unexpected) results, or the lower level of control on the performance.

Here at Relton Digital, we can see lots of potential in Google Performance Max campaigns, and we do recommend it to all our clients. However, to maximise the potential, PMax needs to be used in the right way.

This is not a Set & Forget Ad Channel! You need to know what you are doing, making sure that you are feeding in the right asset and splitting out your campaigns in the right way.

You also want to make sure you drive traffic to the website that is going to convert! Conversion traffic is something we track with great diligence.

If you feel like you would need some help in running your PMax campaign – drop us a line and get in contact with our team.

References:

*Google Help Centre – https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10724896?hl=en-GB

**Google Ads benchmarks – https://www.storegrowers.com/google-ads-benchmarks/

***Google Performance Max benchmarks – https://lebesgue.io/google-ads/performance-max-campaign-pros-cons-and-benchmarks

****Google Performance Max official page – https://ads.google.com/intl/en_uk/home/campaigns/performance-max/