What is Performance Max? Explained, risks and when it fits

Performance Max is a campaign type that lets you advertise on all of Google's channels with one campaign: Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps ^[1]. You supply the goal, the assets and, if relevant, a product feed; Google decides where, to whom and at what bid. It works when your conversion measures the real value and you have enough conversions.

Google positions it as a complement to your Search campaigns, not a replacement ^[1]. Whether you work with a Google Ads agency or manage it yourself, the difference between the best and the most expensive part of your account lies in what you put into it.

When does Performance Max fit?

It fits when these five things are in place:

1. Enough conversions. Google recommends evaluating Smart Bidding over periods with at least 30 conversions, such as a month or longer (50 conversions for Target ROAS) ^[2].
2. A conversion that measures the real value: a sale with revenue, or an enquiry you can trace back to a customer ^[3].
3. A budget that can carry the learning period. After a new strategy or a major change, according to Google it usually takes 1 to 2 conversion cycles before the bid strategy is calibrated ^[4]. During setup, the budget panel also shows the minimum recommended budget ^[1].
4. Assets for every channel, preferably including your own video.
5. For online stores, a healthy feed, without large numbers of disapproved products.

A worked example for illustration: 30 conversions in one month at €40 per enquiry requires a €1,200 media budget. With less budget it takes longer, and you are more likely to judge on chance. How to build a budget from your cost per enquiry is in how much does Google Ads cost in Belgium.

Don't start with it (yet) if you have a new account without conversion data, one service in one region and a small budget, or tracking that double counts: Performance Max amplifies every measurement error. Start with a Search campaign instead, as in Google Ads for SMEs.

Alongside your Search campaigns: who gets priority?

• An exact keyword comes first. If the search is identical to an exact match keyword in a Search campaign, that Search campaign gets priority ^{[1], [5]}. Spelling corrections count as identical, plurals and synonyms don't ^[5].
• Then relevance counts. Search themes get the same priority as phrase match and broad match keywords ^[1]; with equal relevance, the highest Ad Rank wins ^[5].
• Budget plays a part. If your Search campaign is limited by budget, Performance Max may occasionally show for exact search terms ^[1].
• There are exceptions. A Shopping ad can still appear alongside your exact keyword, and searches through Lens, AI Mode or AI Overviews don't count as identical ^[5].

So keep your most important search terms as exact keywords in a Search campaign with enough budget, and exclude your brand name with brand exclusions ^[6]. Otherwise Performance Max shows fine numbers on people who were already looking for you. For online stores the same question arises against Standard Shopping; that choice is covered in how to set up a Google Shopping campaign.

What you do and don't control

Regular keywords don't exist in Performance Max ^[7], but you can still steer:

What you don't control: the bid per search or placement, and the split of the budget across channels. Performance Max makes that split itself, "based on where it predicts the highest return" ^[12]. You can, however, switch off text customization and automatically created videos if you want to see everything in advance ^[1].

What you supply

Per asset group you supply at least 3 headlines (Google recommends 11 or more), 1 long headline and 2 descriptions ^[13], plus a landscape and a square image ^[14]. You set the business name and logo at campaign level ^{[13], [14]}. Video is not required, but without video Google creates one itself "when possible" ^[15]: if you want to decide how your brand comes across on YouTube, supply your own video.

If you use images or videos that were created or edited with AI, according to Google the EU AI rules require a disclosure or label for certain assets ^[14].

Online stores and lead generation

Online stores. The products come from your Merchant Center feed. If you create the campaign in Merchant Center, Google recommends letting it run for at least 14 days before you change settings ^[16]. Optimise for conversion value, otherwise an order of €15 counts as much as one of €1,500.

Lead generation. If you only measure form submissions, Google looks for whoever fills in a form most easily, not for whoever becomes a customer. With offline conversions or enhanced conversions for leads, you send the hashed data of enquiries that became customers back to Google Ads ^[3]. How to set that up is explained by my colleague Cédric in enhanced conversions in Google Ads.

The reports you read every month

In the channel report, also look at the Conversions versus Results filter: under Results, goals your campaign doesn't bid on are counted too ^[17]. If that figure is much higher, check whether your campaign is optimising for the right goal.

If you doubt whether your Performance Max budget is well spent, the free Google Ads audit looks at your account structure, keywords and negative keywords, bid strategy, conversion tracking, budget allocation and ads, with read-only access.