Performance Max

It reaches every Google surface from one campaign and one budget, and uses Smart Bidding to decide where each euro goes. For shops with a good feed it is often the main campaign.

It also decides a lot on its own: which searches, which networks, which pages. Without brand exclusions, negatives and good assets, it can take credit for demand that already existed and spend where you would not.

1. Open Campaigns and filter by type: Performance Max.
2. Open a campaign to see asset groups, listing groups, signals and settings.
3. Open Insights and reports, then Search terms, and filter on the campaign to see the searches it bought.
4. Check brand exclusions, negative keyword lists and final URL expansion in Settings.

A home goods shop runs Performance Max with three asset groups by category, a negative list, its brand excluded and real order values. The channel report shows most spend on Shopping, which matches its goals.

• Launching without brand exclusions while also running brand Search.
• Leaving out video, so Google generates its own.
• Judging it on reported ROAS without separating brand.

The audit checks Oppy runs on this, each with its own page.

• Where a Performance Max budget actually went
• Performance Max with nothing stopping it buying your brand
• Performance Max with no negative keyword list

• Asset group: The building block of a Performance Max campaign: the headlines, descriptions, images, videos and signals Google uses to build ads for every channel.
• Brand exclusions: A list of brands a Performance Max or Search campaign must not serve on.
• Audience signal: A hint you give Performance Max about who is likely to convert: your customer lists, site visitors, interests and custom segments.