Skip to content
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Performance Max campaigns

P-Max campaigns don't use keywords; instead you define your intended audience. In a Google Ad Grant ads are no Search and Maps only.

When to use a Performance Max campaign

  • When you can define your intended audience using Google's built-in audiences, or your own data. 
  • When it's difficult to choose keywords for a topic, or where there so many possible searches that people could make that you couldn't guess them all.
  • When you need ads to appear on Google Maps.

When to create a Search campaign instead

  • When you can easily choose the keywords you need to trigger ads to be shown. In which case, create a Search campaign instead.

  • When you don't need ads on Google Maps.

Where do P-Max ads appear?

  • In Google search results, and on Google Maps: in both the browser or the app.
  • Nowhere else. Not YouTube, Display, or Gmail.
  • It's possible that new P-Max inventory will open up in 2027.

What assets should you add to your P-Max asset group?

  • Multiple headlines and descriptions.
  • Video does not get shown, so don't bother adding any.
  • Images do get shown, add as many as possible.

Should final url expansion be switched on?

It depends. Do you want your asset group to funnel people to a specific url on your website, so they can take an action? Or let them arrive on other pages?
  • A specific url: switch it off in the campaign settings.
  • Other pages too: switch it on. Then edit your asset group and assign specific page urls or rules to make sure the ad only promotes the pages you want. 

What audience signals should be added to a P-Max asset group?

  • Add multiple search themes. These don't work like keywords, they don't get matched to people's search terms. Instead, they act as clues to help optimize performance.
  • Your own data is a valuable signal.
  • Connect Google Ads to Google Analytics so that you can use your website visitor data as a signal.
  • Connect Google Ads to YouTube so that you can use your video audience as a signal.
  • Take time to search and browse for relevant built-in audiences. In-market audiences are particularly strong as they have an intention to take action, but also look at affiliate and demographic audiences.
  • Do not exclude age groups or genders without a good reason.
  • Household income targeting is only useful in the US and Canada, mainly for donation ads. Consider excluding the lowest 50% income. Conversely, exclude the highest income brackets when targeting services at underserved audiences.

But if your non-profit works in healthcare, do not use your own data as signals. There is a policy called personalized advertising that disallows this.

Should you create both a Search and a P-Max campaign?

  • Yes, you need both. P-Max spends on average three times as easily as a Search campaign.
  • Many accounts can spend well with just one Search and one P-Max campaign.

Have I answered your questions here or on the official Google forums? Did it solve a major problem for you? You could buy me a coffee! ☕