Ads Max: Risk or Reward? | Fear Not Performance Max

As we have commented on many previous occasions, online marketing is a world that is constantly changing and improving. This means that what works for you today may not be as effective tomorrow and may even stop working. In the past, search ads were the main source of conversions for an online store in paid search. This changed radically when Google launched Shopping campaigns, replacing Search campaigns as the most effective for generating conversions. Ads Max campaigns are here ladies!

In this case something similar is happening, Google launched a new type of campaign that promises to mark a before and after in the world of online advertising. We are talking about Performance Max campaigns.

What are Performance Max campaigns?

Performance Max or Pmax campaigns are a new type of campaigns launched by Google at the end of 2021 that uses advanced automation and uses artificial intelligence to maximize campaign performance (that’s where the name Performance Max comes from). The other feature is that this type of campaign is able to place ads on all Google channels (Search, Display, Youtube, Shopping, Discovery) so you won’t need to create ads for each of the channels. Traditionally, one of the biggest barriers to entry for running Google ads was the prior knowledge you needed to have in order to get the most out of it. This meant that you had to rely on external advertising agencies to create your entire ad strategy and setup. With this new type of campaign, Google makes it a little easier for new users to access, since they are automated and controlled by AI, you will hardly have to configure anything since everything will be determined by Google. The main objectives of this campaign is basically:

• Raise the conversions.
• Raise the ROAS of your campaigns.
• Raise the visibility of your campaigns.

Why should I use Performance Max campaigns?

There are several main reasons why Performance Max campaigns are becoming more and more popular among online stores:

• Available on all Google channels: As we mentioned above, one of the features of these campaigns is that you will be placing ads on absolutely all Google channels, this will make your brand reach extraordinary and you will have a much better chance of finding your potential customers.
• Automated optimization: Performance Max campaigns are fully automation based, this means that you don’t have to worry about anything other than adding the creatives and images to be used for your campaign. All other settings such as bids or audiences are controlled by artificial intelligence.
• Campaigns that learn: Pmax campaigns learn based on the results they get. The first time you create a campaign, Google will ask you to allow 2-3 weeks for the campaigns to learn how to find your potential customers. We can help this process go faster by adding audience signals when we create the campaigns. This is basically giving Google a description of what our potential customers are like (interests, pages they visit, types of products they like… etc).
• Simplification of the campaign structure: Before Pmax campaigns it was very common for an account to have 3-4 different campaigns targeting different channels, for example you have 3 campaigns: Search, Display and Shopping and each of them required specific attention and data tracking. With Performance Max this changes drastically since with a single campaign you cover all possible fronts.
• Advanced artificial intelligence: Google’s artificial intelligence works extremely well and is able to use user data and behavioral patterns to identify similar audiences that have previously interacted with your business. This will significantly increase the impact of your ads as they will generally be users who are more likely to hire your services or buy your products.
• Performance-based investment: Performance Max places a significant emphasis on optimizing advertising spend. The platform allows you to set a specific performance goal, such as a cost per acquisition (CPA) or return on advertising investment (ROI). Google then works to meet those performance goals. This strategy ensures that you’re getting the most value for every dollar spent on advertising. In addition, the focus on performance allows you to make data-driven decisions and adjust your strategy to maximize results.

How to create Performance Max campaigns?

If you are convinced that these Ads Max campaigns can help your business scale and you are interested in creating them, here is a small guide on the steps to follow to create a campaign. Keep in mind that this is the basics and then there are other small optimizations you can make to improve performance.

1. Login to your Google Ads account and click on the “+” button to create a new campaign and choose to create a Performance Max campaign.

 

2. Select the bid type we want to use and click next. Generally it is better to use conversion value.

 

3. Select the countries or regions where we want our ads to appear and confirm.

 

 

4. Start adding the requested assets. We strongly recommend that you add as many titles, descriptions and images as possible so that the campaign works in the best possible way.

 

 

5. In the next step we will have to add audience signals in this part where we will give Google some information about our potential customers so that it knows better where to direct the campaigns.

 

 

6. Finally, we will have to enter the daily budget we want to use for this campaign. We usually recommend setting a budget between 15 and 20 euros per day (depending on the business).

 

 

And with that you will have a brand new Performance Max campaign ready to help you bring a lot more traffic and sales to your online business. Keep in mind that you can do all this creation process using our apps available for different platforms. We will take care of the whole creation process so you don’t have to worry about anything else.