Google offers a number of different campaign types that allow businesses the power and flexibility to effectively reach their customers, and drive results. Performance Max campaigns provide exceptional reach and optimisation potential through a single campaign, across all Google’s platforms. 

The Performance Max campaign uses Google’s machine learning abilities to reach potential customers across all of Google’s products, including the Google Display Network, Gmail, Discover, Search, YouTube and more. This allows advertisers to reach customers wherever they are online. 

What are the benefits of Performance Max?

Machine learning optimisation

Using advanced machine learning algorithms, Performance Max uses past performance to optimise ad placement and bidding strategies to maximise results. This also means you’re more likely to deliver a high return on investment, making your advertising budget work harder. 

Unified ad delivery 

Performance Max campaigns give you access to the whole of Google’s networks, all from a single campaign.

Multiple ad formats

You can run text, image and video ads within the campaign. This means your ads can have  more diverse and engaging content, increasing the likelihood of connecting with the target audience. 

Goal-oriented optimisation 

You can tailor your campaign to achieve different marketing objectives, such as reaching new customers, or increasing conversion value or volume. 

Comprehensive reporting

The rich data reporting that Performance Max campaigns offer means you can easily track your campaign performance and get a comprehensive understanding of customer behaviours.

What are the limitations of Performance Max?

It takes time to initially optimise

Because Performance Max optimises campaigns using machine learning that analyses past performance, your campaigns won’t be working at maximum efficiency right away. You’ll need to give the algorithms time to adapt and adjust, and even then you’ll be at the mercy of Google’s learning models. 

Limited control over placement

Performance Max automatically places your adverts across all of Google’s networks, which means you have less control over where your adverts appear. This means that your ads might end up appearing in places less relevant to your target audience. 

Limited geotargeting options

Performance Max campaigns do not support advanced geotargeting options like radius targeting, which limits how precisely advertisers can target based on a location. 

No scheduling 

You do not have the ability to schedule ads for specific days or times, which can be frustrating for businesses that have already identified peak times for their businesses. 

Certain ad formats aren’t supported

Currently, responsive search ads (RSAs) and dynamic search ads (DSAs) are not available. 

Best practice for using Performance Max campaigns

Performance Max campaigns can be very effective tools in your marketing arsenal, and the machine learning algorithms can take a lot of work off your plate. Nonetheless, there are some best practices when it comes to running your campaigns that will really ensure you’re getting the most out of your marketing efforts. These tips can apply to any campaign, and are worth keeping in mind for your future endeavours. 

Define your marketing objectives

Before you even create your Performance Max campaign, you want to make sure there’s a clear understanding of what you’re trying to achieve with the campaign. Having clearly defined goals is crucial for monitoring your performance, and meeting the needs of the business. 

Use high quality assets

It may sound obvious, but ensuring that your images, videos and text are all as polished as can be will help to catch the attention of your audience, and more positively reflect your brand. 

Variety is important

The more options you give the algorithm, the more it is able to experiment with different pairings and optimise your campaign to different target audiences. This includes headlines, descriptions, images and videos: more is always better.   

Leverage Customer Match

If you have customer data, you are able to upload that information to Google Ads, which can then match the data with users in its systems, and allows you to target your customers across Google’s platforms. This means you can retain existing customers, create more personalised adverts, and then find similar audiences based on profiles. 

Be patient

We’ve already mentioned this, but patience is important whenever working with ML algorithms. These campaigns take time to fully optimise, so there will be a period at the start of your campaign where results might be lower. Let it experiment and in no time at all you’ll be running at peak efficiency. 

Take the time to understand the reporting

There are a number of components to any Google Ads campaign, and understanding what it means is essential for ensuring that your campaigns performance is optimal, and that you can take advantage of the data to improve future campaigns. Network, performance, asset reports, conversion data and audience performance are all useful signals to familiarise yourself with. 

If you want some help with managing your Max Performance campaigns, we’d be more than happy to help! Just reach out and let’s start a conversation!

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