How Performance Max changes paid search

Twelve months after its launch, Richard Conway reviews the benefits of Google’s automated targeting technology.

Multiple decades in the digital marketing industry have taught me that all marketing strategies begin with a goal. Whether running paid search campaigns or putting all your resources toward achieving organic rankings, you’re working toward a specific goal.

When Pure SEO began its journey in 2009, we never thought machine learning would play such a prominent role in online advertising. In 2020, Google shook the industry by announcing Performance Max campaigns. Officially launched in November 2021, Performance Max is goal-based and allows businesses to utilise outstanding automation technology.

What is Performance Max?

Google Ads offers many types of campaigns for businesses. If you’re not well-versed in digital marketing, it can be challenging to know which best aligns with your goals. A Performance Max campaign complements your search campaign and further drives conversion.

The key difference between Performance Max and alternative campaign types is the advanced automation and access to Google’s platforms. Performance Max campaigns help businesses reach more converting customers and improve ad performance based on your set goals.

So what are the benefits of Performance Max campaigns?

As an ever-changing industry, staying on top of the latest tools and technology is vital to finding the best strategy to implement. Performance Max is ideal for businesses with specific advertising and conversion goals. An exciting time for paid search, Performance Max campaigns provide several unique benefits.

Campaigns are easier to set up and manage

Performance Max campaigns are straightforward to create, optimise, and manage. Throughout my time in the industry, the development of Google’s automation technology has been an enormous game-changer.

Through automation, budgets get allocated to the best-performing channels in the Google Ads network. Plus, you can optimise your campaign while you create it. Google will alert you of any potential issues in your setup. That way, you can ensure you have optimised audience targeting, bidding budget, and campaign settings.

All you need to do is set your goals, audience signals, and budget. Google uses this information to publish your ads through automated smart bidding. The lack of manual bidding means our technicians have extra time to refine other areas of the digital marketing strategy. While machine learning helps push your ads toward the right people, you must optimise your creative assets.

Performance Max results are typically unstable for up to six weeks – a pain point for businesses. However, this unstable performance occurs as the AI learns what’s working and what’s not.

Performance Max allows you to reach new customers

It provides complete access to Google’s most popular platforms: YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail, and Maps. This diverse group of platforms has an extensive reach, with many integrated into the day-to-day life of consumers.

The Customer Acquisition settings may reduce ad impressions. However, it stops (or reduces) your ad from appearing in front of your existing customers.

Performance Max provides incredible campaign insights

With automation as the driving force behind Performance Max, many believe it’s the self-driving car of Google. Although these campaigns eliminate much labour-intensive work, we’re not at a point of leaving our work in the hands of machine learning.

However, Performance Max is a great step in the right direction.

Asset audience insights provide rich information on how your target audience responds to your creative assets. We then take these insights to optimise assets further to ensure the campaign performs at its best. Aside from audience insights, I appreciate diagnostic insights, which help troubleshoot any campaign issues flagged by Google.

Is Performance Max the future of Google Ads?

Despite some widespread scepticism of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Performance Max campaigns have helped businesses of all sizes. Automation allows our team to put their resources into other areas of the strategy to drive our clients toward success. However, it helps to weigh your campaign options to see what aligns with your client’s goals.

I see a lot of potential in Performance Max. It combines some of the best features from different campaign types. However, we must avoid heavy reliance on automation.

Richard Conway (pictured above) is the CEO of Pure SEO.