{"id":5232,"date":"2022-07-22T20:13:20","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T20:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/"},"modified":"2022-07-22T20:13:20","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T20:13:20","slug":"how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/","title":{"rendered":"How to set up Performance Max campaigns the right way"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My team has been testing Google Ads Performance Max campaigns since it was released in beta. <\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what you need to know to set up Performance Max campaigns the right way.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#What_is_Performance_Max\" >What is Performance Max?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#What_is_different_about_PMax\" >What is different about PMax?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#Why_use_Performance_Max_campaigns\" >Why use Performance Max campaigns?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#Upgrading_from_Smart_Shopping_Campaigns\" >Upgrading from Smart Shopping Campaigns\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8BCampaign_Structure\" >\u200b\u200bCampaign Structure\u00a0<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#Conversion_Goals\" >Conversion Goals\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#Location_Targeting\" >Location Targeting\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#Asset_Groups\" >Asset Groups\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#Exclusions\" >Exclusions\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#Audience_Signals\" >Audience Signals\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#Data_feed\" >Data feed\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/how-to-set-up-performance-max-campaigns-the-right-way\/#Bid_strategies\" >Bid strategies\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_Performance_Max\"><\/span>What is Performance Max?\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>PMax is an all-in-one campaign type that displays ads across all of Google\u2019s channels:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>YouTube.<\/li>\n<li>Display. <\/li>\n<li>Search.<\/li>\n<li>Shopping.<\/li>\n<li>Discover feed.<\/li>\n<li>Gmail.<\/li>\n<li>Maps. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Note: Smart Shopping and Local campaigns will be depreciated and rolled into PMax shortly.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/FYNDwg1WYAEBfDH-800x400.jpeg\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386685\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_different_about_PMax\"><\/span>What is different about PMax?\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are differences in campaign structure. Most notably in terms of Structure: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ad Groups \u2192 Asset Groups<\/li>\n<li>Product Groups \u2192 Listing Groups <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Note: Unlike Smart Shopping, Performance Max can be used for ecommerce and lead generation.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_use_Performance_Max_campaigns\"><\/span>Why use Performance Max campaigns?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>For ecommerce retailers who\u2019ve seen success with Smart Shopping, PMax takes it to the next level by adding additional placements and reach \u2013 acting as a Smart Shopping campaign with retargeting and prospecting display ads layered on top of it.<\/p>\n<p>For lead generation, Performance Max can deliver scale and efficiency that may be hard to achieve through Search and Display alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, it\u2019ll be important to feed the system the correct signals so you don\u2019t end up with poor-quality leads.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Now that we\u2019ve established the what and why, let\u2019s get into the how<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Upgrading_from_Smart_Shopping_Campaigns\"><\/span>Upgrading from Smart Shopping Campaigns\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019ve been using Smart Shopping Campaigns, it\u2019s recommended to use the one-click upgrade tool in the Recommendations tab. Using this tool will sync the campaign\u2019s historical performance in the back-end which enables PMax to hit the ground running.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/FYNDxbLXoAAL6NK-800x405.jpeg\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386686\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<p>You\u2019ll want to check all settings: Locations, Asset Groups, Listing Groups.<\/p>\n<p>Since SSC is much more limited in terms of display ads, you\u2019ll want to add additional creative\/copy to the Asset Groups. It\u2019s a good idea to add Audience Signals too.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8BCampaign_Structure\"><\/span>\u200b\u200bCampaign Structure\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>What\u2019s the best way to structure PMax? Unless you need to split into multiple campaigns for location targeting or budget allocation, it\u2019s best to condense as much as possible. This allows the system more data signals to reach optimal performance.<\/p>\n<p>Since there is no reporting on the Asset Group level, you might want to break out different products\/services into separate campaigns for reporting purposes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For stores with few products, we try to condense as much as possible. Simplicity over complexity, always.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We typically segment into themes of product\/service so the creative and copy will match the underlying products or services.<\/p>\n<p>Below is a great chart from <a href=\"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/google-shopping\/performance-max-campaigns-for-retail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mike Ryan<\/a> illustrating campaign structure ideas:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/FYNDyUUWQAMGs2H.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"504\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/FYNDyUUWQAMGs2H-504x600.jpeg\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386687\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conversion_Goals\"><\/span>Conversion Goals\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Choose the conversion actions that make send for your business. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ecommerce\/Shopping: Choose \u201cPurchases\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Lead-Gen\/Services: Choose calls, forms, chats etc\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Hot tip:<\/strong> To improve lead quality, focus on calls over forms\/chats.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/FYNDyyWWQAcJlZr-800x457.jpeg\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386688\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Location_Targeting\"><\/span>Location Targeting\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>When setting up your campaign, after choosing your targeted locations, make sure to select <em>Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"266\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/FYNDzLSXkAA8ltu-800x266.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386689\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Asset_Groups\"><\/span>Asset Groups\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Your messaging and creative assets should be tightly themed to the product or service within the group.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t provide a video, Google will make a horrible one for you. Highly recommend creating something basic using Canva or a similar tool.<\/p>\n<p>For ecommerce, something worth testing for Google Shopping, especially if you\u2019ve seen success with Smart Shopping historically, is to launch a PMax campaign with no assets aside from the data feed.<\/p>\n<p>Note: You\u2019ll likely need to create a new Asset Group.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;If a majority of your business comes from Smart Shopping and you&#8217;re dreading moving to Performance Max, clear all assets. Then you&#8217;ll get close to an SSC performance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>An interesting tip from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndrewLolk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@AndrewLolk<\/a> here.<\/p>\n<p>More to come in our upcoming PPC Town Hall: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7YC17eywgR\">https:\/\/t.co\/7YC17eywgR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Optmyzr.com (@Optmyzr) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Optmyzr\/status\/1518608424128643073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 25, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Exclusions\"><\/span>Exclusions\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Customer Exclusions:<\/strong> Upload your customer list and have the system exclude them from all targeting. This is useful if you want to focus on new customer acquisition.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keywords:<\/strong> If you have a Google rep, they can block branded search terms from PMax for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Audience_Signals\"><\/span>Audience Signals\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Audience signals are different from Audience targeting. The system uses this as a signal to find your ideal prospective customer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve seen success with the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Customer Match.<\/strong> Start by uploading any lists you have including email addresses and phone numbers. This could be previous customs, email subscribers, etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Custom Intent.<\/strong> Build a list of your top performing keywords from Search and Standard Shopping<\/li>\n<li><strong>Interests.<\/strong> Target people based on pre-determined interests in Google Ads.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Website Visitors.<\/strong> Target users based on your account\u2019s pixel data. Google will use your data of website visitors, leads, and purchases to target new customers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Data_feed\"><\/span>Data feed\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>For ecommerce, the most important piece of the puzzle is the product information. While everything else helps, the data feed submitted to Google Merchant Center can have the largest impact on your Performance Max campaign performance<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What\u2019s the #1 thing you can do right now to improve your paid search performance? Optimize your Google Shopping Feed. The temptation to overspend time and money on branded keywords causes lots of brands to miss the mark.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how my team can help: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PM5T3nycrn\">https:\/\/t.co\/PM5T3nycrn<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3AEAY6WzX9\">pic.twitter.com\/3AEAY6WzX9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tony Chopp (@tonychoPPC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tonychoPPC\/status\/1491849078002503688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February 10, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Make sure you\u2019re submitting as much info as possible:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brand<\/li>\n<li>MPN\/SKU<\/li>\n<li>UPC Code<\/li>\n<li>Descriptive Titles (include keywords!)<\/li>\n<li>Google Taxonomy\/Categorization<\/li>\n<li>Product Type<\/li>\n<li>Multiple Images<\/li>\n<li>Custom Labels etc<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bid_strategies\"><\/span>Bid strategies\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Performance Max has the following two options available:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maximize Conversions (with optional target CPA)<\/li>\n<li>Maximize Conversion Value (with optional target ROAS)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If your account already has lots of historical data, you can jump right into target CPA\/ROAS. With a new account, start with Maximize Conversions so the system can gather data. Later on, once you\u2019re seeing steady conversions, switch to tCPA or tROAS to hit your goals.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/performance-max-campaigns-set-up-386684\" target=\"_blank\">How to set up Performance Max campaigns the right way<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My team has been testing Google Ads Performance Max campaigns since it was released in beta. Here\u2019s what you need to know to set up Performance Max campaigns the right way. What is Performance Max?\u00a0 PMax is an all-in-one campaign type that displays ads across all of Google\u2019s channels: YouTube. Display. Search. Shopping. Discover feed. Gmail. Maps. Note: Smart Shopping and Local campaigns will be depreciated and rolled into PMax shortly. What is different about PMax?\u00a0 There are differences in campaign structure. Most notably in terms [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}