With its increasingly powerful algorithm, Google is opening up a new way for advertisers to automatically manage their advertising campaigns. Following the success of the beta version, Google is now rolling out Performance Max campaigns to all advertisers worldwide. A single Performance Max campaign will enable advertisers to be present on all “Google products”, i.e. the search network, Youtube, Display, Search, Discovery, Gmail and Google Maps.
The logic is simple: Google takes care of everything: bids, placements, keywords, audiences, zones, devices… Optimization is based on your campaign objective. We’re talking here about a campaign that’s more conversion-oriented.
What do I need to provide Google for Performances Max campaigns?
Not much, in fact, to create ads: text (titles and descriptions), images and/or videos. This works in a similar way to Responsive Ads, in that the algorithm combines various elements to find the best combination to achieve the campaign’s conversion objective (target ROAS, target CPA, maximize conversions, in general).
How can you integrate a Performances Max campaign into your strategy?
In addition to Search, Shopping and Google shopping deals campaigns, Performances Max campaigns can be used to group Youtube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Google Maps campaigns into a single campaign: particularly when the budget is too small to treat these different campaigns separately. Shopping and local campaigns will also be integrated during 2022.
Best practices for a Performances Max campaign
To guarantee the effectiveness of your Performances Max campaigns, here are a few best practices to follow:
- Choose the right conversion objectives, whether for online or offline sales or lead generation.
- Intelligent bidding: automatically set bids according to your objectives.
- Maximize conversion value: increase conversion value as much as possible within your budget.
- Maximize conversions: generate as many conversions as possible.
- Enable URL expansion: a new feature called Final URL Expansion helps you find new search queries that may not already be covered by your campaigns.
- Maximize the number of visuals to give the algorithm enough scope to work properly.
- Add audience signals:lThe most useful audience signals to provide are your lists of customers and website visitors, as well as customized segments.
The Effinity team’s opinion
The initial tests carried out by our Google Ads agency are rather encouraging. However, this type of campaign doesn’t provide any real insights into what works and what doesn’t. As is often the case with automated Google Ads products, we’re operating in a “black box” system. The iterative approach and the construction of an efficient model are therefore totally omitted.
In conclusion, we believe that this system can be useful for generating additional conversions, provided it is activated in parallel with a well thought-out advertising strategy, if you don’t mind the lack of transparency. Please note that adjustments will be made to Performances Max campaigns during 2022.
