Setting up Performance Max right: feeds, asset groups, control

Performance Max bundles all Google channels into one campaign: Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, Gmail and Maps. Google steers delivery via the algorithm, you supply the feed, assets and signals. Set up right, it is extremely powerful. Set up wrong, it is a black box that pushes your budget where it is easiest, but not most profitable.

What is Performance Max?

Performance Max (PMax) is Google's fully automated campaign type that serves all Google inventory in a single campaign. Instead of steering individual channels separately, you provide a conversion goal, budget, a product feed and asset groups. Google then decides where, when and to whom your ad is shown. Control lies less in the targeting than in the quality of what you give the algorithm.

The key points in brief

• You steer PMax through inputs, not classic targeting: feed, assets and signals.
• The feed is half the battle. In e-commerce, feed quality decides the bulk of performance.
• Asset groups are your structure lever. One per product category or audience instead of everything in one pot.
• Without exclusions and steering, PMax easily cannibalises your brand search and obscures where the budget really flows.

Lever 1: The product feed

In e-commerce the feed is the most important lever. Complete, optimised titles with the key search terms up front, clean product types, good images and correct attributes decide which searches your products appear for at all. A neglected feed limits performance no matter how much budget you give. Work on the feed is unspectacular, but it pays into ROAS more directly than almost anything else.

Lever 2: Cut asset groups sensibly

Asset groups are what ad groups were in classic campaigns: your tool to bring structure into the campaign. Instead of throwing all products and assets into one group, you cut them by logic, for example by product category, margin or audience. That lets you assign messages and images deliberately and later see which area performs. A single large asset group makes the campaign blind.

Lever 3: Give signals, don't hope

PMax gets better the better the signals it receives. Audience signals, meaning your best customer lists, high-value audiences and search themes, show the algorithm where to start looking. They are not hard targeting, but a starting point. Combined with clean conversion tracking and enhanced conversions, the campaign learns faster to find the right buyers.

Lever 4: Win back exclusions and control

This is where the black box becomes a steerable tool. Exclude brand search terms so PMax doesn't book cheap brand clicks as its own success. Exclude weak placements and irrelevant search terms where possible. And use scripts or reports to make visible where the budget really flows. Without this steering, PMax optimises for the easiest path, not the most profitable one.

Performance Max vs. classic Search campaigns

• Channels: PMax all Google inventory, classic Search only search.
• Control over keywords: PMax very low, Search high.
• Transparency: PMax limited, Search high.
• Strength: PMax scaling across all channels, Search targeted purchase intent.
• Steered via: PMax feed, assets and signals, Search keywords and bids.

In practice the combination is strongest: classic Search for hard purchase intent and brand protection, PMax for scaling across all inventory.

Case in point: PuttView

At PuttView the lever sat in the Google setup. Instead of buying more budget, we aligned campaign structure, keywords and landing pages with real user behaviour. The result in the first year: 241 percent ROI, over 73 sales opportunities and more than 12 new customers, through a single paid channel. Structure and steering beat raw budget.

Why steering takes experience

Performance Max doesn't reward whoever switches it on, but whoever leads it. Maintaining the feed continuously, cutting asset groups sensibly, setting exclusions and using scripts to surface what the campaign otherwise hides: that is ongoing work, not a one-click setup. This is where experience pays off, because many of the effective levers don't sit obviously in the interface, but come from practice and constant iteration.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Performance Max worth it for?

Above all for e-commerce with a good product feed and for accounts that want to scale across all Google channels. Anyone who only wants to capture targeted purchase intent through search often runs more controlled with classic Search campaigns.

Does Performance Max cannibalise my brand search?

It can, if you don't exclude brand search terms. Then PMax books cheap brand clicks as its own success and the reported ROAS looks better than it is. Brand exclusions are therefore mandatory.

How important is the feed for Performance Max?

In e-commerce it is the single most important lever. Titles, product types, images and attributes decide which queries your products appear for. A weak feed limits performance regardless of budget.

Should I run Performance Max and classic Search in parallel?

Usually yes. Classic Search secures hard purchase intent and the brand, Performance Max scales across all inventory. The key is to separate the two cleanly so they don't take the cheap conversions from each other.

Conclusion

Performance Max is only as good as what you put into it. An optimised feed, cleanly cut asset groups, clear signals and consistent exclusions turn the black box into a steerable tool. Building that steering and leading it over time is our job. This is how we work.