Don’t Launch Your PMax Campaign Without These 5 Crucial Steps!

Google Ads Performance Max campaigns are incredibly effective for reaching new customers or converting existing ones across the entire Google Ads network. Unlike many other campaign types previously launched by Google, Performance Max campaigns are not limited to a single network like Search or YouTube. Instead, they can appear on almost any Google ad placement, which means your ads’ performance can vary significantly across different placements. Additionally, user intent and mindset can differ greatly between placements.

For various reasons, I recommend checking a few things before launching your Performance Max campaign to ensure you run your ads more effectively and efficiently, once and for all.

5 Key Pre-Launch Optimization Tips for Google Ads Performance Max Campaigns

Let’s dive into the five crucial optimizations you should perform before launching your Google Ads Performance Max campaign.

1. Use Brand Exclusion Lists to Avoid Internal Search Competition

If you’re running traditional search campaigns alongside a Performance Max campaign, I recommend adding a brand exclusion list to your Performance Max campaign. This list provides additional control by ensuring that your Performance Max ads do not appear for brand queries included in the list. If your search campaigns are targeting brand keywords, adding your company’s brand keywords to the brand exclusion list can help avoid internal competition, reduce CPC, and save your budget.

Creating a brand exclusion list is straightforward. First, navigate to the tools section in the left-hand sidebar, then click on “Shared Library,” and finally, click on “Brand Lists.”

The system will prompt you to create a new brand list. You can name this list, which is especially useful if you are promoting multiple brands within the same account.

Google’s list already includes numerous brands. If you do not see your brand listed, you can request to add your brand at the bottom of the page.

After creating the list, you need to apply it to your Performance Max campaign in the campaign settings section. This step ensures that your ads will not appear for the brand queries included in the exclusion list, optimizing your campaign performance and budget.

After creating the list, you need to apply it to your Performance Max campaign in the campaign settings section. This setting is hidden under “Additional Settings” at the bottom. Simply select the created list under Brand Exclusions to ensure your ads do not appear for the specified brand queries, optimizing your campaign performance and budget.

2. Control Ad Placements with Content Suitability

As mentioned earlier, Performance Max campaigns can display ads across the entire Google Ads network.

Search and Shopping Exclusions

In addition to the brand exclusion list mentioned above, you can also use a negative keyword list to control the search queries that trigger your Performance Max campaign. This helps in refining your ad placements and ensuring they reach the most relevant audience.

Important Note: Adding negative keywords at the account level will prevent every campaign in the account, including Performance Max and your regular search and shopping campaigns, from displaying ads for those keywords.

In addition to managing search and keyword controls, we need to control where ads are displayed on YouTube and the Google Display Network by using exclusion lists.

The best way to prevent your ads from appearing alongside inappropriate content is to use the controls provided in the Google Ads content suitability tools.

At the bottom of the page, you will find a list of exclusion categories you can use, including page topics, content keywords, YouTube channels, or specific videos, apps, etc. These will help control the placement of your ads across page displays, YouTube displays, and app displays to maximize campaign effectiveness.

3. Fully Utilize All Creative Assets

Since Performance Max campaigns can trigger many different placements, your ads must upload various asset types: text, images, videos, and brand logos.

4. Fully Utilize Audience Signals

Audience signals are not merely an accumulative tool; they provide the Google Ads system with core audience directions. This can effectively shorten the ad learning period and increase customer conversion rates.

Audience Signal Classification

Audience Interaction with Your Business

If you already have first-party customer and marketing data from desktop and mobile visitors, website and social media browsers, and past converters, you can utilize this data.

Try Adding Data from the Following Sources:

  • Website Visitor Lists
  • App User Lists
  • Customer Lists (e.g., email and subscription lists)
  • Video Viewer Lists

Your Custom Segmented Audiences

Custom segmented audiences can use relevant keywords, URLs, or apps you add to reach your ideal audience. You can add keywords or phrases representing your target audience, URLs of websites similar to yours, or the names of apps your ideal customers might use.

Audience Characteristics

Using “Audience Characteristics,” you can limit your campaign’s reach to audiences with specific traits, narrowing the coverage of custom segmented audiences.

Other Segmented Audiences

Add other segmented audiences to show ads based on audience identity, interests, habits, and actively researched content. These signals help you reach your ideal audience at the right time.

Consider Adding Target Segmented Audiences Based on:

  • Detailed Demographics: Reach users based on long-term life situations.
  • Life Events: Reach users experiencing significant life events.
  • Affinity Audiences: Reach users based on their passions, habits, and interests.
  • In-Market Audiences: Reach users based on their recent purchasing intent.

5. Confirm All Conversion Tracking and Set Clear Ad Goals

Performance Max campaigns require you to set clear ad goals at the campaign level and track accurate conversion data. This ensures that Performance Max campaigns can fully utilize their smart advertising capabilities. It is recommended to set only one event goal in PMax campaigns and not select multiple events.

In the Goals – Conversions – Summary section, review the status of event conversion goals. If not activated, you need to activate them manually. If the event status continuously fails to display correctly, use the Tag Assistance tool for testing and code modifications.

Summary

Performance Max campaigns can be an excellent tool for expanding your reach beyond a single ad network and enhancing conversion rates. However, setting up Performance Max campaigns can be more complex. This optimization guide helps you avoid some common mistakes and focus on the main settings to improve ad conversion results.

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