Pmax advertising campaigns enable performance advertisers to utilize a single Pmax campaign to reach all Google Ads placements, including YouTube, the Display Network, Search, Discover, Gmail, and Shopping. This strategy is designed to help advertisers discover more converting customers or customers with greater conversion value across all Google channels.

What is a Pmax Advertising Campaign?
Pmax advertising campaigns are a type of campaign within Google Ads designed to help businesses achieve performance goals, such as increasing website traffic, generating leads, or converting sales on independent sites. Google Ads employs machine learning algorithms to autonomously optimize ad placements in real time. Ads are shown to the most relevant customers who are most likely to convert.
Pmax campaigns are particularly suitable for businesses with clear conversion objectives (see the image below) and those looking to maximize machine learning optimization. For businesses with limited budgets seeking to extract maximum value from their advertising efforts, Pmax is a great option. However, the setup and management of Pmax campaigns are more complex than other types of campaigns, making it not suitable for all advertisers.

Advantages of PMax Advertising Campaigns
- Fully Automated: Pmax campaigns are fully automated, making them an excellent choice for businesses that lack the time or resources to manage more complex advertising campaigns.
- Easy to Adjust: Adjusting Pmax campaigns is straightforward; simply set the desired target return on ad spend (ROAS) and budget.
- Highly Integrated with Shopify: Setting up Pmax campaigns for e-commerce merchants on platforms like Shopify is very easy due to the close integration with Google Ads. This allows businesses to see conversion results more quickly.
- Real-Time Optimization: Pmax campaigns leverage machine learning algorithms to optimize ad placements in real time, displaying ads to the most relevant and likely-to-convert users.
Disadvantages of PMax Advertising Campaigns
- Complexity: The setup for Pmax campaigns is more complex compared to other campaign types, especially for businesses not using e-commerce platforms like Shopify.
- Limited Control: Pmax campaigns are automatically optimized, with the algorithm operating as a black box. This means businesses have limited control over targeting, ad placements, and other aspects of the campaign. While businesses can set performance goals and budgets, their control over ad placements is lower compared to manually managed campaigns.
- Limited Data Analysis: Compared to Shopping or Search campaigns, Pmax campaigns do not provide businesses with deep insights into the keywords or phrases driving conversions. The most they receive are “signals of performance.”
Differences Between PMax and Shopping Campaigns
Since 2022, Google has gradually transitioned smart shopping campaigns to Pmax campaigns (as shown in the chart below, which illustrates the adoption trends among merchants).

The table below outlines the key metrics comparing Shopping Campaigns and Pmax Campaigns in the U.S. market:

Google has improved the average CTR and reduced the average CPC through Pmax campaigns, resulting in a lower average CAC/CPA.
Benchmark Click-Through Rate (CTR) for Pmax Campaigns in the U.S. Market
The average click-through rate for Pmax campaigns is 1.01%, which is relatively lower than the average CTR for Google Ads (approximately 1.42%).
This isn’t surprising, as highly specific search campaigns (such as branded keyword campaigns or long-tail keyword campaigns) can achieve much higher click-through rates.
If your Pmax campaign’s CTR is below 1%, it may indicate that the ads are not resonating with the target audience or that they are not being shown to the right users. To improve the CTR for your Pmax campaigns, consider optimizing ad copy, creatives, and audience signals.
Benchmark Cost Per Click (CPC) for Pmax Campaigns in the U.S. Market
The average cost per click (CPC) for Pmax campaigns is $0.62. This CPC is relatively lower than the average CPC in Google Ads (approximately $0.85). If you haven’t yet run Pmax campaigns and are experiencing high CPCs, consider trying Pmax campaigns.
Benchmark Conversion Rate (CVR) for Pmax Campaigns in the U.S. Market
The average conversion rate for Pmax campaigns optimized for purchase events is 2.04%. This conversion rate is comparable to the average conversion rate across all campaign types in Google Ads, which is 2.06%.
A specific scenario to note is when the click-through rate is high (above average), but the CVR is below average. This indicates that the landing page may be a weak point in the conversion process, and businesses should focus on improving or optimizing the user experience on their website.