Performance Max components you can control

Although initially criticized as a black box, Performance Max has evolved into a more serious campaign type. With each passing quarter, Google introduced more functionality and visibility.

More reporting is helpful, but what matters is what you can actually do. While you can’t control everything in Performance Max, there are certain levels that can have a significant impact on performance. Here are the features of PMax that you can control and how to use them effectively.

Manage what you can: Search for goals and placements

One of the most exciting updates over the past year to Performance Max has been the ability to add these negative keywords at the campaign level.

In the past, you can contact Google to add this. It was somewhat complicated and involved filling out an Excel document, submitting it to Google, and giving them permission to use it.

With the inclusion of a search term report, we are now able to select a keyword and quickly add it to the list of negative keywords, just as we would with a search or shopping campaign.

Another way to improve PMax is to review and monitor placement reports. Recently, Google removed the Performance Max placement report from the Google Ads account reporting section and added When ads are shown in the campaign level category. Although this simplifies the analysis by removing additional steps, we still only have impression rate reporting on placement.

We may use this information to determine whether to add this placement as a negative placement at the account level. This is available at Tools > Content Eligibility > Advanced Settings > Unlisted placements.

Although this is wrong, there are still useful insights we can get from this report, such as ads from children’s programs or calling a high number from mobile applications.

Use budget signals to improve efficiency

Also available at When and where ads are shown part is an ad schedule. Even if you didn’t choose an ad schedule when you created the campaign, Google automatically breaks down the performance for each hour.

Google usually recommends an open ad schedule, but if you have a limited budget, limiting your ad schedule during off-peak or consistent hours is an excellent way to increase efficiency.

You can do this by creating a campaign-level schedule internally Campaigns > Audience, keywords, and content > Ad schedule. Make sure your Performance Max campaign is selected in the top left dropdown menu.

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Refine targeting with appropriate limits

Demographics extraction is a new feature compared to the Performance Max campaign settings level. Unfortunately, reports of these campaigns are difficult to obtain, limiting informed decisions about demographics.

This functionality is useful if you know of certain demographics that are not in the market for certain products or services. To make changes, go to Campaign-level settings > Other settings > Demographic exclusions. From here, you can turn on age or gender exclusions:

While PMax initially didn’t offer device-level reporting, the new feature allows you to opt out of usage on specific devices.

If you go into all device targeting when launching a PMax campaign, you should periodically review device performance and adjust accordingly. This is best done by segmenting at the campaign or asset group level by device. Device-level data is very useful in determining which device is best suited to reach your goal.

Similarly, if you’re almost always running out of certain devices when launching a campaign, this data makes it easy to start with all device targeting enabled and monitor performance, or add a device you didn’t initially add to see how it affects performance. Device-level targeting is also available at the campaign level, below Other settings.

Improve inputs: Creative assets and AI

Ad assets play a major role in the display, YouTube, and Discover network performance of a PMax campaign. For many, there is still a gap in producing high volumes of quality photo and video production.

While they are still developing, AI assets are getting closer to filling these gaps – enabling us to effectively target these additional networks. As new iterations of LLMs emerge, this will be the primary way to produce great looking video and image content.

Google already offers AI-generated image assets from shopping feed products that look impressive. But we’re still a ways out from seeing high-quality AI-generated videos without the known glitches we often see in this type of content.

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Understand the control limits on Performance Max

The channel management report provided additional insight into where ads are performing. I have a negative opinion on this report. Although useful, there is little we can do within a performance improvement campaign. Because of this, the report is frustrating.

We’ll likely see channel controls available in Performance Max soon – similar to what we already have in Demand Gen campaigns. Meanwhile, adjust creative and bids to manage volume within specific networks. To completely opt out of specific networks and focus on buying, Performance Max’s feed-only campaign will do just that.

Performance Max is evolving from a black box to an essential asset in the marketer’s toolkit. The continuous stream of new functionality, from negative keywords at the campaign level to detailed reports on ad placement and scheduling, demonstrates Google’s commitment to providing greater control.

Use these levers – including strategy, device optimization, and budgeting information – to move beyond set-and-forget and run Performance Max campaigns with precision and efficiency.