Performance Max for ecommerce: setup and best practices
How to structure Performance Max campaigns for online stores — feed, asset groups, audience signals, exclusions and bidding by margin.
How to structure Performance Max campaigns for online stores — feed, asset groups, audience signals, exclusions and bidding by margin.
How PMax works
Performance Max uses one campaign to serve ads across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps. Google’s AI decides where to spend based on your goals, feed, assets and signals.
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- Split campaigns by margin band or best-sellers vs long tail
- Group assets by product theme, not one giant asset group
- Add audience signals: customer lists, site visitors, custom segments
- Set brand exclusions so PMax doesn’t take branded search credit
- Use value-based bidding with accurate conversion values
Feed optimisation matters most
Improve titles, images, GTINs and custom labels. PMax can only perform as well as the data you give it.
Reporting
Use the Insights tab, search term insights and channel performance reports, and compare against a holdout where possible.
Common mistakes to avoid
How we help with marketing
Frequently asked questions
Should I still run Standard Shopping?
Sometimes — for tighter control on specific products or testing.
How long is the learning period?
Typically 2–6 weeks. Avoid big changes during learning.
Does PMax work for small budgets?
It can, but fewer, well-structured campaigns perform better on small budgets.