Secret Google Ads Performance Max Tips

Are you ready to take your Google Performance Max campaigns to new heights? In this article, we'll explore the latest strategies and best practices to help you unlock the true potential of this powerful advertising platform. Buckle up and get ready to drive better results!

Clone Asset Groups with Different Audience Signals

One effective technique to consider is cloning asset groups with different audience signals. Here's how it works:

• An asset group is a collection of headlines, descriptions, images, and videos that you create within your Performance Max campaign.
• Google allows up to 100 asset groups per campaign, giving you the flexibility to experiment.
• By cloning asset groups with the same assets but different audience signals, you can test various starting points and identify which audience segments perform best.

For example, let's say you're in e-commerce and have an asset group for a specific product. Clone that asset group, but change the audience signal to target a different segment. Over time, you can analyze the performance data and double down on the asset group with the most promising audience signal.

Leverage Value Rules

Value rules are an often-overlooked feature that can supercharge your Performance Max campaigns. These rules allow you to adjust conversion values based on specific conditions, such as audience attributes or locations.

Here's how value rules can benefit your campaigns:

• Treat different user segments differently based on their relative value to your business.
• Multiply conversion values for high-value audiences, encouraging Performance Max to prioritize those segments.
• Adjust conversion values based on location, device, or retargeting audiences from Google Analytics.

For instance, if you have a remarketing audience of users who visit five or more pages on your website (indicating high engagement), you could apply a value rule to multiply their conversion value by 1.2 or 1.3. This signals to Performance Max to optimize more aggressively for that valuable audience.

Optimize for "Presence" in Location Targeting

When setting up location targeting in Performance Max, pay close attention to the "Presence" option. This setting allows you to specify whether you want to target users who are physically present in your targeted locations or those who have shown interest in those areas.

Selecting "Presence" ensures that your ads reach people who are in or regularly in your targeted locations. This approach is particularly beneficial for local businesses or services that cater to a specific geographic area, as it minimizes wasted ad spend on visitors or tourists who may not be your ideal customers.

Optimize Video for Display Network

Did you know that Performance Max can display your video assets as advertisements on the Google Display Network? This powerful feature opens up new opportunities to capture your audience's attention with engaging video content.

However, it's crucial to optimize your video assets for this purpose. Keep in mind that these videos do not autoplay with sound on display ads. Therefore, the first few seconds of your video should visually communicate your branding and messaging effectively, even without audio.

Bid and Budget Strategy for New Campaigns

When launching a new Performance Max campaign, I recommend to start with the "Maximize Conversion Value" or "Maximize Conversions" bidding strategy without setting a target return on ad spend (ROAS) or target cost-per-acquisition (CPA).

This approach allows Google to optimize freely during the initial learning phase, giving you valuable insights into the campaign's potential performance. After a week or so, you can then introduce a target ROAS or CPA to align the campaign with your desired efficiency metrics.

Remember, setting a target ROAS or CPA may result in Google not spending your full daily budget if it cannot confidently achieve your target at certain times. However, this trade-off ensures that your campaign remains focused on driving efficient conversions within your specified parameters.

Additional Tips

Here are a few more tips to consider for your Performance Max campaigns:

• Monitor the URLs that Performance Max drives traffic to, especially if you have "Final URL Expansion" enabled. You may want to exclude certain pages, like privacy policies or cookie pages, from receiving traffic.
• Schedule your ads to optimize your budget around your business's operational hours or peak times.
• Manually select the call-to-action for your ads instead of relying on Google's default selections.
• Leverage campaign extensions to enhance your search ads within Performance Max campaigns.

Summary

Google Performance Max can be a powerful campaign type for you. By testing some of these tips and strategies, you'll be well on your way to seeing success. Remember, continuous testing, analysis, and refinement are the keys to unlocking the full potential of this platform.