The evolution of the Google ads campaign has been an interesting one. Ever since the launch 21 years ago, Google never grew tired of upgrading the system and making it better for advertisers and product (service) researchers.

Over the years, they have introduced features like performance insight that allows advertisers to evaluate their campaigns and track leads and conversion. Aside from AdWords, which is more keyword-focused, Google has also introduced ads campaigns like shopping ads for eCommerce merchants to advertise their products on Google SERPs.

The latest in their arsenal is the Google performance Max introduced in November 2021. This particular one helps ads users run and manage their advertisement campaigns across all Google networks. Also, it’s designed to assist businesses and merchants to meet more target audiences across YouTube, Gmail, Google Search, and Maps.

Google Performance Max took the internet by storm, and advertisers must learn about it. Moreover, there are talks that it’s replacing smart shopping and Local campaigns. This article is to prepare business people for this new ad campaign and teach them how to go about it.

Let’s get started.

What is Google Performance Max?

Google performance max is the latest automated Google ads campaign that utilizes artificial intelligence to find the target audience and display responsive ads across all Google networks. Performance Max uses the advertiser’s goals and specific objectives to target potential customers and attains the highest possible ROI.

Moreover, it uses machine learning to get better with time, thereby automatically improving the campaign for advertisers to get more sales, leads and conversions. It’s more efficient than other campaigns because of this new machine learning technology.

Google performance ads are designed to reach customers on all networks, which include;

  • Search
  • Display
  • Maps
  • YouTube
  • Gmail
  • Discover Feed
  • Shopping Ad Inventory

The best part of this campaign is that it helps merchants maximize their budgets and reduce advertising costs with its automated smart bidding and targeting technology.

Features of Google performance Max campaigns

  • URL expansion and exclusion

You can control the landing pages directed into your website with performance max. It would allow you to make different landing pages for different search options so that researchers will only be directed to the page with relevant answers to their queries.

The URL exclusion feature gives you the power to prevent the system from directing traffic to some specific pages on your site. You can use this feature to exclude your blog pages so that traffic will be directed to pages with relevant information about your product and services.

  • Asset Groups

Are you into products that people of different ages and characters could use? Don’t worry; Google performance would help you target all the groups. All you need to do is to create rich assets for each group. The asset includes headlines, landing page links, videos, and images.

  • Audience Signals

Out of all the groups provided, you can indicate the one likely to convert faster and easily using the audience signals. You can alert Google by stating this group’s interests and demographics. Also, you can provide data of people that had once interacted with your business.

  • Reporting and Insights

Performance ads provide users with comprehensive reports and insight like other Google advertisement campaigns. It’s much better because a part of the report explains the machine learning accomplishments. You could access the signals that are in use and the data of people relating to your ads.

Is Google Performance Max Right For You?

Do you find it hard to decide whether this campaign is for you or not? Well, Google Performance Max is for you if you have any of the following objectives:

  • Desire to sell more products on the internet and make more people aware of your offline store in their local area.
  • Want to have more traffic converts into buyers and returning buyers.
  • Want your business discovered across all Google networks, beyond their SERPs.
  • Need an additional campaign to complement your keyword-focused advertisement campaign.

How does Google Performance Max work?

Aside from the automation and machine learning integrated into the system, and its visibility across all networks, Google performance Max works just like the other campaigns. Technically, you run the campaign from the Google Ads website- the same platform where you run your keyword ads campaign.

The first step to launching this campaign is setting goals and objectives. The success of your advertisement greatly depends on this step; hence you should carefully and wisely select one that will take you to your destination.

You could use performance max to increase sales, get leads and conversions, increase website traffic and encourage internet users to explore your products and services. Other objectives that could be achieved through performance max include brand awareness, app promotions, and local store promotions.

After setting your goals and objectives, you proceed to the bidding page. You are expected to set your bid strategy and the amount you want to spend on this advertisement daily. In this section, you must choose the focus for your campaigns and ensure that it aligns with your objectives.

You can also state the expected cost per action or target return on ads spend (ROAS) on the bidding and budgeting page. This could be a percentage you’ve realized from other Google ads campaigns. It would serve as a target to work up against.

The completion of the bidding section will advance you to another where you select locations you want your ads displayed. Also, you get to choose the languages for which your ads are to be displayed. Other settings in this section are ads schedule, campaign start and end dates, and final URL expansions. With the URL expansions, you could set your landing pages.

Advertisers get to describe their target audience in the asset and audience section. Here, you can create audience groups to provide Google with some information to work with. You can also provide data sheets of people that have related to your products and describe their interests and demographics in the space provided.

Then, you can rely on machine learning to improve the data and narrow down the market to the specifics after publishing the ads.

Your business asset is another great piece of information you would like to provide Google for a successful and highly-converting ads campaign. These assets include products images, eye-catchy headlines, attractive call-to-action statements, logos, and videos.

Google Performance Max offers a tool that allows you to preview your ads on all networks to see what they will look like when you finally launch them. If you don’t have a video, Google got you covered already. The platform will make a video for you from the information you provided.

The last stage of the preparation of the ad is the creation of extensions. Extensions are forms and a small piece of information you add to your ads to make them more detailed and convert. You could add a lead form as an extension to collect data from people that come across your ads. It’s also possible to add your phone number to the ads using the call extensions. There are about four other extension options for you.

The completion of the ad extension stage will usher you into the summary page, where you see and review everything you have set. You make it live by clicking the publish button. Check back in weeks for ads performances, and you can also edit assets for better performances.

Should you stop running other ads campaigns for your business?

You shouldn’t stop running your keyword or shopping ads because you just got your performance Max lives. It promises to be good, but good things take time. So, while you have it in development and machine learning is improving it, still have the keyword-focused ads running and making awareness for your business.

Besides, you might need to make some asset corrections to make the campaign more efficient. After a while, you can compare its results with other campaign results to determine which one to cut off.

Conclusion

Google performance max is the new big thing in search engine advertisement. And it comes with a technology that has the tenacity to outperform all other ads campaigns. Now that you already know about it, why tarry? Seize the opportunity now before your competitors learn about it. It gets better every single day. You can start now.