Google's Performance Max has become one of the hottest campaign formats to run digital marketing ads in 2022. But what is Google Performance Max and how do we run the actual campaign? This guide will help you understand the core elements of Performance Max and show you how to launch Performance Max campaigns for your Shoplazza store. Are you ready to dive in? Then let's get started!
What is Google Performance Max?
Google Performance Max is a goal-based, automated campaign type that allows merchants to advertise their products and reach the right customers across Google's network. Instead of running different ads and campaigns for each Google channel, advertisers can run a single campaign to tap into their target audience wherever they are—YouTube, Search, Gmail, Maps, or any other Google product.
How does Google Performance Max work?
The answer comes down to one word: automation.
Basically, you point out the audiences you want to target, and Google takes that into account and finds similar audiences to those you selected. When you run a Performance Max campaign, Google displays your ads to customers who match your criteria and also to others who are likely to display comparable behaviours and buy products like yours.
When compared to Smart Shopping and other Google Ads campaigns, Google Performance Max comes with a significant improvement in terms of campaign management: now advertisers don't have to run a different campaign for each Google channel and monitor their performances separately. From within your store, you can run a Performance Max campaign, and Google's algorithm will find your ideal customers across Google's channels and place your ads right in front of them.
Benefits of running Performance Max campaigns (with proven case studies)
Now that you have a better grasp of what Performance Max is and how it works, let's take a look at what Performance Max campaigns can do for your business.
Easier campaign management
As it's the case with most successful products, Google Shopping ads have improved to better suit customers' needs and demands. And what business owner doesn't want to save some time and resources?
By allowing you to run automated campaigns more easily and efficiently, Google Performance Max gives you time to focus on other aspects of your business and make it grow.
Increase in conversions and ROAS
As the trend in online consumer behaviour is constantly and rapidly changing, it is crucial to expose your brand and business to your desired audience at the right moment and place. Because Google Performance Max has a much wider (and more accurate) reach across many different Google platforms, your business may see a significant increase in traffic and conversions, which, in turn, can help you meet your campaign goals more efficiently.
AssistCard, a leading travel assistance company in Latin America, is an example of how successful Performance Max campaigns can be. With an initial goal to drive more sales in Argentina, AssistCard tried out the Performance Max campaigns, and the results were impressive: a 40% lower CPA and 15 times higher conversion rate when compared to other campaigns with the same goals.
The online apparel retailer Pantaloons was an early adopter of the Google Performance Max. While the company had always used Google Smart Shopping ads, they decided to try Performance Max campaigns with the goal to maximize sales and achieve a higher ROI more efficiently. The results? Pantaloons was able to achieve a 13% increase in final sales and a 33% higher ROAS compared to Smart Shopping ads.
Last but not least, the Australian digital financial service provider MoneyMe has had plenty of success with their campaign automation, all thanks to Performance Max. Their campaign goal was to acquire more high-intent customers at its target CPA. The company has invested in producing creative assets for Performance Max campaigns and utilized the bidding flexibility that Performance Max offers to meet that goal. MoneyMe managed to obtain a 22% increase in conversions and a 20% reduction in overall CPA after six weeks of running a Google Performance Max campaign.
How to create a Performance Max campaign with Shoplazza in 10 steps
If you're ready to start using Google Performance Max and reach even more customers, the good news is that Shoplazza allows you to connect your Google Ads account with your online store and manage campaigns from the admin console. If you don't have a Shoplazza store yet, don't worry: you can sign up and create your store right now — and you get 7 days to try it for free.
Now let's take a look at how to run Performance Max campaign easily and quickly with Shoplazza.
1. Log in to your Shoplazza account. On your admin console page, go to Marketing > Google.
2. Log in to your Google account to connect it with your Shoplazza store. Select your Google account, and allow all accesses in order to manage your Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts directly in the Shoplazza admin.
3. Link your Google Ads account by selecting one from the drop-down menu. If you don't have a Google Ads account, click on "Create new" to make one.
4. Once you link your Google Ads account, click on the "Function" tab and select "Performance Max".
5. Click on the "New Campaign" button to start drafting your Performance Max campaign.
6. Fill out the campaign settings, specifying the target locations and languages. For example, if your target audience is bilingual English-French speakers in Québec, Canada, enter "Québec, Canada" as a target location, and "English" and "French" as target languages.
7. Once you are done with the campaign settings, proceed to Budget and Bidding by clicking on "Next". Select your campaign objective and set the average daily budget you wish to spend. You can also set your target CPA manually. In this case, the target CPA will set your campaign bid to get the maximum number of conversions at or below your desired CPA.
8. Create an Ad asset group for your Performance Max campaign. You will need to fill in and upload the following info:
- Final URL (where people will be redirected to after clicking on your ad)
- Headlines
- Long headlines
- Descriptions
- Call-to-action
- Business name
- Image (at least 1 landscape ratio and 1 square ratio)
- Logo (at least 1 square ratio)
You can also add:
- Google Merchant Center account for auto-generated ads from your Google Product Listing
- Videos
9. Create a new audience signal by clicking on "Add audience signal". Audience signals are used to reach the right audience and can be customized based on demographics, past interactions with your website, and interests.
10. Click on "Save". Congratulations! You've just launched your first Google Performance Max campaign! Your ads will appear across different Google channels with your creative assets and reach the right audiences based on your audience signal.
Google Performance Max: conclusion
Google has officially stated that Performance Max will replace Smart Shopping campaigns in 2022. It shows how rapidly Performance Max has become the next generation of Smart Shopping and hence the central hub of all Google Ads Channels.
Shoplazza is Google's first eCommerce partner to integrate Performance Max campaigns into its own admin console. This integration has allowed Shoplazza merchants to run and monitor Performance Max campaigns in a more convenient way. As a Shoplazza merchant, you don't have to switch tabs between their Shoplazza admin and their Google Ads account; instead, you can manage your Performance Max campaigns directly from the Shoplazza backend.
Now that you've learned how to run Google Performance Max campaigns, it's time to create your own unique campaigns today and get your brand and products to where your ideal customers are!
