Reviewed by Brandon Kasper, Brandography’s Senior Manager of Paid Media, and Chris Flaten, Brandography’s Senior Search Marketer
Welcome to part II of our Google Shopping series. In part I, you learned the basics of what Performance Max is and how it works.
Next, let’s break down a few important things you’ll need to know about setting up and organizing your Google Performance Max (PMax) campaigns for real results.
Here’s a quick recap of how it works!
Instead of running separate campaigns for everything, Performance Max bundles your ads across Google’s entire network, including YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail, Maps, and Google Shopping.
Okay, at this point you’re probably wondering… wait, how can my campaign run the same ad on a video streaming platform and a web mapping platform? What will that even look like?
Glad you asked.
Performance Max creates ads using the content you provide in your asset groups, e.g., headlines, images, descriptions, videos, etc.
According to Google Ads Help, you’ll want to organize asset groups with a common theme (the same way you would organize the ads themselves). For example, you might create asset groups around specific products or services.
Google then automatically mixes and matches these assets to generate top-performing combinations, based on which channel your ad shows up on.
Read More: Performance Max Search Term Visibility Available to All Advertisers
How PMax Ads Use Each Google Channel
Because Performance Max Google ads handle so much on autopilot, it helps to understand what a user actually sees on the other end. Here’s a breakdown of how your creative looks across each placement.
- YouTube. You don’t have to provide a video to Google. Instead, it will auto-generate a basic ad using a combination of your asset groups. Just note that having video content will perform better on this channel.
- Display. Similar to responsive display ads, Performance Max will use your asset groups to create automated ads that fit the size, appearance, and format of any advertising surface.
- Search. These look like traditional text ads. Google will mix and match the headlines and descriptions you provide in your campaign.
- Discover. This channel is shown on the homepage of your Google app. It will use text and images from your asset groups to generate ads.
- Gmail. Your ad will generally appear at the top of users’ inbox feeds, typically in the Promotions section. If a user clicks on your ad, it will open like a normal email and include images and text.
- Maps. Both images and copy will appear in Maps searches for local traffic.
- Google Shopping. When someone searches for a product you sell, Google pulls your product image, current listed price, and availability based on your Merchant Center product feed. This appears as a clickable product card at the top of Google Search and across the Shopping tab, reflecting your most recently uploaded and crawled data.
How To Build Your Asset Group
Setting up an asset group is straightforward. Once you link your product feed from Google Merchant Center, you’ll provide headlines, descriptions, images, and videos. The process is very similar to building a responsive display ad. Note that you don’t need a product feed to run PMax, but not having one will keep you out of Google Shopping.
When building your asset groups, here are Google’s requirements:
Up to 15 Headlines (30 Characters Each)
The headline is the first line of your ad and can be up to 30 characters (with spaces included). You may add up to 15 headlines that will be combined with your other assets to generate ads. The length of the rendered headline will depend on the site it appears on. If it’s shortened, it will end with an ellipsis.
5 Long Headlines (90 Characters Each)
The long headline is the first line of your ad. It appears instead of your short headline in larger ads. Long headlines can be up to 90 characters. They may appear with (or without) your description. The length of the rendered headline will depend on the site it appears on. If shortened, it will end with an ellipsis.
5 Descriptions (Up to 90 Characters Each)
The description adds to the headline and provides additional context or details about your product. It can be up to 90 characters and may appear after the headline. At least one of the 5 descriptions must be 60 characters or shorter.
You can add up to 5 descriptions that will be combined with any one of your headlines to generate your ads. The length of the rendered description will depend on the site it appears on.
If it’s shortened, it will end with an ellipsis. The description doesn’t show in all sizes and formats.
Up to 20 Standard Images
Add images that meet or can be cropped to these sizes. The maximum file size is 5120 KB. You can upload up to 20 images total across these formats:
- Landscape (1.91:1): 1200 x 628
- Square (1:1): 1200 x 1200
- Portrait (4:5): 960 x 1200
- Vertical (9:16): 1080 x 1920
Up to 15 Videos (Optional, but Recommended)
You can add up to 15 videos if you want control over the creative that gets used on YouTube ads. Remember that if you don’t provide videos, Google will generate an ad using your images and text. While this works, you usually get better results by providing your own video content.
Videos can be uploaded to your YouTube account or through a Google-managed House channel. Videos need to be at least 10 seconds long. To make sure your ads display nicely across different placements, create videos in a few different formats:
- Landscape (16:9)
- Square (1:1)
- Vertical (9:16)
Tip: If you’re like most brands, you probably don’t want a bunch of short videos cluttering up your channel page. When uploading ad videos to your own channel, you can set them to “Unlisted” so they won’t appear on your public channel feed or in YouTube search results.
Business Name (1 required, up to 25 characters)
Your official brand or business name that appears alongside your ads.
5 Logos
In the standard setup, you manage logos through campaign-level brand guidelines, and they apply across your ads. Add logos that meet or can be cropped to these sizes. The maximum file size is 5120 KB.
- Square (1:1): 1200 x 1200
- Landscape (4:1): 1200 x 300
Developing a PMax Product Group Strategy
Knowing the asset specs is one thing. Organizing assets to get the best results is another.
While Google can do a good job of creating ads from the assets you give it, you don’t just want to lump everything together and hope for the best. Organizing and grouping your assets makes it easier for Google to create the best possible creative combinations and, perhaps even more importantly, direct traffic to the best possible page.
Group Products by Category or Theme
If you sell apparel, consider separate asset groups for men’s running shoes and winter jackets. This lets you write copy and choose images that speak to each category rather than talking about men’s clothing in general.
Separate Products When They Need Different Campaign Settings
Your best sellers might deserve more attention, but putting them in a separate asset group within the same campaign won’t automatically give them more budget. If a high-margin item benefits from a dedicated budget, ROAS target, or bidding strategy, set it up in a separate campaign instead of grouping it with everything else.
Match Assets to a Strong Landing Page
Don’t make the mistake of sending users to your homepage or a general page that’s irrelevant to your ads. Instead, the landing page should highlight the specific category or product mentioned in your ads. When your headlines, visuals, and landing page deliver the exact same message, visitors find what they need faster and are more likely to convert.
Alternatively, you can use URL expansion, and your asset group will use what it believes is the best landing page for the user’s search.
This isn’t just better for UX. Google grades your landing page quality every time your ad enters an auction. The better your page matches your ad, the higher your ads rank and the less you pay per click.
Best Practices for PMax Campaigns
According to Google, here are a few best practices you’ll want to follow as you start running your automated ads:
- Run campaigns for at least 6 weeks. Because algorithms need time to gather data and optimize toward higher conversions, give your campaigns at least 6 weeks of run time before judging results or making major structural changes.
- Don’t stop at the minimum number of text assets. Provide at least 5 to 10 short headlines (you can add up to 15), several 90-character long headlines, and up to 5 varied descriptions to give Google enough copy to test.
- Provide a variety of image assets. Upload a mix of landscape, square, and portrait images, aiming for at least 10 to 15 different visuals, so Google has enough imagery to work with any device or feed.
- Add audience signals. Use relevant audience lists as signals to speed up machine learning ramp-up.
- Utilize Google Ads conversion tracking. Use this tool to track high-value actions like purchases or form submissions across devices. You can also track in Google Analytics to generate additional data.
- Refresh your creativity. Creative is your most powerful tool to help drive performance. Because the algorithm relies heavily on strong visual and text assets to match relevant users, focus your effort on what you control: your images, descriptions, headlines, and videos. Tailoring these assets to your target audience helps Google do its job of finding them.
Optimize Your PMax Ads with Brandography
Google handles a lot of the heavy lifting with Performance Max, but knowing how to spend your budget, which messages to use, and what images will resonate still requires creative work and planning.
That’s where we come in. Brandography can help you make those decisions with a clear strategy behind them, so you’re not left guessing what will have the biggest impact.
Let’s talk about your Google Ads and figure out how to make them work harder for your business. Contact our team or fill out the form to get started!
