Performance Max for Shopping: The Complete Guide

What Is Performance Max?

Performance Max (PMax) is a goal-based campaign type that uses Google's AI to optimize ad delivery across all Google channels: Shopping, Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, and Discover. You provide a goal (e.g., maximize conversions at a target ROAS), a product feed, and optionally creative assets, and Google's algorithms handle the rest.

For Shopping advertisers, PMax is significant because it replaced Smart Shopping campaigns and has become Google's recommended campaign type for e-commerce. It offers broader reach than Standard Shopping but with less advertiser control over where and how products appear.

Key Characteristics

• Cross-channel reach: Ads run across all Google properties from a single campaign
• AI-driven bidding: Google's AI sets bids per auction based on real-time signals
• Asset-based creative: You provide text, images, and videos; Google assembles ads automatically
• Limited manual control: No search term targeting, limited placement control, fewer manual levers
• Product feed integration: Your Merchant Center feed drives Shopping and product placements

When to Use Performance Max

PMax Works Best When:

• You want maximum reach across Google's network
• You have sufficient conversion data (50+ conversions/month recommended)
• Your product feed is comprehensive and accurate
• You are comfortable with Google's AI making optimization decisions
• You want to scale beyond what Standard Shopping can deliver

Standard Shopping Works Better When:

• You need granular control over bids and product groups
• You want full search term visibility and negative keyword management
• You have a limited budget and need precise allocation
• You are in a niche with specific targeting requirements
• You need detailed reporting by campaign segment

Read our full Standard Shopping vs Performance Max comparison for a detailed breakdown.

Setting Up PMax for Shopping

Feed-Only vs Full-Asset Campaigns

A key decision is whether to run PMax with full assets or as a feed-only campaign. Feed-only PMax uses only your product feed—no headlines, descriptions, images, or videos. This limits the campaign to Shopping and Display placements, preventing it from competing with your Search campaigns.

Many advertisers start with feed-only PMax alongside Standard Shopping, then expand to full-asset PMax as they gain confidence. Our feed-only PMax setup guide walks you through the complete process.

Asset Groups & Listing Groups

Asset groups are the building blocks of PMax campaigns. Each asset group contains creative assets and a listing group (the products from your feed that the group can advertise). For e-commerce, structure your asset groups around product categories or performance tiers:

• By category: Separate asset groups for shoes, apparel, accessories
• By performance: Best sellers in one group, new products in another - use product-level metrics to identify your top performers
• By margin: High-margin products with higher ROAS targets

Audience Signals

Audience signals tell Google's AI who your ideal customers are. They are suggestions, not hard targeting—PMax will expand beyond your signals. But strong signals help the AI learn faster:

• Customer match lists (past purchasers, high-value customers)
• Website visitors (remarketing audiences)
• In-market segments relevant to your products
• Custom segments based on search behavior

SKU-Level Reporting & Performance Tracking in PMax

PMax's biggest weakness is limited reporting transparency, a concern widely shared by advertisers, as Search Engine Land's analysis of PMax transparency gaps highlights. Compared to Standard Shopping, you get less visibility into where your budget is spent and which products drive results.

What You Can See

• Campaign-level metrics (spend, conversions, ROAS)
• Asset group performance
• Products tab (basic product-level data)
• Insights tab (audience, search categories, placement insights)

What's Missing

• Detailed search term reports (you get categories, not exact terms)
• Channel-level breakdown (Shopping vs Search vs Display spend)
• Detailed product-level metrics in the UI

For SKU-level PMax reporting, the Google Ads API provides granular product-level data through shopping_performance_view. Tools like SKU Analyzer make this SKU-level reporting accessible without building custom API integrations.

Frequently Asked Questions