Peak PPC Solutions

What’s New in Performance Max? An Overview of Upcoming Updates

What’s New in Performance Max? An Overview of Upcoming Updates

Google is always rolling out new features and updates to its advertising platform, and Performance Max is no exception. If you’re running Performance Max campaigns, you’ll be pleased to hear that there are some exciting changes coming your way in the next few months. In this blog post, we’ll provide a comprehensive overview of all the upcoming updates and what they mean for you.

Update 1: Campaign-level brand exclusions

If you’ve been running Performance Max campaigns for a while, you’ll know that branded search conversions can inflate your data. This update will allow you to exclude your own brand terms and choose from a list of other brands to exclude. Although the official documentation is a bit unclear, we assume that this update will make it easier for you to exclude your brand name from your pMax campaigns.

This is great news for most advertisers who weren’t using the negative keyword list workaround before. Just remember that if you exclude your brand from pMax, you need a Branded Standard Shopping campaign to ensure branded visibility on the Shopping network.

Update 2: Improved asset group reporting

Google is finally releasing better asset group-level insights. You’ll soon be able to see conversions, conversion value, and cost data for individual asset groups.

This makes it easier to analyze and evaluate asset group performance, and we assume creative testing will become easier and better as well. This is a big step forward in getting more insights back from Google, and we’ll be able to make more sense of the black box that is Performance Max.

Update 3: New video creation tools

Google wants to make it easier for advertisers to create video ads, so you can now directly create and edit videos within your Performance Max campaigns based on templates.

While this is a nice option if you have a limited budget, we recommend investing some budget in creating your own, high-quality videos that aren’t based on entry-level templates.

Update 4: Budget pacing insights

Google is releasing new and better insights into how your budget is spent, and what the projections for the upcoming period are. You can expect to see notifications like “you’ve only spent 33% of your budget, maybe distribute that to other campaigns.” While we’ll have to see how this one works out, we’re not too excited about it because it feels like something that will benefit Google, and not the advertiser.

Update 5: New experiments

Performance Max experiments were recently launched, and Google is taking them a step further. You will be able to test Performance Max vs. Standard Shopping campaigns and see how a new pMax campaign drives incremental value to your entire campaign structure.

We’re especially curious about the latter: A/B testing how pMax drives incremental value to your ENTIRE account. Seeing incremental value for the entire account is where the gold lies!

Update 6: Page feeds

Finally, Performance Max campaigns will support page feeds, just like Dynamic Search Ads. This update provides an additional layer of control, as you can send traffic to a specific set of landing pages.

It’s not clear whether the page feeds will serve as a targeting signal or actual targeting, but it’s still a useful development for advertisers.

Recap: 6 new Performance Max updates
Google is continuously improving Performance Max campaigns with these new updates:
• Campaign-level brand exclusions
• Improved asset group reporting
• New video creation tools
• Budget pacing insights
• New experiments
• Page feeds
These updates should roll out over the upcoming months, and we're excited to see how they improve Performance Max advertising efforts. Stay tuned for more updates and make sure to optimize your campaigns with these new features.

Unlock New Performance Max Insights with Updated Conversion Tracking Script

Are you looking for a way to gain better control over your Performance Max campaigns? Look no further than the updated Performance Max spend allocation script v20. In today’s PPC Blog, we’ll discuss the latest breakthrough in PPC advertising and how you can use this script to unlock new insights and take back control of your advertising strategy.

Unlock New Performance Max Insights: See Share of Spend on Search

As a Google Ads Specialist, you’re likely aware of the limitations of the current pMax spend allocation script. While it provides additional insights into pMax spend on Shopping, Video, and ‘Other’ networks, it falls short because ‘Other’ includes both Search and Display/Discovery data.

However, thanks to Mike Rhodes from AgencySavvy and Tobias Hink, there is a new breakthrough in PPC advertising. They found a way to single out spend on the Search network by hacking into Google’s API. With their sharp minds, they created a new script that visualizes pMax spend on Shopping, Video, Display, and Search.

Introducing Performance Max Spend Allocation Script v20

With the latest script, you can gain valuable insights into where your pMax budget was spent across different networks. The new green bars (Search Cost %) allow you to see the share of your pMax spend on the Search network.

Using the script is simple. With one overview, you can quickly identify trends and see if you’re spending where you want to. Create an action plan based on the insights to take back control of your advertising strategy. You can even use the script to see if/how much pMax is cannibalizing your Search campaigns.

Set Up the Script in Your Accounts to Take Back Insights and Control

To make the most out of this new breakthrough in PPC advertising, we recommend setting up the script in your accounts and analyzing the data at least once per week. Quickly take action based on the insights you gain to optimize your pMax campaigns and take back control of your advertising strategy.

In conclusion, the updated Performance Max spend allocation script v20 is a must-have tool for Google Ads Specialists running pMax campaigns. With this script, you can unlock new insights into your advertising strategy and take back control of your advertising campaigns.

Thanks to the sharp minds of Mike Rhodes and Tobias Hink, you can now gain valuable insights into your pMax campaign that were previously hidden from view. Set up the script in your accounts today and start taking back control of your advertising strategy.

Link to the new script by Mike Rhodes (and a special thanks to Tobias Hink). Both account and MCC-level scripts are available.

The Simple 3-Step Process to Adding Negative Keywords to Your Google Ads Performance Max Campaigns

Do you want to keep control over your Google Ads campaigns? One effective way is by adding negative keywords. Unfortunately, you can’t manually add them to Performance Max campaigns. But don’t worry, there’s another way! In this blog post, we will show you a simple 3-step process to add negative keywords to your Performance Max campaigns, without the need for a Google rep.

The first option is to ask your Google rep, but not everyone has one. Also, emailing your rep every time you want to add a little negative keyword can be a hassle. The second option is to use account-level negatives, but once added, they will be applied to every campaign in your account. This functionality is useless if you want to add a negative keyword to a specific pMax campaign, but not other campaigns in your account.

Now, let’s dive into the simple 3-step process that will allow you to add negative keywords to Performance Max from within the Google Ads interface, without needing a Google rep.

Step 1: Create a negative keyword list specifically for Performance Max

Creating a new negative keyword list is super simple. Just create a new negative keyword list specifically for pMax, add one or more negative keywords, and hit save. Unfortunately, you can’t add the list to Performance Max campaigns yourself, and your campaigns won’t show up if you search for them. This is when you proceed to step 2 and reach out to Google support.

Step 2: Contact Google support and ask them to apply the list to your campaigns

Since you can’t add the list to your pMax campaigns manually, you need to reach out to Google support. Don’t ask your Google rep, just email ‘regular’ support. Tell them you want to add your new negative keyword list(s) to your pMax campaigns. They will ask you for specific campaign names, negative keyword lists, and a one-time permission to make changes to your account. Just provide them with the necessary information, and wait until they’ve added your negative keyword lists to your campaigns.

Step 3: Add negative keywords inside the Google Ads interface

That’s it! You can now add new negative keywords to your existing lists whenever necessary, without needing to reach out to your rep/support for every little negative keyword you want to add. Don’t forget to ask support to add your negative keyword lists whenever you create a new pMax campaign (whenever relevant, of course).

Quick note on negatives and Performance Max campaigns:

Adding too many negatives could potentially harm performance, so use them wisely. Negative keywords are crucial to refining your target audience and improving campaign performance, but overuse may result in missing out on potential traffic.

In summary, adding negative keywords to your Performance Max campaigns is simple and straightforward. By following this easy 3-step process, you can take control of your campaigns and maximize their performance without the need for a Google rep. With this knowledge, you can optimize your campaigns and drive more traffic to your site, making your advertising efforts more effective and efficient.

Take Back Control Of Your Google Ads Performance Max Campaign with These Secret pMax Insights

If you’re using Performance Max (pMax) campaigns, you might have noticed that it’s challenging to gain insights on where your budget has been spent. The lack of transparency can be frustrating, and if you’re not careful, Google can spend all your budget on low-quality placements on the Display Network and YouTube.

The good news is that some bright minds in PPC have developed a solution to this problem. Mike Rhodes, from AgencySavvy, has created a script that can provide you with valuable insights into your pMax spending. While it’s not perfect, it can help you take back control of your campaign spending and optimize it for better performance.

In this article, we’ll explore how to use Mike Rhodes’ pMax spend allocation script to gain insights, identify trends, and create an action plan. Let’s dig in!

How to Use the pMax Spend Allocation Script

Mike Rhodes’ pMax spend allocation script creates graphs and tables that visualize your spend on three networks:

  1. Shopping
  2. Video
  3. Other

With this script, you can quickly see where Google has spent your pMax campaign budget, identify trends, and create an action plan based on the insights.

While the script is not perfect, it can still provide you with valuable insights. For example, the Shopping cost is extracted from listing groups, which is linked to your Merchant Center ID. This could include Dynamic Remarketing data. Additionally, the “Other” data can be a combination of Search, Discovery, Display, Gmail, Maps, and more. It would be nice to see the split between those networks, but it’s not possible (yet).

Despite its imperfections, the script can still provide you with valuable insights. Let’s take a look at a case study to see how we used it.

Case Study: Analyzing pMax Spending on Video Placements

The return on ad spend (ROAS) for this campaign was below our target, so we used the insights from the script to identify two options:

  1. Optimize video assets
  2. Revert back to a feed-only pMax setup
  3. Pause this pMax campaign and launch Standard Shopping

We decided to revert back to a feed-only pMax setup. However, this didn’t improve performance as much as we hoped, so we paused the pMax campaign and created a Standard Shopping campaign for this specific product category.

(It’s okay to use Standard Shopping campaigns, too!)

The initial results look good, but it’s still too early to say whether it was successful or not. If the results continue to improve, we might create a case study and inform you of the performance uplift (or not) in a later issue of The PPC Edge.

This case study illustrates that pMax is not perfect, and it’s important to gain insights and take action based on the data. Normally, we see 1-10% of spend on video placements, so it was strange to see one campaign spend 60%+ of the budget on video. However, with Mike Rhodes’ script, we were able to identify the issue and take action to optimize our campaign.

Set Up the Script in Your Account

If you’re using pMax campaigns, we highly recommend setting up Mike Rhodes’ pMax spend allocation script in

 

Link to the script (account-level by Mike Rhodes)

Link to the script (MCC-level by Luuk Fiets)

Create Highly Converting Video Ads with the Hook-Story-Offer Framework

A Simple Framework for Better Performance Max Ads

Are you struggling to get results from your video ads? Do you feel like you’re not reaching your full potential? Chances are you’re not spending enough time and money on creating high-quality videos that capture your audience’s attention. But it’s not just about the visuals; you need a good script to make your ads work.

In this article, we’ll introduce a simple framework that top advertisers use to create video ad scripts that get results. We’ll explain the “Hook – Story – Offer Framework,” popularized by Russell Brunson from ClickFunnels, and provide practical tips and examples for each step.

The Hook – Story – Offer Framework

The Hook – Story – Offer Framework is a proven approach to crafting a compelling message that captures viewers’ attention, engages them with a story, and then presents an offer to persuade them to take a specific action. Here’s how it works:

  • Hook: Grab the attention of the viewer
  • Story: Hold on to the attention by telling a compelling story about how your product is the solution to the viewer’s problem
  • Offer: Make your offer (call to action: tell the viewer what to do by making an offer they can’t refuse)

Let’s dive into each step in more detail.

Step 1: Hook (grab the attention)

The hook is the most critical part of your video, and you should spend most of your time here. A strong hook creates intrigue and curiosity to keep viewers watching. The best hook speaks directly to your customer’s pain points. You need to deeply understand their problems, needs, pains, wishes, etc. Some examples include:

  • “Are you tired of {pain point}? No more, with {your product/service}!”
  • “Are you struggling with {pain point}? Give me 30 seconds, and I’ll show you how we can help you.”
  • “Tired of feeling {negative emotion} because of {pain point}? {Your product/service} can help.”
  • “Say goodbye to {pain point} once and for all with {your product/service}.”
  • Customer testimonial: “Let me tell you how I overcame {pain point} with {your product/service}.”

Some other tips for better hooks include using humor, bold claims, controversy, fast-paced clips, strong headlines, contrasts (bright colors, etc.), and weird intros that catch viewers off-guard.

Step 2: Story (hold on to the attention by telling a compelling story about how your product is the solution to the viewer’s problem)

After grabbing the attention with a strong hook, you need to hold on to it with a compelling story. Most brands get this wrong by telling stories that nobody is interested in. You need to tell stories about how your product/service helped your customers overcome a specific pain point. Make it relatable.

By using storytelling in your video ads, your brand stands out, builds trust, demonstrates value, and connects with potential customers on an emotional level. There is no hard-and-fast way to tell stories in ads. Think about how you can create a compelling story that makes it a no-brainer to buy your product/service (for example, by leveraging customer testimonials).

Some tips for better stories in video ads include personal stories about how your product/service has made a difference in your life, customer success stories, before and after stories, funny stories, and teaching something about what your product/service does. There are many more ways you can go with this (challenges, behind the scenes, inspirational, educational, etc.). Be creative!

Step 3 OFFER (make them an offer they can’t refuse)

Once you’ve identified your prospect’s needs and pain points, and have shown them how your product or service can solve their problems, it’s time to make them an offer they can’t refuse. This means presenting a compelling offer that provides value and makes it difficult for them to say no.

There are different ways to structure your offer depending on your business and the specific needs of your prospect, but here are some tips to keep in mind:

  1. Provide a clear and specific offer: Make sure your offer is clear and specific so your prospect knows exactly what they’re getting. Use numbers, facts, and figures to back up your offer and provide evidence of the value you’re offering.
  2. Make it time-limited: Adding a sense of urgency to your offer can create a fear of missing out (FOMO) that motivates your prospect to take action. Use phrases like “limited time offer” or “only available for the next 24 hours” to create a sense of urgency.
  3. Sweeten the deal: To make your offer more attractive, consider adding bonuses, discounts, or other incentives. For example, if you’re selling a software product, you could offer a free training session or a free upgrade to a premium version.
  4. Offer a guarantee: To reduce the risk for your prospect and make your offer more compelling, offer a money-back guarantee or a free trial period. This can increase their confidence in your product and help them make a decision.

Remember, the goal of your offer is to make it as appealing as possible to your prospect, so they feel like they’re getting a great deal and can’t say no.

Once you’ve made your offer, be prepared to negotiate if necessary. Listen to your prospect’s concerns and be open to making adjustments to your offer to meet their needs. If you can find a way to make both parties happy, you’ll increase the chances of closing the deal.

Conclusion

In summary, utilize the Hook-Story-Offer Framework to craft persuasive video advertisements that drive high conversion rates for Performance Max and YouTube campaigns:

Hook: Captivate the viewer’s attention…

Story: Retain their interest by narrating a compelling tale of how your product resolves the viewer’s issue…

Offer: Present your offer (call to action: direct the viewer by presenting them with an offer that they cannot resist).

Guaranteed Way to Reduce Wasted Ad Spend (Hidden Optimization) in Google Ads

The Problem with Smart Bidding

Smart Bidding is a popular automated bidding strategy for Google Ads. It uses machine learning to optimize bids for conversions or conversion value. The idea is that the system will adjust bids based on factors such as device, location, time of day, and user intent, to name a few. This approach can help advertisers save time, reduce manual labor, and potentially increase conversions. However, it also has its drawbacks.

The biggest danger of widely adopted automated bid strategies like Smart Bidding is that Google technically determines all CPC bids. Smart Bidding as a concept works very well, but if left unrestricted, it can result in overbidding and overspending. For example, we’ve seen CPCs of 20-35 times the average CPC, which can result in wasted ad spend.

High CPCs aren’t always bad. Google bids more when a conversion is likely to occur. Therefore, it’s okay to see higher CPCs here and there. However, seeing CPCs 20-35 times your average CPC is not right. That’s why you need to take back control and reduce wasted ad spend.

The Solution: Portfolio Bid Strategies with Maximum CPC Bid Limits

Portfolio bid strategies work similarly to regular bid strategies, but you can use them to group multiple campaigns together. Available portfolio bid strategies include Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Clicks, Target Impression Share, Maximize Conversions (with or without a tCPA), and Maximize Conversion Value (with or without a tROAS).

The biggest advantage of using portfolio bid strategies over regular bid strategies is that you can set up maximum CPC bid limits on Target ROAS and Target CPA. By doing so, you can restrict how much Google can bid per click, which can reduce overspending.

Here’s how to set up portfolio bid strategies with maximum CPC bid limits:

  1. Click on ‘Tools & Settings’
  2. Click on ‘Bid Strategies’
  3. Click ‘+’ to create a new portfolio bid strategy
  4. Configure your preferred bid strategy
  5. Click ‘Advanced Options’
  6. Enter a maximum bid limit
  7. Click ‘Save’

It’s essential to read through each step carefully because setting up your maximum CPC bid limits incorrectly can decrease your performance.

Setting Up Maximum CPC Bid Limits

When setting up your maximum CPC bid limits, you should aim for a limit of 3-5 times your average CPC on the campaigns you’re adding the portfolio bid strategy to. However, there are no hard and fast rules on what your maximum bid limit should be. If you set the limit too low, you will limit the algorithm. So, it’s crucial to ensure you have given the algorithm enough

Now, let’s take a look at some final notes to keep in mind when using portfolio bid strategies with max CPC bid limits.

Firstly, keep in mind that bid limits aren’t the only factor affecting your performance. There are many other variables that can impact the success of your campaigns, such as ad copy, landing pages, targeting, and more. So, don’t rely solely on bid limits to improve your performance.

Additionally, it’s important to monitor the performance of your campaigns regularly. Keep track of your metrics and adjust your bid limits as needed. If you notice that your performance is suffering, you may need to adjust your bid limits or even try a different bid strategy altogether.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to experiment with different bid strategies and bid limits. Every campaign is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. So, be open to trying new things and be willing to adjust your strategies as needed.

In conclusion, portfolio bid strategies with max CPC bid limits are a powerful tool for reducing wasted ad spend in Google Ads. By setting bid limits, you can take back control of your bids and prevent Smart Bidding from overspending on your campaigns. Just be sure to set your bid limits carefully, monitor your performance regularly, and be willing to experiment and adjust as needed.

Fix Untrustworthy pMax Data with Branded Standard Shopping: A 6-Step Guide to Maximizing Brand Visibility on Google Shopping

Are you tired of seeing heavily inflated results in your Performance Max campaigns? Do you want to learn how to maximize your brand’s visibility on Google Shopping? Then keep reading to learn how to fix untrustworthy pMax data with Branded Standard Shopping.

At first glance, Performance Max (pMax) results might look good, but when you dig deeper, you will often see that a significant part of your conversions comes from branded searches. Branded searches are the ones that were going to convert anyway, and pMax takes credit for them, inflating your results.

On average, we see that 10-20% of conversions come from branded searches. Therefore, excluding branded searches from your pMax campaigns is the best solution. However, if you exclude branded searches, you won’t be visible on Search and Shopping when users search for your brand.

To solve this problem, you can set up Branded Search and Branded Standard Shopping campaigns. Most people already have Branded Search campaigns live, but they don’t know how to set up Branded Standard Shopping campaigns effectively. In this blog post, we will show you how to do it.

Brand and non-branded traffic have completely different goals, so it’s essential to treat them differently. You need to split up branded and non-branded traffic into separate campaigns because they have completely different goals. With branded campaigns, you want to maximize visibility (impression share), while with non-branded campaigns, you want to maximize conversions or conversion value within your cost-per-action (CPA) or return on ad spend (ROAS) precondition. Splitting up branded and non-branded Search campaigns has been the best practice for years, and the same applies to pMax.

Here’s how to use Branded Standard Shopping to catch branded traffic on Google Shopping:

  • Step 1: Analyze the share of branded search in pMax

The first step is to analyze the share of branded search in pMax. On average, we see that 10-20% of conversions are branded. To analyze the share of branded search, click on your pMax campaign, go to insights, and scroll down to search term insights. Calculate the total conversions or conversion value that came from branded searches and compare that to the total conversions or conversion value of your pMax campaign.

  • Step 2: Exclude branded search terms from pMax

The next step is to exclude branded search terms from pMax, so it will no longer take credit for branded conversions. Create a negative keyword list specifically for Performance Max, contact Google support and ask them to apply it to your campaigns, and add negative keywords whenever you want inside the Google Ads interface.

  • Step 3: Set up a Branded Standard Shopping campaign

The next step is to set up a Branded Standard Shopping campaign. This campaign will help you maximize visibility (impression share) on branded searches on Google Shopping. To set up this campaign, you need to:

  • Step 4: Eliminate non-branded search terms from your Branded Standard Shopping campaign to ensure that your campaign is truly focused on your brand.

Unfortunately, Branded Standard Shopping isn’t a concrete concept, and targeting specific (branded) keywords isn’t possible. With Google Shopping, you’ll automatically be matched to relevant search queries based on your product feed, which includes both branded and non-branded search terms.

To address this issue, you’ll need to exclude every non-branded search term that appears in the search term report of your Branded Standard Shopping campaign. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Create a negative keyword list.
  2. Add the negatives to your Branded Standard Shopping campaigns.
  3. Go to your search term report and create a filter that excludes all non-branded search terms that were matched on Branded Standard Shopping. Use this filter: “search term does not include [branded search term + ALL misspellings]”, “added/excluded: none”. This will show you only the non-branded search terms that were matched on Branded Standard Shopping.
  4. Select all non-branded search terms and add them as negative keywords.
  5. Click “negative keyword list” and select the list you created in step 1, adding all as exact match negatives.
  6. Save this filter so you can easily use it in the future.
  7. In the first few days, add all non-branded search terms that were matched. Then, include them in your weekly checks.

Using a negative keyword list is recommended because it can be added to multiple Branded Standard Shopping campaigns if you have them. This is particularly relevant and simple if you have campaigns in different countries with the same language.

While this is a manual process, doing it consistently for a few weeks will make your campaign almost entirely branded. As time goes on, the number of search terms you need to exclude each week will decrease.

 

  • Step 5: Maximize impression share on Branded Standard Shopping with manual CPC

Now that you’ve set up your Branded Standard Shopping campaign, it’s time to maximize your impression share. We recommend using manual CPC bidding instead of smart bidding. Here’s why:

Smart bidding (like target ROAS) is aimed at driving conversions, but in Branded Standard Shopping campaigns, we’re looking to maximize impression share. Manual CPC gives you more control over your bids and is a better fit for this purpose.

To maximize your impression share, set your bids high enough to stay competitive, but not too high that you blow through your budget too quickly.

You can use the “Search Impr. Share” column in Google Ads to track your progress and adjust bids accordingly. Keep in mind that Google may not always show your ad, even if you have a high impression share, so don’t get too hung up on the number.

  • Step 6: Scale pMax with realistic CPA/ROAS targets

Now that you’ve excluded branded searches from your pMax campaigns and set up a Branded Standard Shopping campaign, it’s time to scale your pMax campaigns.

We recommend setting realistic CPA/ROAS targets for your non-branded pMax campaigns. Don’t expect the same CPA/ROAS as your Branded Standard Shopping campaign, since non-branded searches have a different intent and typically convert at a lower rate.

Instead, focus on increasing your impression share and optimizing for conversions within your target CPA/ROAS range. Use your Branded Standard Shopping campaign as a benchmark for what’s possible.

Conclusion

If you’ve been relying on pMax data to optimize your Google Shopping campaigns, it’s time to rethink your approach. Branded Search conversions can heavily inflate your pMax data, making it difficult to accurately assess your campaign performance and scale effectively.

By excluding branded searches from your pMax campaigns and setting up Branded Standard Shopping campaigns, you can maximize your visibility on branded searches and improve the reliability of your pMax data.

Remember to treat branded and non-branded traffic differently and use manual CPC bidding to maximize your impression share on Branded Standard Shopping campaigns. With these strategies in place, you can scale your Google Shopping campaigns with confidence.