Performance Max (like the more upper-funnel Demand Gen) is different enough from other Google Ads campaigns that it requires a different approach, even if the underlying search behavior and marketing principles are the same as they’ve always been.
For what it’s worth, Performance Max is typically not the first campaign to launch in any account. We typically start with Search and/or Shopping before layering on Performance Max when it makes sense, e.g., testing and scaling.
But when the time comes to make it work, it takes a specific mindset. And if your Google Ads methods and principles are still stuck in 2015, you’re not going to get very far.
Here’s how to tailor your approach and become a mentality monster for Performance Max.
Performance Max At Its Most Basic Level
A strong mindset for modern PPC begins with knowledge and education. If you still don’t understand the fundamental differences between Performance Max and legacy campaign types (like Search and Shopping), that’s step one.
The TL;DR is simple: Performance Max is driven by algorithms, not inputs or controls. There’s a certain degree of surrendering to the system that goes with it, and trying to exert control when there’s none to claim will only end up with a large chunk of wasted spend.
If you think you can be the exception to the rule and force Performance Max into traditional campaign structures, all you’ll do is choke the algorithm and spend money on poor-quality conversions. This has a compounding effect where the system then believes those are valid conversions and will try to bring you more of the same.
Here are five core truths to keep in mind:
1. You don’t control targeting. Performance Max simply does not go where you tell it to. At best, you can provide initial direction in the form of audience signals. But it will eventually start to make its own decisions about which channels to show your ads on and which audiences to pursue. Even keywords are more about guidance than a guideline to be followed strictly.
2. You don’t decide which headlines get paired with which creatives. With Performance Max, you’ll still need to build all the pieces of your ads: responsive search ads, video and static creatives, product feeds with robust descriptors, and so on. But how those get mixed and matched isn’t up to you. Google’s system will test different combinations with different audiences before settling on what works best.
3. You don’t get full visibility into every query or placement. There’s no question that Performance Max is capable of delivering great results. If you want that, then you simply have to accept that you must give up a certain degree of visibility into where your ads show and why. You may not like it, but this campaign only works when you set things up properly and trust the system (while still supervising and verifying its output).
4. Data, not content, is king. Performance Max runs on data, and Google expects you to provide far more data than it will. Accounts with more conversion data will perform better because Google has more user signals to decode. With clearer first-party inputs, Performance Max is more likely to deliver the conversions you want. The clearer your audience signals are, the easier it is to quickly move out of the learning phase. And a more complete and accurate product feed will go a long way in getting your products in front of people who want them.
5. That being said, reporting is getting better but can still be frustrating. We only recently got access to things like asset group reporting, search terms reports and negative keywords for Performance Max. It’s far more visibility than we had a few years ago, but Google is still some distance off the ideal balance. I’d advise you to make peace with the fact that reporting won’t be perfect and attribution will be even murkier than usual.
Fortunately, there’s plenty that you can control. Those factors just happen to be broader marketing principles and strategic direction:
- Positioning, offer, and messaging strategy.
- Quality and depth of your product feed.
- Strength of your audience signals.
- Depth of your first-party data inputs, e.g., conversion tracking, customer lists, data feeds.
- Relevance of your ad copy, creatives, and landing pages.
- Bidding strategy and goals.
- Campaign and asset group structure at a high level.
Screenshot from X (Twitter), November 2025
Read more: Should Advertisers Rethink The ‘For Vs. Against’ Stance On Performance Max?
Traits Of PPC Managers Who Struggle With Performance Max
I see PPC managers every day who are so set in their ways that all they can do is complain about some part of Google’s machine learning. While it’s perfectly fine to stick with Search and Shopping, what’s not okay is bringing that mindset to Performance Max and expecting results anyway. And there are some behaviors that show up most frequently.
- They require granular control over everything. Wanting to dictate exactly how the system should operate is a red flag when managing Performance Max. These managers have a natural distrust of all things machine learning and want to deploy perfect Exact Match keywords, complicated manual bidding strategies, and specific traffic sculpting techniques.
- They believe their experience is a guarantee of success. But they don’t put in the effort to stay up-to-date on market and technological developments. These are typically old school marketers (like me) who haven’t kept up with the modern pace of Google Ads or feel entitled to success because of their tenure (unlike me).
- They specialize in Google Ads account management and little else. Modern PPC demands that account managers have a basic level of skill in areas like copywriting, landing page theory, conversion rate optimization, product feed management, market and audience research, and offer positioning. People who refuse to treat Google Ads as one piece of a wider marketing puzzle are learning this the hard way.
- They don’t have the diamond hands needed to trust their strategy. “Eyes on, hands off” is our approach. People who push back at the first sign of below-average output tend to make changes that reset the learning period, which only delays Google’s ability to start delivering good conversions. Since it can take three to six weeks (in my experience) to get to a good position with Performance Max, you need to know when not to make changes. Get early buy-in from clients (and the budget needed to ride it out) as you work through this early period.
- They take a “set it and forget it” approach to automation and machine learning. Part of exiting the learning period in Performance Max quickly is keeping an eye on early results and providing data inputs so the system learns what you want more/less of. Don’t just ride out the post-launch period without tracking what Google’s bringing to the plate.
- They expect the system to magically understand what the client wants. One of the toughest parts of modern PPC is persuading clients to provide access to data that Google needs in order to understand what success looks like on the business side. The flipside is that without this input, Google will simply make guesses until it finds something you like. This is especially true for lead-gen brands like plumbers and contractors.
Quick disclaimer: Some industries require a granular level of control, either due to regulatory and compliance mandates or because Google simply doesn’t have enough search and user volume to make informed decisions in that niche. Accounts operating in areas like pharmaceuticals, legal services, and similar niches need a higher level of control than mass market verticals like apparel or beverages.
The PPC Manager Who Wins With Performance Max
Algorithmic campaigns aren’t suitable for every account. Sometimes, it’s just better to stick to Search and Shopping. But when there is an opportunity to scale with Performance Max, there’s a specific type of person you want in charge of the process.
- They know where they’re more useful. Marketers who are willing to hand over control of ad operations to the system are able to focus on impactful areas where machines still struggle to create differentiated output: creative, ad copy, landing pages, and their UX, strategy, data sourcing and interpretation, etc.
- They accept that they’re only as good as their last campaign. Good PPC managers in the modern era don’t just treat Performance Max as its own campaign. They understand that just because one campaign worked a certain way doesn’t mean the next one will, too. What you want is someone who’s ready and willing to learn with every new project and iteration.
- They understand the value of data and how to source it. Marketers who focus on building an ecosystem of data inputs and learning get better results with Performance Max because they give Google more information to base its decisions on. Someone who knows where to find those and how to convince clients that they’re mission-critical is worth their weight in gold.
- They know how to stick to the plan. When you put in work only for a campaign to return poor results in the first week, it’s tempting to burn everything down and try something new. Marketers who build a plan for those first weeks and stick to it have the patience and confidence needed to eventually get Performance Max to a position of power.
- They excel at client communication. A lead-gen client that refuses to share its customer data is never going to get good results from Performance Max. Good marketers can see that and will recommend traditional Search instead of creating additional friction by pushing for CRM access. Another underrated trait is proactively setting expectations with clients and communicating with them throughout the campaign.
Screenshot from X (Twitter), November 2025PPC-Adjacent Skills To Develop For Performance Max Success
With Google Ads demanding a more holistic marketing approach, so much of your success with Performance Max begins outside of the ad account. With the system taking over much of the button-pushing that we used to do, here’s where you should be upskilling in order to cement your future in PPC.
- Develop an understanding of marketing theory and the fundamentals that underpin all campaigns, not just in paid media or Google Ads.
- Understand the different automations in Google and how they function so that you can react appropriately in any situation.
- Learn how to set up online and offline conversion tracking so that you can impact business results, not just platform metrics.
- Understand how to set clear goals for campaigns and clients so that there’s minimal friction and maximum alignment while you focus on doing the work.
- Know all of Google’s different ad inventories and how people interact with them so that you can adapt your approach to any channel or network.
Why I’m Bullish: Performance Max Is The Start Of The Future
Added balance between machine learning and human control is Google telling us that we only have one choice: learn to work together on these algorithmic campaigns. Performance Max has changed significantly from when it was first released, and so has Google’s attitude.
Newer features in Performance Max, like negative keywords and improved reports, help refine campaigns and offer advertisers more of what we’ve been asking for. But this can be dangerous if you don’t make the right decisions – you might see that video ads are not performing as well and remove them, only to find that their role is to push certain conversions down the line.
As it stands, Performance Max today is perfectly viable for virtually any type of business – a far cry from its early use case being limited to big-budget ecommerce and retail (how viable it is for a specific business still depends on factors such as budget, expertise, risk tolerance, and data availability).
So, while you may not necessarily need it today or every day, you should be adapting to this new direction if your top priority is to protect your business, career, and clients.
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Featured Image: Master1305/Shutterstock
