Adsmurai 
A few days ago Google announced in its last Marketing Livestream, a new type of campaign: Performance Max, do you want to know what it is, how it works and what you need to start launching paid media campaigns with Performance Max?
What is Performance Max?
The Performance Max is a new type of automated Google Ads campaign that uses Artificial Intelligence to display responsive ads in the main networks: Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover...
In order to get started with these campaigns, advertisers need to define and structure their creatives and then activate them through Google Smart Bidding according to the objectives of each advertiser.
After proving that these are very effective campaigns, Google has taken a new step forward. Local and Smart Shopping campaigns will now be upgraded to Performance Max campaigns. "Starting in April, you can begin upgrading your Local and Smart Shopping campaigns to Performance Max to access additional inventory and formats across YouTube, search text ads, and Discover," Google explains. Through a phased rollout, Google aims to reach September with all campaigns available on the Performance Max model.
Main benefits of Performance Max to plan your campaigns
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100% goal-oriented 100% performance: Your marketing goals are at the center of your strategy. Tus objetivos de marketing son el epicentro de toda la estrategia. Depending on what you want to achieve and thanks to Artificial Intelligence, you will find the type of client you are looking for and you will be able to impact them with the perfect ad throughout the Google ecosystem.
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Accelerate results: With the inputs of Google Signals, you will speed up the launching of your campaigns and get results faster.
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Reporting: You will get new reports on your Google Insights page to see which ads are performing better.
What options do you have with Performance Max?
As we've mentioned before, one of the main advantages of Performance Max is automation and we want to emphasize the importance of this factor in two types of tasks: targeting and bidding system.
Your audience is targeted based on the conversion goals you choose, so your marketing goals will always be the priority.
Each campaign only has one targeting set (so there are no ad groups). You can select audiences to help gain insight into whom Google should target.
As Google said: “Your ads will automatically be shown to the people who are most likely to convert to achieve their goals. You can speed up optimization by providing audience cues." What this means is that Google is looking for cues in the audiences you provide and will use that data to identify consumers with similar behaviors and interests.
Regarding the bidding system, the algorithm has full visibility of the auction data in all Google properties, keep in mind that the bid strategies include maximum conversions and maximum value, but you can also set a maximum CPA or a goal value/conversion, allowing you to take full advantage of CPA and ROAS strategies.
In Adsmurai we are Google Premium Partners Do you want to know all the possibilities we can offer you for your business?
How to create a Performance Max campaign step by step
As you have seen, Maximum Performance campaigns allow you to promote your products or services on the Google network in an easy way. Below, we list the steps you need to follow to create this type of Google Ads campaign.
Step 1: Create a new campaign and choose your goal
Log in to your Google Ads account and, under the "Campaigns" option in the menu on the left-hand side of the page, click on the "+" button and select "New campaign".
Select the target for your campaign. If none of them match what you want, you can select the option "Create a campaign without targeting".
Finally, select Maximum Performance as the campaign type.
Step 2: Set your budget and bidding
In the "Budget and bids" section, enter the average daily amount you wish to spend, and choose from the different bidding options:
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Conversions: If you select the "Set a target cost per action" checkbox, the campaign will attempt to reach the target CPA you enter.
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Conversion value: If you select the "Set a target ROI" checkbox, the campaign will attempt to reach the target ROAS you enter.
Remember that the budget sets the monthly payment limit for a campaign. For Maximum Performance campaigns, Google recommends setting an average daily budget that is at least 3x your CPA or cost/conv. for the conversion actions selected in your campaign.
Step 3: Add your location and languages in campaign settings
On the 'Campaign settings' page, select your target location under 'Locations'. You will choose where to target your ads and you can include or exclude locations you are not interested in.
Under 'Languages', select the language in which you want to serve your ads. You can select multiple languages to show your ads to specific sets of customers.
You can further fine-tune your ads by choosing other settings such as: ad scheduling, end URL expansion or campaign URL options.
Step 4: Create your resource group
The resource group is created from the images, logos, titles, descriptions, videos and audience indicators you add when you create your Peak Performance campaign. Each asset group must have a unique name and must contain the following elements:
| RESOURCE |
RESOURCE RECOMMENDATIONS |
| Images |
Add up to 20 images |
| Logos |
Add up to 5 logos |
| Videos |
Add up to 5 videos Note: If you do not upload a video, a default video is generated from the other elements. If you do not want this to happen, you can upload your own video during the creation of the campaign or after the campaign is published |
| Titles |
Add up to 5 titles (30 characters max.) |
| Long titles |
Add up to 5 long titles (90 characters maximum) |
| Descriptions |
Add a short description up to 60 characters and up to 4 descriptions up to 90 characters each |
| Call to action |
Choose from several layouts, then enter your company or brand name |
| Ad URL options |
Add the path for your visible URL and choose another final URL for mobile devices |
Once your campaign is set up you can add more groups of assets. The assets will be automatically combined to show the most relevant creative for each user.
Step 5: Add ad extensions
Google recommends using ad extensions, as they provide users with other useful business data. The platform shows you ad extension recommendations based on the goals you have defined.
Step 6: Publish your campaign
Before you finish setting up your campaign, you will be taken to an overview so you can review all the details. When everything is ready, select "Publish campaign" to finalise the process.
Minimum resource requirements for a Performance Max campaign
Performance Max campaigns require a minimum of requirements to run. These can be existing resources used in other campaigns or new ones specifically for a Performance Max campaign.
Text requirements
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Title: 30 characters maximum; include at least one with 15 characters or less. Limits: 3 to 5 headlines.
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Long_headline: 90 characters max. Limits: 1 to 5 long headlines.
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Description: 90 characters max.; include at least one with 60 characters or less. Limits: 2 to 5 descriptions.
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Business_name: 25 characters max. Limits: 1 only
Image requirements
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Marketing_image: Landscape (1.91:1) 1200 x 628 recommended; 600 x 316 minutes; Maximum file size of 5120 KB. Limits: 3 to 20.
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Square_marketing_image: (1:1) 1200 x 1200 recommended; 300 x 300 minutes; Maximum file size of 5120 KB. Limits: 1 to 20.
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Square_marketing_image: (1:1) 300 x 300 recommended; Maximum file size 5120 KB. Limits: 1 to 20.
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Portrait_marketing_image: (4:5) 960 x 1200 recommended; 480 x 600 min. Limits: up to 20.
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Logo: (1:1) 1200 x 1200 recommended; 128 x 128 min; Maximum file size 5120 KB. Limits: 1 to 5.
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Landscape_logo: (4:1) 1200 x 300 recommended; 512 x 128 minutes; Maximum file size 5120 KB. Limits: up to 5.
YouTube requirements
- YouTube: horizontal, vertical, or square, >=10 seconds in length. Limits: up to 5.
Call to Action (CTA) Requirements
- Call to action selection: automated by default or selection from a list. Limits: up to 1.
Bundle requirements
- Media pack: < 150 KB. Limits: up to 1.
Repeating assets (TITLE, DESCRIPTION) must be created in a separate request before creating the campaign.
How Performance Max campaigns have boosted the UOC's lead generation
The UOC's goal was to reach people interested in distance higher education and impact potential students. To achieve this, Performance Max campaigns were launched to drive qualified leads for the start of the academic year in February.
The launch of the Performance Max campaigns resulted in a 17.89% increase in CTR, a 42.01% increase in conversion rate and a 44.56% reduction in CPL for the UOC. Find out more about the UOC success story.
