Google Advertising 
When running Google Search campaign, many advertisers find themselves wondering whether to launch a Performance Max (PMax) campaign alongside their Search campaigns. Google often recommends using PMax to boost conversions, but this can lead to confusion. Should you stick with Search campaigns or add Performance Max to the mix?
For beginners, the question becomes even trickier: Is it better to start with a Search campaign, or take advantage of PMax’s AI-powered automation? So in this blog, we’ll break down the strengths of Performance Max vs Search campaign to help you choose the campaign that most aligns with your business goals.
A quick overview of Performance Max vs Search campaign
If Search vs Performance Max is unfamiliar to you, let’s take a few seconds to understand these Google Ads campaign types and see how they operate.
How Search Campaign works
As you may know, Google Search Campaigns are a type of online advertising where your ads appear at the top of Google search results pages when someone searches for relevant keywords.
Search campaigns work on a pay-per-click (PPC) model where you pay only when someone clicks your ad. You start by researching keywords relevant to your audience, creating ads with strong calls to action, and setting bids for each keyword.
When someone searches for your keyword, your ad enters an auction based on your bid and ad quality. The winning ad appears in the top search results. You’re charged only if your ad is clicked, and if the user completes a desired action, it’s counted as a conversion.
This is a highly effective way to reach potential customers who are actively looking for products or services related to your business.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Highly targeted traffic – Measurable results – Flexible targeting options – Effective for driving conversions – Can reach customers at the right time | – Can be expensive, especially for competitive keywords – Requires ongoing optimization and management – May not be suitable for businesses with limited budgets – Can be time-consuming to set up and manage – May not be effective for building brand awareness |
How Performance Max Campaign works
Google designed Performance Max Campaigns to maximize results across its entire network, including Search, Discover, YouTube, Gmail, and Maps. It uses machine learning to automatically optimize your ads for the best possible performance based on your campaign goals.
Performance Max campaigns use Google’s machine learning to optimize ads across multiple channels like Search, YouTube, Gmail, and Maps. You upload assets (images, text, videos), set a goal (e.g., sales or leads), and Google’s algorithm targets the best audience segments.
The system automatically creates and optimizes ads based on performance, adjusting bids and targeting for better results. You can track performance through detailed reports across all channels.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Less manual effort required – Can reach a wider audience across multiple channels – Machine learning optimizes ads for better results – Provides valuable insights into campaign performance | – Limited control over specific targeting and ad placements – May need time for the algorithm to learn and optimize – Can’t target specific keywords directly – Not ideal for businesses requiring granular control over campaigns |
Now you understand how performance max vs search campaign works. Here’s a quick assessment of these 2 campaign types, please check the table below:
Alright, now let’s come to a comprehensive comparison of the Performance Max vs Search campaign. This comparison may help you a lot in defining a greater campaign to run, thereby, maximizing ROAS and optimizing your campaign for conversions.
A complete comparison of Performance Max vs Search campaign
We’re going to compare the Performance Max vs Search campaign through several key criteria that are important to consider when choosing among them. They are: targeting, budget, time & resources, measurements, and performance. Let’s dive right in!
Targeting
Search campaigns use keyword targeting to match ads with relevant search queries. You can also target specific locations, devices (desktop, mobile), and audiences based on demographics or remarketing to previous visitors.
Performance Max uses asset-based targeting, analyzing your provided images, text, and videos to find relevant audiences. It also employs goal-based targeting, focusing on users likely to achieve your campaign goals (sales, leads). Automated targeting then uses machine learning to reach potential customers across Google’s network, including Search, YouTube, and Maps.
Verdict: As Performance Max uses Google’s vast network to show ads across multiple channels, it may have a broader audience reach than Search campaigns. This cover from those ready to buy to those merely in the awareness stage, effectively warming up cold audiences.
Level of control
Search campaigns offer granular control over various aspects, including keywords, ad groups, and targeting. You can block certain audiences, add negative keywords, and maintain great control over your ad copy.
Also, you can choose devices (desktop, mobile, tablet) for ad delivery, and refine audience targeting by demographics or remarketing to previous visitors.
Performance Max offers less manual control over targeting and ad placements, as they rely on Google’s machine learning to optimize performance.
You can suggest Performance Max signals, but they are merely suggestions and do not similar to the precise keyword targeting available in Search campaigns. You cannot add negative keywords directly, although you can exclude certain URLs and request manual keyword adjustments from Google.
And FYI, there are some industries with strict regulations on ad copy and keyword targeting, such as superannuation and retirement funds. They might find Performance Max unsuitable because it requires more control over ad placement and messaging.
Verdict: Google Search campaigns have the higher level of control advertisers have over keywords, ad copy, and audience targeting, which is crucial for businesses that require precision in their advertising efforts.
Budget
Search campaigns offer manual control over budget allocation, allowing you to assign specific amounts to different ad groups or keywords. You set bids for each keyword, determining how much you’ll pay per click.
This flexible approach enables you to adjust your budget at any time, giving you control to optimize for performance based on your needs and goals.
Performance Max uses automated budget allocation, distributing your budget across various channels and ad formats to optimize performance.
The system employs smart bidding, automatically adjusting bids to meet your campaign goals within your set budget. Despite this, you can still adjust your budget at any time to your needs.
Verdict: Performance Max may require a larger budget than Search campaigns due to its machine learning nature, as it constantly spends time gathering data for optimization. Since consumer behavior and trends change frequently, the system is always in learning mode, meaning it rarely reaches a stable peak before resetting and using more of your budget.
Time & resources
Search campaigns require more time and resources for tasks like keyword research, ad creation, and ongoing optimization. Manual optimization is necessary, as frequent adjustments to bids, keywords, and ad copy are needed to enhance performance.
Additionally, ongoing management is essential, you need to consistently monitor and maintenance to achieve the best results.
Performance Max campaigns demand less time and effort to set up and manage compared to Search campaigns. With automated optimization, the system takes care of ad, bid, and targeting adjustments, significantly reducing the need for manual intervention.
Nevertheless, let’s say the case that Performance Max doesn’t have a sufficient amount of conversion data to build an ideal customer persona and target similar audiences effectively. Without enough data, Google has to run extensive tests, which can be more expensive and time-consuming.
Verdict: While Search campaigns require more time and effort to set up and target at the initial stage, Performance Max can also cost you much if the campaign doesn’t have enough conversion data to process.
Measurement and reporting
Search campaigns offer detailed keyword-level reporting, providing insights into the performance of individual keywords, such as impressions, clicks, click-through rates (CTR), average cost per click (CPC), etc.
Moreover, ad group reporting enables you to analyze specific ad group performance, while device and location reporting delivers data on how ads perform across various devices and geographic locations.
Performance Max delivers thorough reporting that offers a wide-ranging overview of campaign performance across various channels and ad formats. Several key metrics include impressions, clicks, CTR, average CPC, conversions, etc.
That allows you to assess the effectiveness of your campaign. Also, audience insights provide valuable information about your audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviors so that you can refine future targeting strategies.
Verdict: Because Performance Max is running on more diverse channels, the reports seem to be more comprehensive. On the other hand, Search campaigns with its core strength give you a more detailed analysis on the keyword level.
Performance
Search campaigns tend to have a lower cost per conversion, which is beneficial, and a higher conversion rate compared to pure search campaigns. This is quite logical since a search ad appears only when a user searches for a specific keyword, making it highly targeted with clear intent.
In contrast, Performance Max displays your ads across various channels, including Gmail, YouTube, and the Display Network. These channels are typically categorized as upper funnel. Essentially, the intent behind user actions on these upper funnel channels is less defined than in search, where users clearly enter keywords.
Yet, while Performance Max may generate more leads, you have no control over their quality. If the algorithm starts picking up on spam leads that are converting, it may continue optimizing for them for an extended period.
Keep in mind that the performance may differ based on your specific circumstances, so it’s crucial to conduct tests on these outcomes.
Verdict: Search ads often have a lower cost per conversion and higher conversion rate due to their precision and clear user intent. In contrast, Performance Max campaigns may have a broader audience reach but less clear intent.
Which to choose between Performance Max vs Search campaign?
The most crucial thing to consider before you choose between Performance Max vs Search campaign is your current situation. Are you just getting started with Google Ads? Or you have been running Google Ads for a while?
Google Ads Beginner
If this is your first campaign for your business, we suggest getting started with Google Search. And, if you have any regulation concerns and need greater control over your ad copy and ad placement, you also need to stay with Google Search.
You should only start a Performance Max campaign when you have enough conversion data in your account. The reason why that’s so important is that Performance Max thrives on data.
Performance Max could target your ads to someone who is not even searching for your product or service and may have no awareness of your brand. As I mentioned before, Performance Max does this by looking at current conversions and analyzing audiences and demographics. It builds out an ideal customer persona and then targets similar audiences.
So if you don’t have enough conversion data in your account, Google has to run that testing by itself, which can get quite expensive and time-consuming. Basically, you shouldn’t start a Performance Max campaign until you have at least 30 conversions every month. Hence, wait for at least 6 months and keep observing your conversions before you run Performance Max.
Google Ads experienced user
As you have been running Google Ads for a long time, a common consideration is whether you can run both campaigns. The answer is Yes.
If you decide to run both campaigns simultaneously, we suggest your search campaign to focus mainly on attracting new customers. In the campaign settings, you can select the option to target either new customers only or both new and returning customers.
Then, configure your Performance Max campaign to reach both new and returning customers. This approach gives you a comprehensive funnel strategy that effectively engages audiences across various channels, particularly in search.
A common issue regarding this method is the possibility of cannibalization between search ads vs Performance Max. Actually, your search campaign is dedicated to new customers only, while Performance Max targets both new and returning customers. So this couldn’t be a serious problem.
How to boost the performance of Performance Max vs Search campaign?
Now, have you already chosen a suitable campaign for your business? No matter what campaign you go for, the key to success is how you run and monitor it. This is what truly matters.
Especially, if you decide to run both Performance Max vs Search campaigns, it’s even more important to track them efficiently. While tools like conversion tracking and GA4 are great options, we highly recommend investing a little more in tracking.
Some of our clients shared with us their troubles when they had to manage multiple campaigns across various channels. This makes tracking more challenging than ever. Over time, the process became inefficient, where valuable data slipped through the cracks, eventually reducing productivity.
So, don’t let that happen, as there are better ways to stay on top of it all. NestAds can make a big difference to your workflow. Through its all-in-one dashboard, it’s much easier to keep track of and organize your ad data. Since data is something that influences your future decisions, you should always try your best to make the most of it.
More than that, you can also gain deeper insights into your customer journey with NestAds, from their first click to the conversion point. This provides you with a clear picture of which touchpoint you can optimize to maximize the results of your advertising efforts.
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