Google Ads will automatically transition the existing Smart Shopping campaigns to Performance Max from April to September 2022. Local campaigns will automatically transition to Performance Max from June to September 2022. This transition will be a phased approach via the Google Ads API.

Google has announced a “one-click” self-service solution for those who would like to upgrade ahead of the date.

If the advertisers don’t take any actions by July, those legacy campaigns will get upgraded automatically and should be completed by September 2022. After the transition to Performance Max, advertisers will not be able to create new campaigns.

This transition will bring about a significant change to how campaigns work. Advertisers who wish to avoid the transition of those campaigns to Performance Max should start exploring other options, as these campaign types will no longer be valid after the end of September. Experience with the existing campaigns can help you succeed with Performance Max.

 

Smart Shopping And Shared Budgets

Last year in December, Google announced that all existing and future Smart Shopping ads services will use a shared budget type starting from February 15, 2022. This change won’t affect the campaign performance and the campaigns will continue to be a standard, non-shared campaign budget.

This change in budget type is a pre-requisite for the transition from Smart Shopping to Performance Max. Marketers don’t have to take any action; you will receive messages in the user interface explaining this change. Soon, Performance Max will be the only campaign type for businesses that run the Legacy campaigns.

 

What Will Change from Campaign Upgrades?

Performance Max campaigns will be built off of existing Smart Shopping and Local campaigns to ensure that the existing settings stay the same. This is a relief for many advertisers.

New ad inventory and automation insights are a few of the new upgrades that come with Performance Max campaigns

Ad inventory will be introduced across the YouTube, Search and Discovery networks for Google.

 

Tips For Upgrading to Performance Max

Advertisers who want greater control over the Performance Max upgrades can make use of the options available outside of one-click or automatic upgrades.

Instead of using the one-click tool from Google ads services, you can just create new Performance Max campaigns now. The inventory that Smart Shopping and Local campaigns already have will be accessible to Performance Max.

Based on early testing, after the transition, advertisers will see an average increase of 12% in conversion rate at the same or better ROAS. But results can vary, so it will be wise to test out your transitioned campaigns with the self-service tool once it’s available, before the transition deadline.

When testing Performance Max campaigns, make sure you don’t run any existing targeting that is enabled on other campaigns. Performance Max campaigns will be prioritized over all other campaign types.

Join the webinar hosted by Google in February to learn more about its “one-click” tool. The webinar will also brief the technology that is used in campaigns to drive results faster. If you’re unsure of how Performance Max works, this webinar should be able to help you out.

 

Performance Max Best Practices

Google’s best practice guide for running Performance Max campaigns has been recently updated.

These are the main takeaways from the guide for creating a new campaign.

• Include additional creative assets into your asset group.
• Include audience signals to check the probability of conversions.
• Set the right budget that corresponds to your bid strategy.

Additional creatives enable Google ads services to automatically assemble them to relevant ad formats. With this automation, you gain more access to the available ad inventory. It’s important to note that the assets in every asset group should be related to a single theme.

If you wish to succeed in your campaigns in the world of automation, you must include audience signals.  Audience signals are useful in optimizing campaigns faster and in finding additional customers.

Lastly, your budget and bid strategy should complement each other. If your daily budget is too high and your target CPA is too low, the probability of your campaigns ramping up are low. Therefore, keep these tips in mind for a successful campaign.