What’s new in Performance Max campaigns
Granular analysis and first look
Google has introduced several new features and enhancements to Performance Max campaigns on February 23, 2023 to help advertisers optimize their ad performance across all Google channels. These updates include account-level negative keywords, campaign-level brand exclusions, page feeds, experiments, and new tools for video creation and reporting.
Why this matters?
- Enhanced Control: Advertisers can now use account-level negative keywords and campaign-level brand exclusions to maintain brand suitability and exclude unwanted traffic.
- Improved Optimization: Page feeds and the new video creation tool help advertisers better guide AI and create high-quality video assets, enhancing campaign performance.
- Accurate Measurement: New experiment features and detailed asset group reporting allow advertisers to measure incremental conversion uplift and understand the impact of their campaigns more precisely.
Next Steps/Action Items
- Utilize Account-Level Negative Keywords: Add negative keywords at the account level to exclude unwanted traffic across all campaigns.
- Set Up Campaign-Level Brand Exclusions: Control which brands your campaigns match to and exclude specific brands as needed.
- Leverage Page Feeds: Upload page feeds to refine results and guide Google’s AI to prioritize important URLs.
- Experiment and Measure: Use experiments to test the impact of Performance Max campaigns on conversion uplift and make data-driven decisions.
- Enhance Video Assets: Use the video creation tool to produce high-quality video content in multiple formats and upload relevant assets.
- Monitor Asset Group Performance: Utilize asset group reporting to understand the contribution of each group to overall campaign performance.
- Optimize Budgets: Use budget pacing insights to uncover opportunities to optimize budget utilization and drive more conversions.
Helpful links for this Google update
Learn more about past Google updates
- Apr 2026 - April 2026 Google Ads Update – YouTube Creator Partnerships Expand
- Apr 2026 - April 2026 Google Ads Update – Product Feeds Power AI Shopping
- Mar 2026 - March 2026 Google Ads Update – VRC Non-Skip Ads Expand CTV Reach
- Feb 2026 - February 2026 Google Ads Update – AI Search and Agentic Commerce
- Jan 2026 - January 2026 Google Ads Update – Direct Offers Arrive in AI Mode Shopping
- Dec 2025 - December 2025 – Google Ads Highlights of 2025
- Nov 2025 - November 2025 – Strengthen media measurement and ROI clarity with incrementality testing improvements
- Nov 2025 - November 2025 New Brand Suitability Controls For YouTube Feed & Discover
- Nov 2025 - November 2025 Google Ads Update – Waze Integration & Channel Reporting for PMax
- Oct 2025 - October 2025 – Call-Only Ads Are Going Away: Transition to Call Assets Now
- Sep 2025 - September 2025 – New Features to Connect Your Web and App Advertising in Google Ads
- Aug 2025 - August 2025 Google Ads Update – Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max
- Jun 2025 - June 2025 Google Ads Update – New Optimization for YouTube Follow-On Views in Demand Gen
- May 2025 - May 2025 Google Ads Update – Google Marketing Live 2025: AI Takes the Lead in Performance Marketing
- May 2025 - May 2025 Google Ads Update – Strengthen First-Party Data with Google Tag Gateway
- Apr 2025 - April 2025 Google Ads Update – Checkout on Merchant Now Live in Demand Gen Campaigns
- Apr 2025 - April 2025 Google Ads Update – Improving Search Ads Relevance Lower Down the Page
- Apr 2025 - April 2025 Google Ads Update – Performance Max Gets New Goals, Image Controls & Negative Keyword Limits
- Feb 2025 - February 2025 Google Ads Update – Boosting Search Ad Performance with AI-Driven Asset Flexibility
- Feb 2025 - February 2025 Google Ads Update – Urgent: Offline Conversion Import (OCI) Action Needed for Apps
- Jan 2025 - January 2025 Google Ads Update – Google Brings Back Tag Assistant: What It Means for Digital Marketers
- Oct 2024 - October 2024 Google Ads Update – New Performance Max features
High