Why Performance Max looks great in your reports and your bank account disagrees
Performance Max is easy to launch and usually reports a strong ROAS in its first weeks. Then the store owner looks at total revenue and nothing has really moved.
In many cases the reason is the same: PMax is spending on people who already know your brand.
How it happens
PMax can show ads for searches that include your store’s name. These people have already decided to buy from you. They would have clicked your free organic listing a few seconds later.
When PMax captures those sales, the reported ROAS looks excellent, because branded searches convert very well. But you’re paying for sales you would have got for free.
How to check your own account
- Look at search term insights in your PMax campaign. If your brand name is among the top categories, that’s a warning sign.
- Compare total store revenue, not just Google Ads revenue, before and after PMax launched. If ad-attributed revenue went up and total revenue didn’t, you have your answer.
- Check your brand Search campaign. If it lost impressions when PMax started, PMax is probably taking over those searches.
What to do about it
- Add your brand terms as brand exclusions in PMax.
- Run a separate, cheap brand Search campaign so you still protect your name from competitors.
- Judge PMax on new revenue, not on the ROAS it reports.
Once brand traffic is gone, PMax’s reported ROAS usually drops. That’s fine: the new number is the real one, and it’s the only one worth optimising.