Performance Max
What's the best way to optimise Performance Max for ecommerce?
Why this matters
There is no single PMax 'best practice'. There is a stack of four moves that together turn PMax from a black box into a controllable channel. Doing one or two creates marginal improvement; doing all four changes the shape of the account.
Layer one: brand exclusion. Wall PMax off brand search and run brand as dedicated Search at low CPC. This stops PMax from claiming credit for traffic you already had.
Layer two: margin signal. Feed margin-weighted conversion value via value rules, supplemental feeds and custom labels. PMax bids to whatever value you give it: give it gross revenue and it scales low-margin SKUs.
Layer three: asset group discipline. Three to six asset groups per campaign, organised by commercial role, with distinct audience signals and creative. No more 'one asset group per category' default structure.
Layer four: Standard Shopping ringfence. The 10–20% of strategic SKUs that need explicit control sit in Standard Shopping, with negative SKU IDs excluding them from PMax. PMax handles the long-tail; Standard Shopping handles the strategic core.
Combined, these four reliably produce a 15–35% contribution profit lift on PMax-heavy accounts within sixty days. Individually, they create marginal improvement.
How JudeLuxe approaches this
JudeLuxe runs all four layers as the default PMax rebuild during onboarding. The sequence is brand exclusion first (fastest profit lift), then margin signal, then asset group rebuild, then Standard Shopping ringfence.
The Performance Max service page documents each layer; the BOI™ method connects them to commercial role.
Related reading: Performance Max management.
Related questions
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