PMAX Therapy Group: Sharing the Stages of Grief for Your PPC Budget

jax5027
Aug 11
5 min read

Welcome, friends, to the PMAX Therapy Group. Take a seat, grab a biscuit, and circle up with the rest of us who have handed over our precious eCommerce budgets to Google’s Performance Max, only to be taken on a journey that’s less “optimisation” and more emotional rollercoaster.

Perhaps you’ve checked your reporting dashboard and found all your spend dispatched somewhere between “Random Country You Don’t Ship To” and “People Who Love Cocker Spaniels.” Or maybe you went all-in on PMAX, only to watch ROAS nosedive and the algorithm treat the word “segmentation” like a dirty word. However you arrived here, you’re not alone.

Today, let’s work through the classic stages of PPC grief. And, because we’re all mates here, let’s be utterly honest about our weekly therapy sessions with PMAX.

Stage One: Denial (“It’ll Turn Around, Right?”)

No, it won’t. At least not unless you step in. The first stage of PMAX grief begins with blissful ignorance. You set up your campaign, upload your best creative, hand Google your credit card, and trust the Smart Bidding fairy will sprinkle magic cpc-dust on your CPC.

A week later, you see... nothing. Or, worse, you see odd surges in impressions with no sales. There’s a moment where you mutter, “It just needs a bit more time. These automations have to learn, don’t they?” After all, Google did promise it would get smarter.

And so you wait. You tweak your feeds. You give supportive pep talks to your marketing execs.

But denial can’t last for long. Eventually the notification pings. It’s your budget report. Gulp.

Stage Two: Anger (“WHY Are We Advertising Toothpaste in Poland?”)

Denial quickly becomes outrage. Why is 37 percent of your spend going to Search Partners in Eastern Europe? Why did Google decide your fashion brand’s best use of resources is a Display campaign targeting teenage chess fans?

The dashboard becomes your personal horror movie. You find yourself shouting at the Bid Simulator, cursing at Performance Planner, and swearing you’ll never “trust the machine” again.

Common PMAX-induced anger triggers:

Seeing branded terms eat your spend, even with tight negatives.
Watching “Top Performing Assets” turn out to be your worst conversion drivers.
Discovering your best-selling product left out of the feed thanks to an AI-lead “optimisation.”

We’ve all been there. Go ahead, let it out. We’re a judgement-free zone. Just remember: Google’s not listening.

Stage Three: Bargaining (“Maybe If We Just Tweak the Assets...”)

With anger exhausted, the negotiation begins. “If we just swap out the copy, or tweak the audience signals, surely Google will return the favour?” you say to your sleepless reflection at 2 a.m.

You read every PMAX guide out there. You add more images, new email lists, custom intent audiences. You update your product feed metadata. You even reference old-school Google Shopping hacks in a last-ditch attempt to wrest control from the algorithm.

You plead: “Dear Google overlords, if you move my budget back from that country I don’t ship to, I’ll write a glowing LinkedIn post about AI-driven media buying.”

You test ROAS targets, bid strategies, and even time-limited offers in the hopes your PMAX campaign will finally deliver the numbers your eCom brand promised the board.

But PMAX is indifferent. Bargain all you like.

Stage Four: Depression (“What If This Was All a Terrible Mistake?”)

This is the true therapy phase. You can’t help but feel a bit dejected.

You start doubting your abilities as a PPC specialist. Maybe you’re just not suited for automation? Maybe the classic Shopping campaigns didn’t need to die? You consider dusting off your search term reports from 2019, or even—dare we say—asking Meta for another chance.

Quick sanity check: you’re not alone. Most eCommerce marketers have stared mournfully at a PMAX report wondering if their entire budget’s gone to the ‘Black Hole of AI Interpretation’.

Mood lifters are in short supply at this stage. The board asks, “So, what’s the plan?” and you answer, “To carry on and hope” with a weak smile and another coffee.

You join forums, read PMAX horror stories, and search for signs of hope. Is there life after budget obliteration? Is that a light at the end of the tunnel, or simply a Shopping ad for “Budget Recovery Bootcamps”?

Stage Five: Acceptance (“OK Google, Let’s Work Together... Carefully”)

Finally, you achieve peace, more or less. You accept what you can and can’t control. PMAX is not designed for micro-management or fixing every bid. But with the right groundwork, it can generate real brand growth—if you treat it as part of your mix, not your only hope.

You lock down your feed quality, perfect your audience signals, and keep a hawk eye on campaign segmentation, running regular experiments to sidestep the worst of Google’s ‘creative’ interpretations. You know when to let PMAX do its thing—and when to pivot back to more hands-on campaign types.

You start using Data Studio dashboards to get a clearer view, set stricter location and language exclusions, and build layered reporting so you’re never blindsided by rogue spend again.

Suddenly, performance is stable. Profitable, even. You might not love PMAX, but you’ve made your peace.

Group Therapy Tips for Surviving Your PMAX “Journey”

So, what practical steps can you take to keep your budget safe while dabbling in the land of automated campaigns? The therapy group has some sage advice:

Is There Actually Hope for PMAX?

Absolutely—but only if you accept it’s an ongoing process, not a “set and forget” magic bullet. eCommerce brands that thrive with PMAX do so by obsessively tracking changes, feeding the algorithm quality assets, and never assuming Google’s priorities match their own (spoiler alert: they almost never do).

If you’re feeling the strain, remember you can always lean on specialists. At JudeLuxe, our team runs weekly “therapy” of its own, dissecting the latest PMAX curveballs and transforming them into performance wins for eCommerce brands across the UK. We’re happy to talk you through our strategy right here—no tissues or group hugs required (unless you want them).

If you want extra sober, tactical insights (without the teary confessions), browse our other blog posts for more PMAX survival tips and victory stories:

Remember: in the world of automated campaigns, the only thing more powerful than Google’s algorithm is a well-caffeinated, slightly jaded British marketer with a penchant for therapy, memes, and just a dash of cynicism.

So how are you coping with PMAX this month? Sound off in the comments, share this with a fellow PPC survivor, or join the (virtual) tea circle at JudeLuxe. If nothing else, we promise the biscuits are good—even if your CPA isn’t.