Gaining Deeper Insights into Performance Max Search Volume and Activity

Jill Goldstein - August 16, 2023

As search engine marketers, we’re always on the lookout for ways to extract deeper insights from our campaigns in the effort of elevating performance. Enter Performance Max—an innovative approach that empowers us to tap into the full potential of Google Ads. However, with great innovation came great mystery. These campaigns were immediately effective in generating strong performance; however no one knew how. Over time, Google has slowly started to roll out new ways to gain deeper understanding of why these campaigns are working so well. The latest update has to do with search.

What is Performance Max

Before we dive into how to gain search insights, let’s quickly recap what Performance Max is. A Performance Max campaign is an advertising campaign type offered by Google Ads that aims to maximize performance and reach across multiple Google platforms, including the Search Network, YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. This campaign type utilizes machine learning and automation to optimize your ads for various placements and audiences, with the goal of achieving your desired marketing objectives.

How to Understand Search Volume and Activity

Now that we know that Performance Max campaigns pushes ads on all of Google’s platforms, let’s dive into the search aspect. Performance Max campaigns use the content of your website, audience signals and audience segments to determine which searches ads should be shown for.

Recent updates allow marketers to see key KPIs in a detailed report – and the data goes back starting March 2023. Previously, we could only see these key metrics in a limited view for the last 28 days at max. See campaign insights below:

This data not only allows us to understand which searches are generating impressions, it also allows us to understand what percentage of Performance Max impressions, clicks and conversions can be attributed to paid search (and how it has trended).

I look forward to continuing to gain deeper insights into these highly effective campaigns. If you have any questions about Performance Max campaigns, don’t hesitate to reach out to the experts at MoreVisibility.