If you've logged into Google Ads in the last couple of years, you've probably been nudged towards Performance Max. Google's reps recommend it, the setup screens push it, and it promises to find you customers across Search, Maps, YouTube, Gmail and the Display network all from one campaign.
Some tradies have had great results from it. Plenty of others have had a flood of rubbish leads and a big bill. Here's what we've seen and how to tell whether it's right for your business.
01What Performance Max actually does
Performance Max, often shortened to PMax, is a campaign type where you give Google your budget, your goal and a pile of assets: headlines, descriptions, photos, logos and videos. Google's machine learning then decides where to show your ads, who to show them to, and which combination of assets to use.
You get a lot less control than a normal search campaign. You can't pick exact keywords in the same way, and you don't decide which channel your money goes to. The trade-off is that Google can reach people you'd never find on your own.
02Why it sends tradies junk leads
This is the big complaint we hear. Someone sets up Performance Max, the form fills start rolling in, and half of them are fake names, spam or people who don't remember enquiring.
The reason is fairly simple. Performance Max is trying to get you as many conversions as possible for your budget. If a conversion is just "someone filled in a form", it'll find the cheapest form fills it can. Bots fill forms. People on cheap mobile game placements tap things by accident. Google counts them all as wins.
So it does exactly what you asked. It just wasn't what you meant.
03How to make it work properly
The fix is giving Performance Max better information so it chases the right thing:
- Track phone calls and forms properly, and only count genuine enquiries as conversions
- Add spam protection to your forms so bots can't submit them
- Feed back which leads turned into real quotes, so Google learns what a good lead looks like
- Upload your customer list as an audience signal to point it at similar people
- Exclude your brand name so it doesn't take credit for people already searching for you
- Give it real photos and video of your work, not stock images or a single logo
When those are in place, Performance Max has something meaningful to aim at. Without them, it's guessing.
04When we'd use it, and when we wouldn't
For most trade businesses, we don't start with Performance Max. We start with tightly built search campaigns on the services and areas that matter most, because they give clear data and good control.
Once those are booking work and we have decent conversion data, Performance Max can be a good way to scale. It's especially useful if you have a lot of good video and photo content, since it can use them across YouTube and Display.
It's also very strong for businesses that sell products online. If you're a trade supplier or home improvement retailer, Performance Max running alongside Google Shopping is often one of the best performing setups going.
05The bottom line
Performance Max isn't a scam and it isn't magic. It's a powerful tool that does exactly what you tell it to, which makes the setup and the tracking more important than ever. If yours is sending you junk leads, the problem is almost always what it's being told to chase.
If you'd like a second opinion on your account, have a look at our Performance Max page or get in touch. We're happy to take a look.
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