A Guide to the Performance Max Uplift Experiment in Google Ads

If you’re exploring the world of Google Ads, you’ve likely heard of Performance Max (PMax), the all-in-one campaign type designed to help advertisers reach more customers across Google’s entire ecosystem. But how can you measure the actual benefit of Performance Max in comparison to your existing campaigns? That’s where the Performance Max uplift experiment comes in.

What is the Performance Max Uplift Experiment?

The Performance Max uplift experiment helps you measure the incremental value of running Performance Max campaigns alongside your existing Search campaigns. Essentially, it’s a way to quantify the additional conversions or revenue generated when you add a PMax campaign to the mix.

So, how does this experiment work?

How the Uplift Experiment Works

Imagine you have three Search campaigns running in your account, and now you want to test the impact of adding a PMax campaign. To conduct the uplift experiment, Google Ads sets up an A/B test with two groups:

1. The Control Group: This consists of your comparable Search campaigns, receiving 50% of the traffic.

2. The Treatment Group: This group includes your Performance Max campaign along with your comparable Search campaigns, receiving the other 50% of the traffic.

The beauty of this experiment is that you don’t need to create a new Performance Max campaign for the test. Even if you’ve been running PMax for a while, you can still evaluate its impact through this experiment.

Criteria for Comparable Search Campaigns

For the experiment to be valid, the Search campaigns you choose for comparison need to meet certain criteria. These include:

• Same Landing Page Domain: Your Search and Performance Max campaigns must lead to the same destination.

• Same Location Targeting: Both campaign types should target the same geographic regions.

• At Least One Shared Conversion Action: The campaigns must use at least one of the same conversion actions to ensure the results are comparable.

Google Ads offers the option to select comparable campaigns manually or to have the platform automatically choose them for you.

Is the Uplift Experiment Proof of PMax’s Value?

While the uplift experiment provides valuable insights, it’s not necessarily 100% conclusive when it comes to determining the full impact of Performance Max on your overall campaign success. That said, if you’ve been skeptical about the incremental value of Performance Max, this experiment can be an excellent way to gauge its potential in your account using real data.

In the end, the decision to continue running Performance Max campaigns will depend on whether the additional revenue justifies the added complexity they bring to your account.