Performance Max (PMax) campaigns, introduced by Google in 2021, can be managed in both Google Ads and Search Ads 360 (SA360). What many advertisers may not realize is that there are significant benefits to managing PMax campaigns in SA360—thanks to the advanced learning and optimization capabilities of this powerful search management platform.

In this article, we’ll outline the challenges of managing PMax in Google Ads, and explain how SA360 offers clear advantages for advertisers seeking greater performance and control.

For any experienced performance marketer, limited ability to manually optimize a campaign can be frustrating—and in some cases, it can prevent a campaign from reaching its full potential.

When managing Performance Max campaigns in Google Ads, manual optimization is extremely limited, making it difficult to stabilize performance over time.

Here’s a closer look at the main challenges:

1.  Limited Manual Optimization = Less Control

PMax in Google Ads relies heavily on automation and Google’s own machine learning models. As a result, advertisers have limited ability to make granular adjustments based on real-time performance or business needs.

2. Minimal Intervention for Automation Performance Issues

Because of the high level of automation, performance fluctuations are common—and it’s harder to predict or control how your campaigns behave. For example, daily budget pacing may be inconsistent, and performance can vary significantly.

3. Lack of Placement Transparency

Another drawback is the limited visibility into where your ads are shown across Google’s channels. This makes it harder to accurately assess campaign performance, particularly when it comes to understanding which placements are delivering results.

1. Real-Time Bid Adjustments

One key differentiator when managing PMax in SA360 is the ability to make real-time adjustments to bidding goals. SA360 can factor in audience signals, competition, and conversion likelihood to dynamically adjust bids and goals.

Why this matters:

• Better control over daily budget pacing
  
• Faster reactions to changing performance trends
  
• Improved campaign stability, especially compared to PMax in Google Ads where bid control is restricted

SA360’s portfolio bid strategies can also adjust key targets like Target CPA (tCPA) and Target ROAS (tROAS) in real time. If a PMax campaign is experiencing wide performance swings, SA360 can better reflect actual performance, allowing the algorithm to learn more effectively, which is expected to lead to more stable and improved results.

2. Custom Variable Adjustments (CVA)

Another powerful feature exclusive to SA360 is Custom Variable Adjustments (CVA)—which allows advertisers to tailor bidding strategies based on their own business data.

Why this matters:

• Bids can be aligned with real business goals, such as profit margins, lead value, or customer lifetime value
  
• Enables advertisers to prioritize high-value conversions instead of relying solely on Google’s automation

For example, imagine a shoe retailer running a PMax campaign to promote different sneaker models. Their internal data shows that black sneakers have a higher profit margin. With SA360, they can assign a higher value to conversions involving black sneakers—so the platform automatically bids more aggressively when users add that product to their cart.

This type of value-based bidding gives advertisers much more flexibility to focus on what actually drives revenue.

A combined approach of SA360 + Performance Max provides the best campaign management capabilities, leveraging both automation and manual optimization. With SA360’s Bidding and Planning capabilities, managing Performance Max campaign budgets also becomes more effective and predictable.