Performance Max, with the guardrails Google leaves off
PMax can scale an account fast. Left alone, it can also spend your budget on branded searches you'd have won anyway and on junk leads from cheap placements. We set it up so it works for you, not for Google's reach numbers.
- Brand exclusions and negatives in place
- Optimised on real sales and qualified leads
- Asset groups built around real themes
Get a free Performance Max audit
See where your PMax spend goes by channel, and what we'd change to make it more profitable.
What's included
How we keep PMax honest
Brand protection
Brand exclusions so PMax doesn't take credit for people who were already searching for you by name.
Negatives & placements
Campaign-level negative keywords and account-level placement exclusions for irrelevant searches, apps and low-quality sites.
Conversion signals
Only the conversions that matter marked as primary, with values, so PMax optimises for revenue rather than page views.
Offline conversions
Qualified leads and closed deals fed back from your CRM, which is the single biggest fix for PMax lead gen.
Asset groups & signals
Asset groups built around products or services, with search themes and audience signals that point Google in the right direction.
Reporting that shows the channels
Channel, search term and asset reports checked regularly, so we know where the money actually goes.
What Performance Max actually is
Performance Max is a single Google Ads campaign that can show your ads across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Gmail, Discover and Maps. You give it assets (headlines, images, videos, a product feed), a goal and a budget, and Google's machine learning decides where to show what.
When it has good data it can be excellent, particularly for ecommerce. The trouble is that it optimises towards whatever you tell it counts as a conversion, as cheaply as it can find it. If a form fill from a bot counts the same as a form fill from a real buyer, PMax will happily find you lots of bots.
The four ways PMax usually goes wrong
It claims your brand traffic
Without brand exclusions, PMax often serves on searches for your own name. ROAS looks great, but those sales were coming anyway.
It fills forms with junk
For lead gen, cheap Display and Gmail placements can produce spammy leads. Without CRM feedback, PMax thinks they're wins.
It hides where money goes
Google has added channel and search term reporting, but someone still has to read it and act on it.
It cannibalises Search
Badly set-up PMax can take over queries your Search campaigns handle better, and muddy the data for both.
How we set up and manage Performance Max
- 1
Clean the conversion data first
We check which conversion actions are primary, remove duplicates and low-value actions, add values, and for lead gen set up offline conversion imports from your CRM.
- 2
Decide PMax's job
For ecommerce, PMax often runs the catalogue. For lead gen, it usually sits alongside Search with clear boundaries, and only once CRM feedback is flowing.
- 3
Build asset groups around themes
One asset group per product category or service, each with its own copy, images, video, search themes and audience signals.
- 4
Add the guardrails
Brand exclusions, campaign negatives, placement exclusions, URL expansion rules and a final check that nothing points at pages it shouldn't.
- 5
Read the reports weekly
Channel performance, search term insights and asset reports tell us what to cut, what to replace and where to add budget.
When Performance Max is a good idea
PMax tends to work when…
- You're an ecommerce store with a healthy product feed and steady sales
- You have at least 30-50 conversions a month for it to learn from
- Your conversion tracking counts real sales or qualified leads
- You have decent images and ideally some video
Be careful with PMax when…
- You generate leads and can't send lead quality back from your CRM yet
- Most of your sales come from people searching your brand name
- Your budget is small and you need tight control of every search term
- You have no creative assets beyond a logo
Pricing
Management starts at $1,199 a month on our PPC packages. The fee steps up in fixed brackets as spend grows instead of taking a percentage, so we're never rewarded just for spending more of your money.
PMax needs data to work, so we'd rarely recommend it on less than about $2,000-$2,500 a month in budget per campaign. For smaller budgets, well-built Search campaigns are usually the better first step. See Performance Max vs Search for how we decide.
What you get
PPC management that grows businesses like yours
Since 2016 we've helped 40+ clients turn paid ads into a reliable growth channel - as a Google Ads and HubSpot partner.
More qualified leads
Campaigns built around the searches and audiences that turn into customers - not just traffic.
Lower cost per conversion
Precise targeting, tight negative keywords and landing-page CRO make every pound work harder.
Better lead quality
We optimise for lead score, deal size and revenue so your team spends time on real prospects.
Room to scale
Structures that keep performing as budgets grow - from $2,000 to $1M+ a month in ad spend.
Every major platform
Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn and Meta Ads managed by one senior team with one strategy.
Clear reporting
Transparent reports and regular calls. You always know what we did, why, and what it earned.
How it works
From audit to results in three steps
- 1
Free audit
We review your ad accounts, tracking and landing pages and find where budget is being wasted.
- 2
Tailored proposal
You get a clear plan: what we'd change, the results to expect, and exactly what it costs.
- 3
Launch & scale
We rebuild and optimise your campaigns, then scale what works - backed by our guarantee.
Why PPC Magic
Not your typical PPC agency
Most clients see a significant lift in conversion volume within the first weeks. Start with a free audit - and if we don't increase your conversions, you don't pay our fee.
| Feature | PPC Magic | Others |
|---|---|---|
| Certified PPC experts | ||
| Performance-based pricing options | ||
| Guaranteed increase in conversions | ||
| Get started for free |
Results
Our clients get results
500+ B2B Leads via PPC
“We started seeing results in incoming leads in just a few weeks. They have demonstrated flexibility in adapting their processes to fit our company and industry. Reliable, stable and responsive team.”
150+ Clients in 2 months
“We grew so rapidly our calendars got booked 3 months ahead. They are extremely knowledgeable in Google Ads. Always a pleasure working with PPC Magic and would recommend them to anyone looking for PPC management.”
1114% Increase in Conversions
“They generated 12x more conversions in the first month compared to the previous PPC manager while spending roughly the same budget. Move your marketing to PPC Magic and never look back.”
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FAQ
Questions, answered
Can't find what you're looking for? Talk to us directly.
See what we'd do with your account
Get a free audit and proposal: what we'd change, the results to expect, and exactly what it costs. No obligation.