Performance Max campaigns have become a popular choice for PPC advertisers due to their simplicity and automation. However, one major drawback has been the lack of visibility into the search queries that trigger ads. Without this data, optimizing Performance Max campaigns has been challenging.
Fortunately, in February 2023, Google introduced the campaign_search_term_insight report, which includes the search term field. This new report provided hope for advertisers looking to optimize their Performance Max campaigns. However, there was a persistent error with the Google reports that prevented them from including the search term data.
Thanks to Mike Rhodes, who monitored the Google reports, it was recently discovered that the bug causing the lack of search term data had been resolved. This means that advertisers now have access to search query data, allowing them to analyze it and find optimization opportunities for their campaigns.
The new Performance Max search insights report provides visibility into the actual search queries that trigger ads, the categories that queries are grouped into, and performance metrics such as clicks and impressions. Although it does not provide visibility into cost, having access to search terms and clicks is a significant step forward for advertisers.
There are several ways to access the new Performance Max search insights report. It can be accessed directly in the Google Ads interface under Insights on the campaign page, via the Google Ads API, or by using a Google Ads script that leverages the API report. Using a script has the added benefit of automatically pulling the data into a spreadsheet for easier manipulation and analysis.
Once the search query data is pulled into a spreadsheet, advertisers can gain valuable insights by analyzing it. They can identify irrelevant search terms that trigger their ads, find high-performing search terms that drive conversions, review search categories for additional keyword ideas, and sort by impressions to find high impression, low click terms that may indicate poor relevance.
Since Performance Max campaigns do not allow targeting specific keywords, analyzing search term patterns can help advertisers identify new negative keywords and get ideas on how to improve ad copy or landing pages. This analysis can lead to better optimization of campaigns and more effective targeting.
To further enhance the analysis process, advertisers can leverage advanced tools like GPT-4. By uploading the search term data to GPT-4, advertisers can ask it to analyze the data and provide interesting findings. GPT-4 can suggest segments for further investigation, such as high-conversion terms, high-value terms, efficiency metrics, and category insights.
Based on the analysis and insights gained from the Performance Max search term data, advertisers can take several actions to optimize their campaigns. They can add irrelevant terms as account-level negative keywords, optimize ads and landing pages for high-performing queries, and refine audience targeting based on the insights learned.
Overall, the release of Performance Max search term visibility has been a long-awaited development for PPC advertisers. It provides them with more control and optimization ability for their automated campaigns. By utilizing this new capability, advertisers can gain a clearer picture of who their Performance Max ads are reaching and how to improve their messaging to resonate with their audience. The result will be more relevant ads, lower costs, and increased conversions from Performance Max campaigns.
