Lede: one campaign, the entire Google network Performance Max is the campaign type that ate Google Ads. In 2026, on most retail and e-commerce accounts we audit, it now absorbs 70% or more of paid search budget. The reason is structural: a single Performance Max...
Introduction: the auction nobody actually understands Most advertisers treat Quality Score as a vanity metric. They glance at the 1-10 number in their dashboard, frown at a yellow “below average” tag, and move on. They miss the point entirely. The Quality...
Google Merchant Center Next finished its forced migration in September 2024, and by 2026 it is the only interface retailers use to push product data into Google Shopping, Performance Max, free listings, YouTube Shopping, and the AI Overviews shopping carousel. The...
Introduction: the feed is the campaign In Shopping and Performance Max, the campaign settings barely matter. The bid strategy moves the needle a little. The audience signals nudge the algorithm a few percent. The budget caps the ceiling. None of these decide who wins....
Fixing Merchant Center errors: diagnosis and solutions A Google Ads account can be perfectly architected, well-funded, and aimed at the right audience, and still produce zero impressions on Shopping or Performance Max. The reason is rarely the bid strategy. It is the...
