If you want to sell successfully with Google Ads, you face a crucial question: Google Shopping Campaign or Performance Max (PMAX)?

What may seem like two variants of the same thing at first glance fundamentally differs upon closer inspection – especially in terms of reach, control, data access, and automation. 

While standard Shopping campaigns offer targeted control, manual optimisation, and transparent performance data, Performance Max promises maximum reach through AI-supported delivery – but with significantly fewer insights into the actual performance of individual products and channels.

Thus, the decision "PMAX vs. Shopping" is not a technical one, but a strategic one:

• How much control do you need?

• How important is transparency to you regarding keywords and products?

• And do you want to influence performance based on data – or prefer to scale automatically?

What is Google Performance Max (PMAX)? Advantages, functionality & application areas

Google Performance Max is the campaign format for maximum automation within Google Ads. Unlike traditional Google Shopping campaigns, here Google's AI decides how, where, and when your ads are displayed.

How Google PMAX campaigns work

You set your goal – e.g., "Maximise ROAS" or "Maximise conversions". Google takes care of everything else: delivery, placement, bidding strategy, and combination of creatives.

PMAX leverages all available Google platforms:

• Google Shopping

• Google Search

• YouTube

• Gmail

• Google Maps

• Discover

• Display Network

This means: Your products are not only displayed in the traditional Shopping carousel, but everywhere potential buyers are active.

Advantages of Performance Max campaigns

• All-in-one campaign: One campaign for all Google Ads channels

• Automated optimisation: Google learns independently what works

• More reach: You reach users beyond the search network

• Goal-based control: Focus on conversions or conversion value

• Dynamic Ads & Creatives: Combination of text, image and video for optimal performance

The disadvantages of Google PMAX

• Limited control: You don't see exactly where your ads are displayed

• No search term report: Only limited insight into keywords

• Product data only limitedly controllable: No manual bidding at the product level

• Creative quality is crucial: Poor assets = poor results

 So if you want maximum automation – or want to quickly scale a broad product range – Google PMAX is a powerful tool. But it only works if your product data is clean, your assets are high-quality, and your tracking is spot on.

What is Google Shopping? More control, more transparency

Google Shopping campaigns have been one of the essential components of every successful Google Ads strategy in e-commerce for years. They allow you to place your products specifically in the Google search shopping carousel – exactly where purchase interest already exists.

In contrast to Performance Max, you do not rely on broad distribution and automation here, but rather on targeted control and complete oversight of the delivery of your ads.

This is how a Google Shopping campaign works:

Step 1: To run a Shopping campaign, you first need to upload your product data feed to Google Merchant Center and link it with your Google Ads account. There, you specify which products should be promoted – for example, based on margin strength, best seller potential, or seasonality. 

Step 2: In the next step, you structure your campaign sensibly: Many advertisers segment by brands, categories, or price points to enable granular optimisation. You also decide on the bidding strategy – whether manual, with target ROAS, or maximised clicks – and can exclude unwanted search queries through negative keywords.

Step 3: Additionally, you can manage which product group takes priority in case it is included in multiple campaigns through campaign priorities and budgets. You have full control over which products are displayed how and where – but will need to invest significantly more setup and optimisation effort.

Advantages of Standard Google Shopping campaigns

• Full transparency: You see which products, terms, and devices perform well

• Fine-tuning possible: Split by margins, ROAS, or product groups

• Negative keywords: Exclude search queries with low purchase intent

• More flexible bids: Manual CPC or target ROAS possible

• Better attribution: You can see what exactly sells – and what is eating into your budget 

Disadvantages of Google Shopping campaigns

• More effort: Structure, optimisation, and monitoring take time

• Limited reach: No display on YouTube, Gmail, Display etc.

• Manual testing necessary: e.g., bids, campaign structure, segmentation

• Distinction from PMax necessary: Products should not run in both formats

If you want to specifically scale individual product groups, pursue a fixed target ROAS, or need clear insights, a well-structured Google Shopping campaign is the right tool.

Reach & Channels: How far do your Google Ads campaigns really go?

A central difference between Performance Max and Standard Shopping lies in the question: Where exactly do your ads actually appear?

Google Shopping: Precise visibility in the search network

With classic Google Shopping campaigns, you target your products specifically in the shopping carousel above or next to the organic search results – solely within the Google search network. This means: Your ads reach users who already have a specific purchase intention and are actively searching for your products or similar offers.

This visibility is high-quality but also limited: No YouTube, no display network, no other touchpoints. However, you know exactly where your products appear – and why.

Performance Max: Shopping + Display + YouTube & more

Google PMAX goes far beyond that. Your products are automatically displayed across all Google channels. Here, Google's AI decides when which channel is used based on your goal (conversions, ROAS, clicks) and the collected user data. The significant advantage: you reach users along the entire customer journey – from the first touchpoint to conversion.

What does this mean in practice for your Google Ads?

If you use Standard Shopping, you rely on users actively searching for your product – with high purchase intention but limited scaling potential.

With Performance Max, you also reach potential buyers before they actively search for your product – and remain present through retargeting, YouTube, or Gmail.

Conclusion: If you want to sell point-wise, Shopping is efficient. If you want to build reach, tap into new target groups, and combine branding + sales, there's no way around PMAX.

Control and Bidding Strategies: How much influence do you want on your Google campaigns?

The level of control you have over your campaigns differs enormously between Google Shopping and Performance Max – especially regarding bidding strategies, campaign structure, and keyword control.

Google Shopping: complete control of your Google Ads

With Standard Shopping, the full control is in your hands:

• You decide how your campaigns are structured – e.g., by margins, categories, best sellers, target groups, or seasonality.

• You can set either manual CPCs or choose automated strategies like target ROAS or maximum clicks.

• You have access to negative keywords to exclude irrelevant search queries.

• You set priorities and can control targeted budget allocation between campaigns.

This control makes the format particularly attractive for experienced advertisers who know exactly which products perform – and where budget can be saved.

Performance Max: Smart bidding with fewer intervention options

PMAX operates on a different principle: Set a goal, and the algorithm does the rest.

• You set a goal: e.g., "Maximise conversion value at ROAS X".

• Google decides how the budget is distributed across channels, target groups, products, and placements.

• You cannot exclude keywords, set CPCs, or intervene very much.

• The campaign structure is rather simple – e.g., through asset groups that you feed with creatives and target group hints.

What you get in return: Scaling through automation – ideal for large assortments or advertisers who have little time or resources for manual campaign management.

Transparency in Reporting: What data do you get and what don’t you?

When you work with Google Ads, you want to know: What works – and what just costs money? And this is where a crucial difference between Standard Shopping and Performance Max shows: the quality and depth of reporting.

Google Shopping: Clear data, full insight

With classic Google Shopping campaigns, you get all the numbers you need – and at the product level:

• Which products perform best?

• Which keywords led to the delivery?

• Which devices, locations, or times of day yield the best ROAS?

• What are the CPCs, impressions, clicks, and conversion values per product group?

You can evaluate, compare, and optimally optimise each single variable. Especially the search query report is invaluable – as it shows you the specific terms with which users found your ads. Ideal for identifying negative keywords and reducing wastage.

Performance Max: Trust in the algorithm

With PMAX, data transparency is significantly limited – at least in comparison. You get:

• Aggregated insights about target groups, assets, and conversion paths

• Channel distribution (e.g., how much is attributed to YouTube, Shopping, or Search – but without details)

• Performance metrics of your assets (e.g., "good", "bad", "still learning")

• Recently also: Limited insights into search terms – but without the detail depth of standard shopping

So you know roughly what works – but not in detail why it works. And you cannot drill down to the individual product level to see where optimisation potential lies.

More data = more control

If you optimise based on KPIs like ROAS, contribution margin, or margins, you need transparency – and you only get that with Standard Shopping. PMAX requires trust in the algorithm – which is not always wrong, but does not allow for data-driven fine analysis.

Google Shopping vs. PMAX: Differences at a glance

Auction logic from 2025: Why you should pay attention to your Google Ads

Until the end of 2024, there was a clear rule in the world of Google Ads: If the same products were promoted in both a Performance Max campaign and a Standard Shopping campaign, PMAX automatically took precedence in the delivery.

That has changed. 

The new rule since 2025: Ad Rank decides

Since the switch in October 2024, Performance Max and Shopping are once again considered equal campaign formats in Google's auction system.

This means: It is no longer the campaign format that decides the grant – but the Ad Rank.

The Ad Rank is determined, among other things, by:

• your bid (e.g., target ROAS)

• the ad quality

• the relevance

• the expected performance

  
  
  

This means in practice: If your Shopping campaign is better structured – e.g., through clear product segmentation, good bidding strategy, and high ad relevance – it can beat the PMAX campaign in the same auction. You can now use both formats in parallel as long as they are strategically sensibly set up.

 Google still recommends intentionally designing product overlaps – e.g., through clear separation of assortments, margins, or target groups. Because even if both campaigns go into the race "fairly": double display also means double learning phases, budget split, and potential inefficiencies if you do not separate cleanly.

Conclusion: Which Google Ads strategy really advances your shop?

The decision between Google Shopping and Performance Max is no longer an either-or question – but rather a question of your goals, resources, and strategy.

If you want maximum control: Opt for Standard Shopping to specifically optimise based on KPIs, manage budgets precisely, and make decisions based on clear data. Especially for established products with known ROAS behaviour, this is the most efficient solution.

If you need reach, automation & discovery: Then Performance Max is your go-to. The AI-supported campaign delivery works especially well for broad product feeds, new target groups, and scalable advertising strategies across all Google channels.