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

What initially appears to be two variations of the same thing differs fundamentally upon closer inspection – especially regarding reach, control, data access, and automation. 

While Standard Shopping Campaigns provide targeted management, manual optimization, 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.

The decision between "PMAX vs. Shopping" is therefore not a technical one but a strategic one:

• How much control do you need?

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

• And do you want to influence performance data-based – or rather scale automatically?

What is Google Performance Max (PMAX)? Benefits, Functionality & Application Areas

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

How Google PMAX Campaigns Work

You set your goal – e.g., “Maximize ROAS” or “Maximize Conversions.” Google takes care of everything else: delivery, placement, bidding strategy, and combining creatives.

PMAX utilizes all available Google platforms:

• Google Shopping

• Google Search

• YouTube

• Gmail

• Google Maps

• Discover

• Display Network

This means: Your products do not just appear in the traditional shopping carousel, but everywhere potential buyers are active.

Benefits of Performance Max Campaigns

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

• Automated Optimization: Google learns autonomously 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

• Little Control: You do not see exactly where your ads are displayed

• No Search Term Report: Limited insight into keywords

• Product data is only partially controllable: No manual bidding on product level

• Creative Quality is Crucial: Poor assets = poor results

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

What is Google Shopping? More Control, More Transparency

Google Shopping campaigns have been one of the most important components of any successful Google Ads strategy in e-commerce for years. They allow you to specifically place your products in the Google search shopping carousel – precisely where purchasing interest already exists.

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

How a Google Shopping Campaign Works:

Step 1: For a shopping campaign to run, you must first upload your product data feed in the Google Merchant Center and link it to your Google Ads account. There you define which products should be promoted – for example, based on margin strength, top-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 optimization. You also decide on the bidding strategy – whether manual, with target ROAS or maximized clicks – and can exclude unwanted search queries through negative keywords.

Step 3: Additionally, campaign priorities and budgets can be used to control which product group takes precedence if it is included in multiple campaigns. You have full control over which products are displayed how and where – but you must put in significantly more setup and optimization effort.

Benefits of Standard Google Shopping Campaigns

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

• Fine Control Possible: Split by margins, ROAS, or product groups

• Negative Keywords: Exclude search queries with low purchase intent

• Flexible Bids: Manual CPC or target ROAS possible

• Better Attribution: You recognize what sells specifically – and what consumes budget 

Disadvantages of Google Shopping Campaigns

• More Effort: Structure, optimization, and monitoring take time

• Limited Reach: No delivery on YouTube, Gmail, Display, etc.

• Manual Testing Required: e.g., bids, campaign structure, segmentation

• Distinction from PMAX necessary: Products should not run simultaneously

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 reach?

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 place your products specifically in the shopping carousel above or next to the organic search results – thus solely in the Google search network. This means: Your ads reach users who already have a specific purchase intent and actively search for your products or similar offers.

This visibility is of high quality but also limited: No YouTube, no Display Network, no other touchpoints. On the plus side, you know exactly where your products appear – and why.

Performance Max: Shopping + Display + YouTube & More

Google PMAX goes far beyond this. Your products are automatically displayed across all Google channels. Google’s AI decides when which channel is used based on your goal (conversions, ROAS, clicks) and the collected user data. The great advantage: You reach users throughout 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 depend on users actively seeking your product – with high purchasing intention but limited scaling potential.

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

Conclusion: If you want to sell punctually, Shopping is efficient. If you want to build reach, tap into new target audiences, and combine branding + sales, there is no way around PMAX.

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

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

Google Shopping: Complete Control of Your Google Ads

With Standard Shopping, full control is in your hands:

• You decide how your campaigns are structured – e.g., by margins, categories, bestsellers, target audiences, or seasonality.

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

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

• You set priorities and can manage targeted budget distribution between campaigns.

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

Performance Max: Smart Bidding with Fewer Intervention Options

PMAX operates under a different principle: set the goal, and the algorithm takes care of the rest.

• You set a goal: e.g., “Maximize conversion value at ROAS X.”

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

• You cannot exclude keywords, set CPCs, and can only intervene very limitedly.

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

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

Transparency in Reporting: What Data Do You Get and What Don't You?

If 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 reveals itself: the quality and depth of the reporting.

Google Shopping: Clear Data, Full Insight

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

• Which products perform the best?

• Which keywords led to the delivery?

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

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

You can evaluate, compare, and optimize each variable precisely. Especially the search term report is invaluable – as it shows you the specific terms users found your ads with. Ideal for identifying negative keywords and minimizing wastage.

Performance Max: Trust in the Algorithm

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

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

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

• Performance values 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 approximately what works – but not in detail why it works. And you cannot break it down to the individual product level to identify optimization potential.

More Data = More Control

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

Google Shopping vs. PMAX: Differences at one Glance

Auction Logic from 2025: Where You Should Pay Attention to Your Google Ads

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

This has changed. 

The new rule from 2025: Ad Rank decides

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

This means: The campaign format no longer decides on the allocation – but the Ad Rank.

The Ad Rank is composed of:

• your bid (e.g., target ROAS)

• the ad quality

• the relevance

• the expected performance

  
  

  
  

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

 Google still recommends consciously structuring product overlaps – for example, through clear separation of assortments, margins, or target groups. Because even though both campaigns compete "fairly": double delivery also means double learning phases, budget splits, 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 a question of your goals, resources, and strategy.

If you want maximum control: Opt for Standard Shopping to optimize for KPIs, manage budgets precisely, and decide based on clear data. Especially with established products that have a known ROAS behavior, 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 particularly well for broad product feeds, new target audiences, and scalable advertising strategies across all Google channels.