The short answer
Performance Max shows your products across all of Google's channels from one campaign, with automated bidding. Standard Shopping shows them in Shopping results, with more control, including manual bids and campaign priority. When both include the same products, Google says the campaign with the higher Ad Rank serves. Most stores start with Performance Max and use Standard Shopping where they want tight control.
Where your products show
- Performance Max: Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps, from one campaign.
- Standard Shopping: Shopping results on Google Search, the Shopping tab and Google Images, and optionally search partners.
How much control you get
| Performance Max | Standard Shopping | |
|---|---|---|
| Where ads show | All Google channels | Shopping results, Google Images and search partners |
| Bidding | Automated, toward conversions or conversion value | Automated or manual cost per click |
| Choosing products | Listing groups | Product groups |
| Search terms and negatives | Yes | Yes |
| Priority between campaigns | Ad Rank decides | Low, medium or high between Standard Shopping campaigns |
Running both at once
You can run both for the same products. When they also share locations, languages and other settings, Google says Ad Rank decides which campaign serves. Campaign priority (low, medium, high) only decides between Standard Shopping campaigns.
A Search campaign keyword that exactly matches the search is preferred over Performance Max.
Which to start with
- A new store with working purchase tracking: Performance Max, with your product feed in good shape.
- Products with thin margins or a tight budget: Standard Shopping for those products, where you control bids.
- Best sellers that deserve their own budget: a separate campaign for them, of either type.
- No conversion tracking yet: fix tracking first. Both campaign types bid better with purchase values.
How UltraROAS.ai does this for you
UltraROAS.ai works across Shopping, Search and Performance Max in the Google Ads accounts you connect, moving budget toward the campaigns and products that sell and away from the ones that don't, every day.