One of the most debated topics in the community is using Performance Max campaigns for acquiring new customers. Despite the controversy, today I want to share one of many success stories where Performance Max helped us drive new customer acquisition effectively.
In the community, I haven’t come across any experts discussing acquiring new customers the goal has been successful for them with Performance Max campaigns.
For now, that’s not really on the table.
So, how can we utilize Performance Max for attracting new customers?
Here are two ways to exclude your current customers:
- PMax negative keywords
- Utilize the brand exclusion feature
Does this feature actually work?
Yes, it performs very well!
We utilize Google Ads automated campaigns with smart bidding signals. While many experts may disagree, I believe this approach represents the future for both Google and businesses.
I understand the concerns about incrementality with smart bidding; I’ve encountered similar issues myself.
Smart bidding only thrives when it’s getting the conversions data,
Let’s say you have a campaign, that’s generating 5x since past 6 months with tROAS of 500%,
Some problems may have arisen with your tracking, website, or seasonal changes that interrupted the data feeding into your smart bidding.
Your campaign with tROAS/tCPA is going to limit itself for bidding in real-time auctions.
It’s totally reasonable,
We are bidding for buying intent audiences and if the real time signals return negative signals to the algorithm, it won’t be openly bidding anymore.
There is another case,
Where customers are familiar with your brand but are searching for similar products using generic keywords?
Yes, a Performance Max campaign will prioritize targeting them.
I don’t mind those customers; if they’re searching with generic keywords, it means I’ve already lost them.
But they do have our experience, and they will certainly buy again.
I have consolidated Pmax campaign in this account with brand exclusion, as you see new customer incrementality growth in Shopify reports through UTM’s.
