Google's Performance Max may stop serving brand and navigational searches
TLDR
Google's Performance Max may stop serving navigational and brand queries, which could move them to dedicated Search campaigns.
Optimixed Overview
Optimixed's original report on this story.
Per PPC Land, navigational and brand queries may be left to dedicated Search campaigns, which would be a shift for advertisers running Performance Max. The report raises the open question of who would serve those queries when no brand campaign exists.
How we got here: earlier coverage
On August 18, Google updated its Branded Searches conversion metric to use a 7-day attribution window by default and limited eligibility to YouTube and Demand Gen campaigns, removing Performance Max from the supported list. Then, on November 3, Google Ads updated its Performance Max help documentation to say campaigns may filter out navigational or brand-specific queries and serve them through dedicated Search campaigns instead. Now, Google may stop serving navigational and brand queries through Performance Max campaigns, which could move them to dedicated Search campaigns.
Summary of earlier coverage
- Oct 25Google's retention goal feature lags behind announcement timeline for Search and Shopping ads
Google's retention goal feature for Search and Shopping campaigns is rolling out more slowly than its holiday announcement suggested.
- Oct 25Google's Performance Max Display and Search Partners opt-out still in alpha testing five months in
Google's Performance Max opt-out controls for Display Network and Search Partners remain in limited alpha testing without official documentation.