Google Ads users have been grappling with the challenge of gaining detailed insights into specific channels within Performance Max campaigns.
We want clarity on how much of the traffic we are getting is from Google Shopping, Gmail, Youtube and the Display Network. Without clarity on where the traffic is coming from it is very tricky to optimise the PM campaigns to improve performance.
Typically the shopping channel brings the best results – especially for retailers so it is important to know the percentage of traffic in the Performance Max campaigns that is coming from Shopping.
Ideally advertisers would also like full control of their Performance Max campaigns through the use of negative keywords but this is yet to come with only account level negative keywords available.
We found out that Google do provide this channel level data through accessing their API or else through complicated custom reports in the Google ads account. We then realised that it could be done in Google Data Studio. The dashboard that offers an intuitive solution to visualize Performance Max data across different channels.
The guys at Vixen Digital created this Performance Max Channel Insights Dashboard.
It is freely accessible to all, this dashboard simplifies the process of obtaining crucial insights. All you need is to be logged into a Gmail account with access to the desired Google Ads accounts.
Dashboard Components: The dashboard comprises four tables, providing valuable information:
- Performance Max Campaign Data Across All Channels
- Performance Max Campaign Data for Shopping Channel Only
- Performance Max Campaign Data Across All Channels Minus Shopping
- Shopping Traffic vs. Other Performance Max Channel Traffic as a Percentage
Using the Dashboard: Upon opening the dashboard link, you’ll find two dropdown boxes and one entry field in the header section for customization.
- Set the date range that you want to look at.
- Filter the campaigns by name so that you can drill down to specific campaigns easily.
The Performance Max Channel Insights dashboard in Google Data Studio provides a useful intermediary step for understanding Performance Max campaigns at a channel-specific granularity.
Knowing that for example 95% of the traffic is coming from shopping means that you can understand where to focus your time and energy – product data in the Merchant Centre and on your site as well as through the campaign structure and bidding level on each product in the Performance Max campaigns on Google ads.
If you are getting a large percentage of your traffic from outside shopping then you can work more on your asset groups and audience signals. If you want to shift traffic towards shopping then you may need to increase your bidding targets unfortunately.
Anticipating future progress from Google, we look forward to a built-in version that allows users to analyze all seven individual channels independently. The quest for comprehensive Performance Max insights is ongoing, and we’re eager to witness Google’s developments in this arena.
