Performance Max 2026: Was sich geändert hat — und was wir jetzt tun
Ein praktischer Überblick über die sieben Performance-Max-Einstellungen, die wir bei jedem neuen Kunden-Account zuerst ändern.
Performance Max started as a black box. In 2026, it is a slightly-less-black box with a lot more steering wheels. Here is what we actually change first.
Brand exclusions are now table stakes
The single biggest change since launch: you can finally exclude brand search terms from PMax. Use it. Set up a brand exclusion list on day one of every PMax campaign and route brand traffic to a properly-managed Search campaign with manual control. We see clients save 15–25% of their PMax budget within the first month just from this.
Campaign-level value rules
Value rules let you tell PMax that a customer in Germany is worth 1.3x what a customer in Italy is worth — or that a returning customer is worth 0.6x what a new customer is. Combined with first-party data segments, this is the most under-used lever in the platform.
Asset group structure
Do not put your whole catalogue in one asset group. Split by margin tier or product category — each group gets its own creative, its own audience signal, its own tROAS target. This alone usually moves blended ROAS 20–30%.
Search themes
Use them, but sparingly. PMax tends to over-trust search themes and waste budget on adjacent queries. Set themes only for clearly under-served queries you can prove are not being served by your existing Search campaigns.
Profit-based tROAS targets
Setting tROAS based on revenue is a category error. Calculate it on gross profit margin, feed gross profit values as your conversion value, and watch the algorithm finally chase the customers you actually want.
Listing groups for catalogue control
Listing groups in PMax let you control which products get prioritised. We use them to push high-margin, low-stock, seasonal products at specific times — a small lever, big impact on profit when used well.
First-party audience signals
Upload your customer match list, your high-LTV cohort, your recent purchaser segment. PMax does not use these as targeting — but it uses them as a strong signal for the algorithm. The lift is real.
Need help with this?
If any of the above feels like a problem you have, tell us a bit about your situation and we will come back within a working day. First conversation is 30 minutes, on us.