Search term alerts

Alert names: Performance Max search terms to be added as search keywords/negative keywords, and Performance Max search terms that already exist as search keywords

Reviewing your Performance Max (PMax) search terms regularly can help with optimizing your search campaigns.

PPC managers need a simple, scalable method to compare Performance Max search terms with search keywords. However, PMax search terms aren't easy to access in the Google Ads interface and can only be downloaded at the campaign level. Adalysis can help.

PMax search term alerts

Adalysis downloads all your PMax search terms and analyzes them against search campaigns automatically at the beginning of every month. We'll alert you to any search terms that:

• already exist as search keywords and cannibalize your search campaign traffic.

• are performing well and can be added as search keywords.

• are not performing well and, should be added as negative keywords.

Only the last month's search terms are downloaded since Performance Max search terms can’t be optimized within PMax campaigns. A full month's data ensures all the insights needed to maximize these opportunities.

You'll see the alerts under Performance Max on your Audit > Alerts screen.

As with any other alert in Adalysis, you can customize the alert settings to suit your account goals.

Resolving the alerts

Search terms that already exist as search keywords

Adalysis research shows that Search campaigns usually outperform Performance Max for the same search terms. Adalysis will alert you to PMax search terms that already exist as search keywords, so you can take steps to control which campaign takes priority for showing ads.

1

Campaign settings

Check whether location settings and ad schedules are consistent across both campaign types.

2

Impression share

Compare the Search campaign(s) that are losing impressions to Performance Max with the Performance Analyzer. If you're losing search impression share due to budget, review your budget allocation. It may make sense to move budget from PMax to Search or otherwise increase Search budgets.

3

Ad rank

Ad rank is made up of your quality score, bid, and ad extensions. Look into your quality score data to improve your scores for those keywords.

4

Bid methods

If you've set a higher CPA or target ROAS for Performance Max than Search, then PMax will take priority due to a higher ad rank. Conflicting bidding strategies can also cause issues. This is because if your Search campaign uses target CPA, it may limit bids to stay within your goal. Performance Max campaigns using max conversions can bid more aggressively on certain terms.

For more information on how PMax and Search can work together, have a look at this article.

Search terms that don't exist as search keywords and can be added as regular/negative keywords

Adding search terms as keywords

If a PMax search term is performing well, consider adding it as a keyword in a relevant Search campaign. This allows you to:

• Show more consistently for the term

• Track conversion rates, CPA, and other key metrics

• Adjust bidding and match types for better optimization

From your alert on the Audits > Alerts screen, you can view a list of potential keywords.

Select the relevant terms and click Add as keyword to search ad group.

You can then update the keyword parameters as needed.

Adding search terms as negative keywords

If a PMax search term is underperforming or irrelevant, add it as a negative to prevent your ads from showing for that term.

From your alert, you can view a list of potential negatives. Select the relevant terms and click Add as account negative keyword. Adalysis will check for conflicts to make sure you don’t accidentally block valuable traffic.

To review and customize the alert thresholds, go to Audit > Settings > Performance Max.

Add your preferred settings to a global template. We'll apply them to any accounts you link to Adalysis in the future, so you don't have to enter them more than once.