Starting this April, marketers can begin upgrading their Smart Shopping and Local campaigns to Performance Max.
On January 27, Google announced that starting in April, marketers can begin upgrading their Smart Shopping and Local campaigns to Performance Max and therefore access additional inventory and formats across YouTube, Search text ads, and Discover.
Performance Max uses Google’s automation to help advertisers reach shoppers as they browse for things they love — online and in-store. The system builds on Smart Shopping and Local campaigns to deliver the same basic features while adding new inventory and automation insights.
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According to the company’s findings from early testing, “advertisers who upgrade Smart Shopping campaigns to Performance Max see an average increase of 12% in conversion value at the same or better return on ad spend (ROAS).”
Performance Max allows advertisers to grow omnichannel sales, online and offline, using Google’s ad inventory from a single campaign with a product feed. For example, users can build Video ads for digital storefronts within their YouTube video ads and highlight their top products right where potential customers watch relevant video content.
The upgrade process will develop through some key milestones during the year. However, right now, advertisers can continue using their existing Smart Shopping and Local campaigns before upgrading them to Performance Max.
Google advises that they start using Performance Max when creating new campaigns in Google Ads, and by doing so, they will still access Smart Shopping and Local campaigns ad inventory. However, they will also have new inventory and formats at their disposal, including across YouTube, Search text ads, and Discover.
In June, Google will also add a new “one-click” tool in Google Ads to easily upgrade Local campaigns. With the tool, advertisers will be able to upgrade specific campaigns or all of their campaigns at once. In addition, new Performance Max campaigns will use learnings from previous and existing campaigns to maintain consistent performance.
From July through September, Smart Shopping campaigns will be automatically upgraded, and from August to September, the same will happen for Local campaigns. Once the upgrade process is complete, advertisers will no longer be able to create new Smart Shopping and Local campaigns.
According to Google’s developer blog, all merchants and partners will be able to upgrade their Smart Shopping and Local campaigns through the Google Ads API later this year.
To provide support during the transition, Google will provide a webinar in February, where product experts will demonstrate the one-click upgrade tool and share best practices for creating new Performance Max campaigns. The company has also updated Performance Max’s best practices guide with new recommendations.
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