Google like to throw curveballs at the PPC community and see how we react. Performance max certainly forced advertisers and PPC agencies to adapt or see their performance diminish. We adapted; through better tracking, new processes, CSS like ProductHero and lots and lots of feed optimisation. This blog title then, could be forgiven for provoking fear; what have Google done this time…?

However, I am here to bring a smile to your faces, and to report on three much-requested changes that are now hitting Google Ads accounts. With these changes come some brilliant opportunities to achieve better results and make that budget bring more back to your business. I have been leading our PPC team to achieve some brilliant results like the below by understanding and adapting to our new powers. Read on below to find out what has changed, and how your business can use it to improve your results!

 

Google Finally Give Us Visibility on Pmax Search terms:

 

The Background:

When Google introduced Performance Max, PPC experts like us at Verve, were torn. On the one hand it promises an amalgamation of channels and a powerful algorithm that can fuel outstanding results; one of our eCommerce clients is returning £18 or revenue for every £1 spent and has scaled his business through this approach. However, as opposed to standard shopping, search, or even the old smart shopping campaign types, there is less control and a lot less visibility. This can make it harder to identify problems, or to steer a campaign towards value if it is not performing as hoped.

At Verve, our expert PPC team have spent a lot of time testing and adapting to Performance Max. From investing a lot of time into feed management and tracking to ensure the algorithm has the best data to work with, to breaking down asset groups in increasingly intelligent, data-driven ways, we have found ways to dial performance up and hit those target ROAS goals.

 

The Change:

However, Google has finally listened to the PPC industry, and given us something we have all been crying out for; search terms. This means we can once again see what search terms Google’s algorithm is pushing our ads on, and crucially, which ones are getting clicks, spending budget and delivering results. This has been a phased roll-out onto accounts, so to check if its on yours yet, just hop into a campaign view and look for ‘search terms’ under the insights and reports dropdown.

 

How Does This Change Help Me?

This is a gamechanger in Performance Max visibility and our expert, Shrewsbury-based PPC agency team are already driving some fantastic account growth by leveraging the new insights and control. Our recommendation is to look at the data; are you wasting budget on search terms that do not convert? Does brand need to be separated out with negative lists so that you are actually paying for new customers? Are there hidden gems you want to push harder with their own asset groups or updated audience signals? More data is gold-dust and you need to be making the most of this, and quickly, to get ahead of competitors and their ads.

 

Pmax Channel Performance Insights Are Being Rolled Out

 

The Background:

Performance Max serves ads across Google’s whole network; search, Youtube, shopping, display, discover, gmail and maps. Up until now, without having manual scripts in place, there was no way of seeing which channels were spending and converting; advertisers have been blind. The only caveat to this is when you make a feed-only performance max campaign; this is something we have tried with multiple clients and seen some great results as it forces spend to the shopping feed, which is often the place you find the highest intent clicks as by definition, its used by active shoppers. 

 

The Change:

In another bit of positive news, Google have decided to listen to the PPC community again and have finally provided us visibility on channel performance. Whilst we have also used scripts to see channel performance more manually, the formal addition of it to the insights and report section is most welcome and should help SME’s to understand where their Google Ads budget is actually being spent. This is being rolled out right now and is still in beta mode as of July 2025, so keep an eye out in your account for your new channel performance insights.

 

How Does This Change Help Me?

Knowing which channels your Google Ads are spending and performing in is powerful knowledge. Immediately, it should give you an idea of whereabouts in the funnel you are serving your ads. It might also help you to identify weak/strong creative assets; if you are spending a decent chunk on Youtube, a better video would be a worthwhile investment. Our local PPC experts have been using these insights to assess campaign structures, asset performance and even campaign budgets.

 

Make The Most Of Campaign-Level Negatives

 

The Background:

Performance max relies on an algorithm that you can steer. Targeting-wise, this is a large step away from the traditional keyword match-types and negative keywords that PPC agencies like Verve have mastered on search and shopping campaigns. However, it did open up opportunities for the algorithm to find new customers and in many cases, drive fantastic results. You’ve always been able to add account-level negative keywords, which would then apply to Performance Max campaigns, but this does not help if you want to ban a keyword from a particular campaign, and not another.

 

The Change: 

Google have now given us PPC agencies and marketers the power to add campaign-level negative keywords to Performance Max campaigns. This is a change you simply have to make the most of. It’s important not to make too many updates to Pmax campaigns and to try and give the algorithm breathing room to do what it does best, and convert, however, there are times when human control is essential. This is a great change that has been very well received by our PPC team in Shrewsbury who are dedicated to squeezing out every bit of value they can for our clients.

 

How Does This Change Help Me?

You now have the power to add campaign-level negative keywords to Pmax. Combined with the new search terms insights, you should be able to identify wasteful terms, and stop any future spend being burnt on them. Furthermore, if you have campaigns split by brands or categories, you can use negatives to control this tighter; a campaign for bedroom furniture should not be bidding on the term ‘garden’ for instance. The other most obvious use case is to ensure your Performance Max campaigns are not spending most of their money on your brand name. Have a separate campaign for this, and then add your name to a negative list on your acquisition based Pmax campaigns. 

 

Our Summary:

These three changes show a positive trend of Google actually listening to the PPC community and bringing changes that in-house and agency teams can really benefit from. Our expert PPC team have been sinking their teeth into the new data and making positive changes across our client accounts, with great initial results. Our PPC retainers start from just £600 and run on a monthly rolling basis as we know the expertise, time and creativity we apply to your account will drive results that keep you with us. Whether you are wondering where business growth will come from in 2025 or just want an expert team to look over your current Google Ads setup, you can email [email protected] and we’l be happy to help.