Below I will outline how to structure and apply audiences within Performance Max (PMax) campaigns, working within the constraints of Google’s control over audience targeting. We will discuss the hierarchy of audience types and make recommendations on how to reach high-value segments by providing audience signals to Google’s machine learning capabilities.
Types of Audiences
1. First-Party Data and Customer Match.
First-party data and Customer Match are always the most valuable to any business. Real customer data is bespoke to your business goals, making it key to maximise first-party data within your PMax campaigns. Here are some examples of first-party data audiences that you should consider applying to your campaigns:
- Past Purchasers: Create and upload the top X% of customers that contributed to over 80% of revenue in the last 12 months. If the list is too small to target, expand it to include more customers with slightly less value.
- Abandoned Basket Users: Target customers who added items to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase.
You also need to assess whether the converting users in these audiences align with the product you’re promoting in the specific PMax campaign and/or ad set. Relevance is critical to maximise the success of your PMax campaigns. For example, if you have enough data to break out past purchasers based on the products they have purchased previously and apply to the matching campaign or ad set. For example:
PMax – Running Leggings campaign > Running leggings past purchasers top 80% audience list
Regulatory Compliance: Ensure that all first-party data is collected and processed in compliance with data privacy regulations. For instance, in the EU and UK, you must adhere to GDPR standards when collecting and using customer information.
2. Custom Segments
Custom segments allow you to create highly targeted audience groups based on specific behaviours and interests. For example, here are some examples of audiences that I create for all PMax campaigns as standard:
- Top Search Terms: Build a custom segment using your top 50 search terms, sorted by total conversion value. Remove any near duplicates to improve the quality of signals provided to Google.
- Top Competitors: Include competitors’ brand names or specific webpages your target audience might visit.
3. Search Signals
Very similar to Custom Segments help Google identify high-intent users by using custom segments built from your most valuable keywords. Unlike traditional keyword targeting, search signals act as guidance for Google’s machine learning, expanding reach to similar audiences.
Common Mistakes to Avoid:
- Using only high-volume, low-intent keywords.
- Not refreshing keyword lists based on new data.
- Ignoring brand and competitor terms as valuable intent signals.
4. In-Market Audiences
In-market audiences can be highly effective when aligned with key shopping events and trends.
- Be Granular: Explore ‘In-market: other’ categories to find niche audiences that align closely with your target customers.
- Seasonal Opportunities: Incorporate seasonality by targeting audiences shopping for events like “Black Friday” or “Back-to-School” campaigns.
A useful place to help determine which in-market (and affinity) audiences will work best for your PMax campaigns is the Audience Insights report. This report provides information about which audience categories Performance Max is indexing for, as well as the share of clicks:
Remember: Some of the audience signals in the report might seem irrelevant to the product or brand you are advertising. However, these are Google-defined audiences that are performing well based on your goals. So, don’t be alarmed if you see DIY enthusiasts driving a high share of clicks in the top audience segments for your activewear client’s account—it simply means that Google has identified them as a valuable segment for conversions.
5. Additional Audience Segments
- Affinity Audiences: These are nice-to-have segments that can supplement your campaign but won’t make or break performance.
- Demographics: Keep demographic settings broad to allow other audience signals to guide bidding and targeting.
- Life Events: Use these sparingly, as they’re generally less impactful but can add incremental value if they are relevant to the products you are advertising for example a furniture brand could benefit from “Home Movers” life event audience segment being overlaid to the PMax campaign.
Layering Audiences.
It’s important to layer audiences strategically to achieve optimal performance. Combined audiences that include a mix of first-party, second-party, and third-party data provide Google with a broad range of signals, enabling its machine learning algorithms to make more informed bidding decisions.
Understanding Audience Insights and Reporting in PMax
One of the challenges with PMax campaigns is the limited reporting capabilities. However, interpreting audience insights effectively can still provide valuable information to optimise your strategy.
There is still no fully transparent audience reporting for PMax campaigns, but if you want to test the effectiveness of different audiences, one approach is to apply them at the asset group level and assess their impact via the asset group report.
How to Access the Report
- Go to your Performance Max campaign in Google Ads.
- Click on the ‘Asset Group’ tab in the left-hand menu.
- View the summary, then toggle to ‘Table’ for a detailed breakdown.
Remember audience layering should be a key part of your setup and best practice. Apply audience signals strategically from the outset to maximise performance across campaigns and asset groups.
Conclusion
Structuring and applying audiences effectively within PMax campaigns is both an art and a science. By prioritising high-value first-party data, leveraging custom segments, and aligning granular audiences with your campaign goals, you can provide Google’s machine learning with the signals it needs to deliver exceptional results. Remember, layering audiences strategically and staying compliant with data regulations will set you up for long-term success.
Start optimising your PMax campaigns today by integrating these audience strategies and watch your performance soar!
