Google is rolling out a significant update to its Performance Max campaigns, giving advertisers more transparency and control over their ad placements.
The big picture:
- Performance Max search terms are now visible in the standard Search Terms report
- Advertisers can add negative keywords directly from the report
- The update integrates with Google’s recent addition of negative keyword capabilities for Performance Max
Why we care. This change addresses one of the biggest criticisms of Performance Max campaigns: lack of visibility into which search queries trigger ads. Advertisers now have the same level of insight and control they’re accustomed to with standard Search campaigns.
Behind the scenes. The update was first spotted by digital marketer Hana Kobzová, suggesting a gradual rollout that hasn’t reached all Google Ads accounts yet.
What’s next? This update represents Google’s ongoing effort to make automated campaign types more transparent while maintaining their AI-driven optimization benefits.
The bottom line. For advertisers who have been hesitant to fully embrace Performance Max due to its “black box” nature, this added transparency could make the campaign type significantly more attractive.
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About the author
Anu Adegbola has been Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.
In 2008, Anu’s career started with
delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side.
She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US), SMX (Munich), Friends of Search (Amsterdam), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna) and more.