In this video,
you'll learn how to run experiments and measure the incremental impact
of switching from Standard Shopping campaigns to Performance Max,
the next generation of Smart Shopping campaigns
that gives you access to the full range of channels
and inventory in Google ads.
Now, you can test this for yourself
to see how your account could benefit from using
Performance Max instead of Standard Shopping campaigns.
If this is the first time you're hearing about Experiments,
they are tools in Google Ads that help you
A/B test different features, settings, and campaigns,
to improve results for your business.
For Performance Max specifically,
you can run an Experiment if you'd like to:
measure the incremental conversion uplift from adding
Performance Max campaigns to your existing campaign mix.
Directly compare results from Performance Max campaigns
head-to-head against Standard Shopping campaigns.
This helps you understand the performance uplift you'd get
from switching campaign types from Standard Shopping
and moving forward with Performance Max
to access the full range of Google channels and inventory.
For this video,
we'll focus on experiments that test Performance Max campaigns
head-to-head against Standard Shopping campaigns.
For more information on non-Shopping Experiments
where you add Performance Max
on top of a range of other Google ads campaigns,
watch this other video on Uplift Experiments for Performance Max.
Since the launch of Smart Shopping campaigns in 2018,
advertisers have seen great results and uplift
when compared to Standard Shopping campaigns.
On average, advertisers have seen more than
30% increase in conversion value at a similar cost when comparing
Smart Shopping campaigns to Standard Shopping campaigns.
With Performance Max,
we are seeing an additional 12% average conversion value uplift
on top of Smart Shopping campaigns,
multiplying performance even further.
In a head-to-head Experiment of
Standard Shopping campaigns versus a comparable
Performance Max campaign targeting the same products,
you'll see how much incremental conversion value at a profitable ROAS
Performance Max is driving and at what return-on-ad-spend.
This will help you decide whether to switch your
Standard Shopping campaigns over to Performance Max moving forward.
In the future, we will have other experiments available
that allow you to compare Performance Max against
other campaign types beyond Standard Shopping campaigns.
Now that you understand why you'd use experiments,
let's take a closer look at how to get started.
To start, go to the “Experiments” page in your Google Ads account,
and click “Performance Max campaign experiments”.
Click on the “+” to create a new experiment.
You can select “Test uplift from Performance Max”
or “Test vs. Shopping campaign”.
Select the “Test vs. Shopping campaign” option.
Click “Select Campaign”.
In this section,
you will want to pick the Standard Shopping campaign
that you would like to test against Performance Max.
Please note: today, you can only test one
Standard Shopping campaign against Performance Max.
In the future, you will be able to choose multiple
Standard Shopping campaigns.
Then click the “pencil icon”,
if you would like to edit Product Listing groups.
Click the percent dropdown here,
if you want to change the traffic split percentage
from the 50/50 default.
You then have the option to click “Create new”,
if you would like Google to automatically create a new
Performance Max campaign
to test against your Standard Shopping campaign
with the same products and settings
like locations and ROAS Target.
Or you can click “Select campaign”
if you already have an existing Performance Max campaign
that you want to test.
In this workflow, we will click on “Create new campaign”.
Note: Please check the settings for your
Performance Max campaign
to ensure they are optimizing for the same conversions,
landing pages, location, language and product groups.
Finally, having clicked on “Create new campaign”.
Review the summary of your Performance Max Experiment.
We strongly recommend adding as many creative assets
to your new Performance Max campaign as you can.
This makes you eligible to serve on the full range of channels
and inventory to drive better results.
Click “Publish campaign” when ready.
You will be taken back to the page
where you set up the Experiment.
Scroll down and click “Next”.
Review your Experiment settings once more
and then press “Schedule” when ready.
Congratulations, your test is now set up!
You will see it in the far left column.
To see your Experiment and measure results:
Go to the “Experiments page”,
then click “Performance Max campaign experiments”.
As your experiment runs,
you can view the results summary table
to see performance for the Control and Treatment groups
and whether the results are statistically significant.
It's important to note that results will not be available
for the first seven days,
in order to allow time for the experiment to ramp up.
To ensure that you let the experiment run for enough time
before analyzing results,
we recommend waiting 4 to 6 weeks
before making any decisions from the experiment.
To end your experiment in the Experiment Summary section,
click “End experiment”.
There are two ways to end an experiment.
You can either “Launch the Performance Max campaign”
and your Standard Shopping campaign would be paused
and send 100% of traffic to Performance Max to serve.
Or, if you want to wait on launching
the Performance Max campaign full-time,
you can “Pause the Performance Max campaign”
and enable it again at a later time.
Then click “Confirm”.
You now understand how to run an experiment
on “Test Performance Max vs. Standard Shopping campaigns”.