Google Ads Performance Max campaigns are designed to maximise performance against the conversion goals you define at the campaign level. This includes, if desired, maintaining an average ROI constraint in the form of target CPA or target ROAS (depending on whether you optimise for conversion count or conversion value).
Asset optimisation is a key lever to getting the best out of Performance Max and critical to delivering a positive user experience with your brand, so we have launched the reporting at the asset group level for Performance Max campaigns.
Using asset group reporting, you’ll be able to better understand how your asset groups are performing alongside your campaign-level goals. You can view status, ad strength, conversions, conversion value and audiences across all your asset groups. With this data, you’ll be able to focus on improving and/or adding assets to drive better results for your campaigns and better inform your broader marketing strategy.
On this page
- How to view your reports
- What your reports show and how to edit your reports
- Available metrics
- Best practices
View your reports
To view your asset group report, follow these instructions:
- Sign in to your new Search Ads 360.
- Navigate to a Google Ads client account.
- In the page menu, click Campaigns.
- On the 'Campaigns' page, select the Performance Max campaign that you’d like to view.
- You will then be redirected to the overview page of the Performance Max campaign. In the page menu, click Asset groups.
- Click on the Table icon from the top right-hand corner.
- To view additional columns, click on the Columns icon
.
- You can browse through available metrics and click Apply to view these as columns on your report.
What your reports show and how to edit your reports
You’ll notice that we’ve focused default reporting around the volume of conversions that the asset group is driving. You will also be able to report on all the performance and conversion metrics you’re used to.
You can review your 'Asset group' report in Search Ads 360 to understand metrics and data that can help you improve your assets and advertising strategies. Some metrics are available by default, so if you’d like to add or remove metrics, click the 'Columns' icon, select the 'Modify columns' option and select and save the metrics that you’d like to view in your report.
Available metrics
Google recommends that you use specific metrics to gain insightful data from your asset group reporting. If you’re not sure where to start when you’re setting up your asset group reporting, consider adding the following metrics.
Note: Non-biddable Floodlight conversions and visits may not be recorded prior to 19 March 2024.
Performance metrics
Clicks
Clicks can help you understand how appealing your ad is to people who see it.
Impressions
An impression is counted each time your ad is shown on a search results page or other site on the Google Network. 'Impressions' is abbreviated as 'Impr.'
Cost
This column shows the total costs that a campaign has accrued during the time frame that you selected. This column is available on the 'Campaigns' page only.
Click-through rate (CTR)
A ratio showing how often people who see your ad end up clicking it. CTR can be used to gauge how well your keywords and ads are performing.
Avg. CPC
The amount paid for your ads divided by your total clicks.
Avg. cost
The average amount you've paid per interaction. This amount is the total cost of your ads divided by the total number of interactions. For example, if there are 2 interactions with your ad, one costing $0.30 and one costing $0.40, your average cost for those interactions is $0.35.
Asset group columns
Assets
In the 'Asset' column, you’ll find:
- The content of each asset, such as text or an image thumbnail
- Asset dimensions for images, if applicable
Asset group
The asset report lists each asset used in a Performance Max campaign and allows you to compare performance across a variety of assets.
Status
In the 'Status' column, you can find any policy violations for your assets. You can review those violations by hovering over the 'Status' column to learn more about the policy violation. To correct the policy issue, go to the 'Asset groups' section and use the 'Edit assets' link.
Audience signal
Audience signals allow you to add audience suggestions that help Google AI optimise for your selected goals. Although adding audience signals is optional, using audience signals can help you guide machine learning models on the ideal way to optimise your campaign.
Conversion metrics
Consider adding the following metrics when you’re setting up your asset group reporting. Learn more about the 'Conversions' column.
Conversions
Conversions are actions that are counted when someone interacts with your ad or free product listing and then takes an action that you’ve defined as valuable to your business.
When you measure your conversions, you can better understand the number of customers who action on your ad after being served an ad formed of assets from your Performance Max asset group.
Conversion value (if measured)
If your conversion goals also measure conversion value, this can help you measure and optimise the true business impact of your ad campaigns more accurately.
Conversion rate
Your conversion rate is the average number of conversions per ad interaction. You can use conversion tracking in your account to measure conversion rates shown as a percentage.
When you measure your conversion rate, you can compare assets in your asset group to ensure that the highest performing assets continue to be served.
Cost per conversion
Your cost per conversion is how much, on average, each of your conversions cost. It’s calculated by dividing your total cost by the number in your 'Conversions' column.
When you measure your cost per conversion, you can compare assets in your asset group to ensure that the money you spend is yielding results.
Attribution and attributes metrics
These columns can help you understand the role your keywords play in the Google.com searches leading up to a conversion. Often, the 'last click' before a conversion gets all the credit because that's the click that leads directly to the sale, acquisition or sign-up that you're trying to get. But there are also helper keywords that might have guided your customers towards that conversion along the way. The assisted-conversion data from attribution reports can give you a more complete picture of the value of your individual keywords when it comes to generating conversions. As with the conversions columns, you'll need to have conversion tracking set up on your website to view assisted conversion data.
Ad strength
Ad strength provides you with feedback to help you focus on providing the right messages to your customers. Ad strength has 2 components: the overall rating that indicates the effectiveness of a relevant ad, and the specific action item(s) that can improve the strength of the ad.
Best practices
To make the most of the data in your asset group report, consider the following:
Continue campaign-level evaluations: It’s recommended that you continue to evaluate the performance of your campaigns at the campaign level because the algorithm will be optimised against your conversion objectives.
Evaluate your conversion metrics carefully: It’s recommended that you remain attentive when evaluating your average cost-per-action (CPA) or conversion value per cost (ROAS) at the asset group level, as asset groups with higher CPA or lower ROAS contribute to achieving your campaign goals. You can maximise your assets and asset groups to create a more successful campaign. Learn more about optimising for marginal ROI instead of average ROI.
Leverage additional insights in Search Ads 360: To gain additional understanding of how your assets and asset groups are performing, for example, which audiences are your ads resonating with, review your audience insights in Search Ads 360 alongside your 'Asset group' report.