{"id":10370,"date":"2024-02-20T14:30:34","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T14:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/?p=10370"},"modified":"2024-10-24T14:24:23","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T14:24:23","slug":"pmax-and-brand-bidding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/google-ads\/pmax-and-brand-bidding\/","title":{"rendered":"PMax and Brand Bidding: Are you ready to hand over the keys to Google?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In this episode of the <strong>Growing Ecommerce<\/strong> Podcast, host Mike Ryan sits down with two industry heavyweights\u2014Kirk Williams of ZATO Marketing and Ben Krueger, a Senior E-commerce Growth Consultant at Google. They tackled some pretty hot-button issues, including the brand vs. non-brand traffic debate, the growing impact of Performance Max (PMax), and whether the trusty cost-per-click (CPC) still holds water in today\u2019s automated ad environment. Spoiler: While automation is great, relying solely on PMax\u2019s full automation could blur critical insights, especially when it comes to separating brand from non-brand traffic\u2014leaving you with less control than you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-key-insights-from-the-episode\">Key Insights from the Episode<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\"><p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<\/div><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/google-ads\/pmax-and-brand-bidding\/#1-brand-vs-non-brand-traffic-a-fine-line-worth-walking\" >1. Brand vs. Non-Brand traffic: A fine line worth walking?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/google-ads\/pmax-and-brand-bidding\/#2-performance-max-the-future-is-here-but-are-we-ready\" >2. Performance Max: The future is here, but are we ready?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/google-ads\/pmax-and-brand-bidding\/#3-is-cpc-still-a-thing\" >3. Is CPC still a thing?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/google-ads\/pmax-and-brand-bidding\/#4-the-new-king-creative-content\" >4. The new king: creative content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/google-ads\/pmax-and-brand-bidding\/#5-google-vs-meta-the-data-showdown\" >5. Google vs. Meta: The data showdown<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/google-ads\/pmax-and-brand-bidding\/#what-should-advertisers-do-now\" >What should advertisers do now?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-brand-vs-non-brand-traffic-a-fine-line-worth-walking\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1-brand-vs-non-brand-traffic-a-fine-line-worth-walking\"><\/span><strong>1. Brand vs. Non-Brand traffic: A fine line worth walking?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Kirk Williams took the mic first, highlighting the need to separate\u00a0<em>brand<\/em>\u00a0from\u00a0<em>non-brand<\/em>\u00a0traffic. His argument? Non-brand traffic is like catching those high-funnel audiences\u2014people who don\u2019t know you from Adam. Brand traffic, on the other hand, signals users are already in your orbit. This is where PMax muddies the water, blending both types of traffic, making it harder to pinpoint what\u2019s driving real value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ben Krueger weighed in, suggesting that the mix might not be as bad as it seems. From a financial standpoint, combining the two could create efficiencies. But does efficiency always mean accuracy? Jury\u2019s still out on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-performance-max-the-future-is-here-but-are-we-ready\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2-performance-max-the-future-is-here-but-are-we-ready\"><\/span><strong>2. Performance Max: The future is here, but are we ready?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>PMax has completely flipped the Google Ads game. Traditionally, advertisers have been used to steering the ship with manual controls\u2014now, PMax is taking over with full automation across Search, Display, Shopping, and more. It\u2019s like a self-driving car: great in theory, but nerve-wracking if you\u2019re used to being behind the wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Krueger and Williams both agreed that while PMax shows promise, it&#8217;s not all smooth sailing. Some advertisers are trying &#8220;hacks&#8221; like asset-only campaigns to claw back a bit of control, but the real value seems to come from embracing the platform&#8217;s full potential. Easier said than done when you can\u2019t even see all the levers, though, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-is-cpc-still-a-thing\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3-is-cpc-still-a-thing\"><\/span><strong>3. Is CPC still a thing?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The debate then shifted to CPCs\u2014are they still relevant in today\u2019s AI-heavy landscape? Ben Krueger\u2019s take: not really. He argued that focusing on&nbsp;<em>return on ad spend (ROAS)<\/em>&nbsp;gives a clearer picture of campaign performance. Sure, but inflated CPCs can still sting, especially when competitive bidding feels like throwing money into a black hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, it seems like CPC still plays a role\u2014but maybe it\u2019s time to reconsider how much weight we give it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-the-new-king-creative-content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4-the-new-king-creative-content\"><\/span><strong>4. The new king: creative content<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The conversation also hit on the importance of&nbsp;<em>creative assets<\/em>. With automation reigning supreme in PMax, the quality of your creative content can make or break your campaigns. Both experts stressed that if you&#8217;re not segmenting creative by product or audience, you\u2019re leaving money on the table. In a world of automated bidding and black-box algorithms,&nbsp;<em>creativity<\/em>&nbsp;might just be your last line of defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-google-vs-meta-the-data-showdown\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5-google-vs-meta-the-data-showdown\"><\/span><strong>5. Google vs. Meta: The data showdown<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastly, there was a bit of a rivalry brewing. Meta\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Advantage Plus<\/em>&nbsp;platform is winning points for offering more audience control and better data insights than Google\u2019s PMax\u2014at least for now. If audience data is your bread and butter, this is one area where Google could stand to step up its game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-should-advertisers-do-now\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-should-advertisers-do-now\"><\/span>What should advertisers do now?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With PMax being here to stay (and getting more entrenched by the day), here\u2019s how you can stay ahead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Focus on&nbsp;<em>audience and creative segmentation<\/em>&nbsp;to squeeze the most value from automation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Track&nbsp;<em>ROAS<\/em>, not just CPCs, to keep profitability in check as auction dynamics fluctuate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Experiment with campaign setups, but remember, PMax is designed to cover the full funnel, so working against it may limit results.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eager for more control? Try our <a href=\"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/en\/google-ads-scripts\/search-term-insights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PMax brand traffic analyzer<\/a> script or <a href=\"https:\/\/nilsrooijmans.com\/category\/7-script-reviews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">other scripts<\/a> helping you have better sight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Automation doesn\u2019t mean you lose control; it just means you have to steer smarter. If you\u2019re feeling the heat from PMax\u2019s black box, it might be time to look for new strategies to better guide that AI. After all, when the dust settles, human insight still beats algorithms every time.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" style=\"width:853px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe hidef\" id=\"WYL_vXll1rgTA8A\"><div id=\"lyte_vXll1rgTA8A\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FvXll1rgTA8A%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/vXll1rgTA8A\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/smarter-ecommerce.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FvXll1rgTA8A%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"853\" height=\"460\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:853px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this episode of the Growing Ecommerce Podcast, host Mike Ryan sits down with two industry heavyweights\u2014Kirk Williams of ZATO Marketing and Ben Krueger, a Senior E-commerce Growth Consultant at Google. They tackled some pretty hot-button issues, including the brand vs. non-brand traffic debate, the growing impact of Performance Max &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":10581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[479],"tags":[704],"class_list":["post-10370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-google-ads","tag-microblog"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.7 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>PMax and Brand Bidding: Ready to hand over the keys to Google?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Uncover the future of ad strategies with a deep dive into the brand vs. non-brand debate in Google Ads&#039; Performance Max.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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