Standard Shopping vs. Performance Max

Picking the Right Google Ads Weapon for Your Ecommerce Store

So, you're running an ecommerce store and want to boost sales with Google Ads. Great! But then you hit a fork in the road: Standard Shopping or Performance Max? Both promise to bring in the customers, but they go about it in totally different ways. Let's break down these two heavy hitters and figure out which one deserves a spot in your marketing arsenal.

The Tale of Two Campaigns

Think of Standard Shopping as your trusty, well-worn tool belt. It's all about product listings showing up on Google Shopping. You upload your product info, organize it into campaigns, and bid on keywords. You're in the driver's seat, tweaking everything just so.

Performance Max (PMax), on the other hand, is like handing the keys to a self-driving car. It uses Google's smarts to find customers across all of Google's platforms – Search, YouTube, Gmail, you name it. You give it some basic info like text, images, and videos, and it goes out and finds the best places to show your ads.

Control Freak vs. Hands-Off Approach

The core difference boils down to control. Standard Shopping gives you tons of it. You can micro-manage keywords, create super-specific ad groups, and use negative keywords to laser-focus your targeting. If you're a control freak (like many marketers!), this is your jam.

PMax is all about automation. It leans heavily on machine learning to find the right audiences and placements. You give it the raw materials, and it does the heavy lifting. This is a lifesaver if you're short on time or resources.

What About Conversions? The Money Metric

Let's talk conversions – the bread and butter of e-commerce. A decent average conversion rate for Google Shopping is around 2%. That's the benchmark.

Now, here's where things get interesting - with proper Google Ads account management and proper feed optimisation, we managed to reach conversion rates as high as 7.2% with Performance Max. That's a serious sales boost. But keep in mind, every business is different, and results will vary.

The Nitty-Gritty: Pros and Cons

Standard Shopping: The Good and the Bad

The Upsides: You're in charge! Total control over targeting, bidding, and fine-tuning. Plus, you get to use negative keywords to weed out irrelevant searches. And you get detailed reports so you know exactly what’s happening.

The Downsides: It takes time and effort. You'll be spending more time managing and optimising. And it's mainly focused on Google Shopping, so you might miss out on potential customers elsewhere.

Performance Max: The Good and the Bad

The Upsides: It automates a lot of the work, saving you time and headaches. It reaches customers across Google's entire network, giving you much broader reach. And, as we've seen, it can seriously boost conversions.

The Downsides: You have less control. You're trusting Google’s algorithms to do their thing. And instead of full negative keyword lists, you only get brand exclusions. This can be a pain if you rely heavily on negative keywords. It's also a bit of a "black box" – you don't always see exactly why it's making certain decisions.

The Negative Keyword Headache (or Lack Thereof)

One of the biggest differences is how they handle negative keywords. Standard Shopping lets you use them to exclude irrelevant searches, saving you money and improving your targeting. This is a huge advantage.

PMax only offers brand exclusions. So, you can stop your ads from showing for searches related to specific brands, but that’s it. This can be a major drawback for some businesses.

One or the Other, Not Both!

Here's a key point: you can't run Standard Shopping and Performance Max for the same products at the same time. PMax will basically override your Standard Shopping campaigns. You have to pick one.

So, Which One Should You Choose?

It depends on what you need:

• Go with Standard Shopping if: You need precise control, have the time to manage campaigns, and rely heavily on negative keywords.
• Go with Performance Max if: You're short on time, want to reach a wider audience, and are comfortable with a more hands-off approach.

The Bottom Line

Both Standard Shopping and Performance Max have their strengths and both are used by professional PPC managers. Standard Shopping is the control freak's dream, while PMax is the automation lover's paradise. Think about your business, your resources, and your comfort level, and choose the weapon that best suits your e-commerce battle.