Google Ads · Audit
Performance Max Audit: The 12-Point Checklist to Stop Wasting Spend
Performance Max gives Google a lot of control. This audit checklist takes it back. Work through all 12 points to surface budget leaks, bad placements, and missing exclusions.
What this audit covers
- Conversion tracking integrity — the most common failure point
- Asset group structure and creative quality scores
- Audience signal configuration
- Brand exclusions and placement controls
- Budget allocation and bidding settings
- Search Insights and campaign insights data
Performance Max campaigns are the most powerful — and the most opaque — campaign type in Google Ads. When they work, they work well. When they don't, it's difficult to diagnose why. This checklist gives you a systematic way to identify what's wrong before you change bids, budgets, or creative.
What changed
In 2026, Google expanded PMax reporting with more asset group insights and an updated Search Insights tab. These additions make it easier to audit — but many advertisers still aren't using them. This checklist shows you exactly where to look.
Want a professional PMax audit? The Darlington team will review your Performance Max campaigns and deliver a detailed findings report.
Get a free audit →The 12-point Performance Max audit
Work through each point. Flag anything that doesn't pass.
01
Is your primary conversion action revenue-bearing?
PMax optimises toward whatever conversion you tell it to. If your primary conversion is "page view" or "session start," it will generate traffic, not revenue. Must be Purchase, Lead, or a custom revenue event.
02
Are conversion values set correctly?
For value-based bidding to work, every conversion event needs a real revenue value attached. Check that Purchase events pass actual order values, not a fixed placeholder.
03
Is there a brand exclusion list applied?
Without brand exclusions, PMax will spend budget serving your own brand keywords — impressions that were almost certainly going to convert anyway. This inflates reported ROAS while pure prospecting performance suffers.
04
Are there separate asset groups per product/service category?
One asset group for everything means Google can't match creative to intent. Create separate asset groups for distinct product lines or audience segments, each with tailored headlines, descriptions, and images.
05
Do all asset groups have "Good" or "Excellent" Ad Strength?
Ad Strength below "Good" signals missing creative variety. Add more headline variations, more images (at minimum 3 landscape, 3 square, 1 portrait), and at least 2 long descriptions.
06
Are audience signals configured with real customer data?
PMax uses audience signals to seed its targeting. Adding your customer list, remarketing audiences, and high-intent website visitors significantly improves prospecting efficiency — especially in the first 4 weeks.
07
Have you reviewed the Search Insights tab for irrelevant query themes?
The Search Insights tab groups your triggered queries into themes. Look for themes that are clearly off-target — these are candidates for negative keyword addition at the account or campaign level.
08
Are placement exclusions applied for Display/YouTube?
PMax serves across all Google inventory including Display and YouTube. Review the Placement Report and exclude low-quality websites, mobile game apps, and irrelevant YouTube channels.
09
Is the bidding strategy appropriate for current conversion volume?
Target ROAS requires enough conversion data to work properly. If you have fewer than 30 conversions in the past 30 days, Maximise Conversion Value may give better results. Check your 30-day conversion count before adjusting targets.
10
Is there a dedicated Search campaign running alongside PMax?
PMax and exact-match Search campaigns can coexist. A dedicated branded Search campaign with exact match keywords protects your brand terms and provides cleaner ROAS data for your core queries.
11
Have you checked the Asset Group performance breakdown?
In the Assets tab, you can see which individual headlines, descriptions, and images are performing "Best," "Good," or "Low." Remove Low-rated assets and replace them with new variations to improve overall Ad Strength.
12
Is there at least one video asset per asset group?
Without a video, Google auto-generates one from your images and text. Auto-generated videos are almost always lower quality than purpose-built creative. Even a simple 15-second product video gives Google's system more to work with.
Darlington recommendation
Run this audit monthly for the first three months of a new PMax campaign, then quarterly once performance stabilises. The most impactful points to start with: #1 (conversion action), #3 (brand exclusions), and #6 (audience signals). These three alone account for the majority of PMax underperformance we see in new account audits.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if PMax is cannibalising my Search campaigns?
Run a campaign-level ROAS comparison between PMax and your Search campaigns over the same period. If PMax ROAS is significantly higher, check whether brand exclusions are applied — PMax without brand exclusions often appears to outperform Search by claiming brand conversions that Search was already winning.
Can I see what queries PMax is triggering on?
Partially. The Search Insights tab shows query theme clusters, not individual queries. You can also check the Insights tab for search category data. Complete query-level visibility like the Search Terms report isn't available for PMax.
Should I run one PMax campaign or multiple?
One PMax campaign per product category or business objective is the general recommendation. Running multiple PMax campaigns for the same product with different budgets often leads to self-competition without meaningful learning differentiation.
Know your account could perform better?
Alex will personally review your current ad accounts and show you what we would improve.
Get a free account audit →