Need Suggestions for Improving my PMax Ads Performance
Hey everyone! I’m pretty new to Google Ads and could use some help. I’ve been running a PMax campaign for our men’s functional shapewear for about three weeks now, following what my mentor told me to do.
Here’s my setup: I’m using conversion value bidding with no tROAS target, targeting all US customers, uploaded a customer list and narrowed down the audience segment. I’ve got one asset group with around 50 products in it. Haven’t added any custom headlines or images – just using what’s in the product feed. Daily budget is set at $35.
(I asked my mentor why we’re leaving the headlines and photos blank, and she said she wants to make sure it only runs shopping ads to keep ROI stable… Doesn’t really make sense to me though. Should I open a new campaign with headlines, descriptions, photos and videos?)
So far my numbers are: ROAS of 1.19, CTR at 0.84%, 16 conversions total, and a 0.58% conversion rate over the past three weeks.
I’m wondering if anyone has suggestions on how I can improve performance? Any tips would be awesome – thanks!
The short answer is:
Your mentor’s strategy of leaving assets blank to force Shopping Ads is limiting your reach and is likely the main reason for the low performance, particularly the ROAS of 1.19 and low conversion volume.
You should absolutely create a new asset group in your existing PMax campaign and add high-quality custom headlines, long headlines, descriptions, images, and videos.
This unlocks PMax’s full potential across all Google channels (Search, Display, Gmail, YouTube, Discover).
Additionally, switch to a Maximize Conversion Value bidding strategy with a target ROAS (tROAS) of at least 1.5 – 2.0 to start, and ensure you are utilizing Enhanced Conversions and tracking micro-conversions (Standard Events) like add_to_cartbegin_checkoutview_item
The long answer is:
Your current PMax setup is essentially running a restricted Shopping campaign, which is defeating the purpose of Performance Max.
Your mentor’s goal of maintaining a stable ROI by limiting it to only Shopping ads is fundamentally misunderstanding PMax.
The strength of PMax comes from its ability to dynamically serve ads across all of Google’s inventory using the full range of creative assets you provide.
By leaving the assets blank, you’re missing out on high-converting placements on YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and highly relevant dynamic search query coverage that Shopping Ads alone won’t capture.
The low CTR of 0.84% is a strong indicator of limited reach and relevance, and the ROAS of 1.19 means you’re barely breaking even, or likely losing money after cost of goods, shipping, and other business expenses.
Your first step should be to create a second, separate asset group within your current PMax campaign.
Populate this new asset group with compelling, high-quality creatives: 5 high-quality landscape images, 5 square images, 5 or more headlines, 5 or more long headlines, 4 descriptions, and at least one high-quality video (even a simple slideshow).
Since your niche is men’s functional shapewear, focus the copy and visuals on the benefits and utility of the product.
Keep your original asset group running for comparison for now, but the new one should quickly outperform it.
After adding assets, switch your bidding to Maximize Conversion Value with a target ROAS (tROAS).
Given your current ROAS of 1.19, a tROAS of 1.5 is a safe starting point, which you can then slowly raise as performance improves.
This tells Google’s AI what you consider a successful return, guiding its bidding decisions more effectively than a bare Maximize Conversion Value strategy.
Regarding conversion tracking and measurement, this is critical for PMax’s success.
Your current performance suggests the AI isn’t getting enough high-quality data.
Implementing Enhanced Conversions is a must as it significantly improves the accuracy of conversion tracking, especially against typical browser tracking prevention measures.
Furthermore, you should be tracking micro-conversions, which are actions that signal purchase intent, not just the final purchase.
You mentioned 16 conversions in three weeks, which is too few for the AI to learn efficiently.
By tracking Standard Events like add_to_cartbegin_checkoutview_item
While these micro-conversions shouldn’t be set as primary conversions for bidding, you can import them as secondary actions to improve audience building and reporting visibility within Google Ads.
For a cheap and robust long-term solution to conversion tracking, especially for e-commerce, the combination of Google Ads API + Google Tag Manager (GTM) + a server-side tagging solution like Stape or even a self-hosted solution on Google Cloud Platform is excellent.
The Google Ads API is free to use and allows for more advanced, direct integration, though it requires some technical setup or a third-party connector.
GTM is also free and is the standard for managing tags on your website.
Services like Stape offer server-side tagging at a very low cost, often just a few dollars a month for smaller volumes, significantly cheaper than enterprise-level server-side solutions.
Server-side tracking via GTM and Stape or Google Cloud Platform is an excellent solution because it sends conversion data directly from your server to Google, bypassing client-side issues like ad blockers and browser privacy restrictions (like Intelligent Tracking Prevention in Safari or Enhanced Tracking Protection in Firefox) that often lead to underreporting of conversions.
This ensures Google’s AI is bidding on a much more accurate and complete set of data, leading directly to better PMax optimization and a higher tROAS achievement.
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