Episode
How Google Ads Performance Max Drives Brand Search
- Published
- Jun 10, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 432
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Summary
In this episode of The Google Ads Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how Performance Max campaigns can inadvertently appear on brand search terms — and why that matters for your ad spend. Using the example of a mid-market e-commerce retailer running PMax alongside Exact Match brand campaigns, they dissect the auction dynamics, the role of conversion attribution, and the data clean-room workaround that prevents self-competition. Lucas explains the actual cost-per-click difference between brand-term clicks driven by PMax versus traditional campaigns, and why Google's own recommendation to 'let PMax handle brand' isn't always in the advertiser's interest. Luna pushes back with a real-world case where PMax brand overlap actually improved overall ROAS. They end with a practical checklist for segmenting Performance Max by brand and non-brand using campaign-level negative brand lists — a workaround that became available in early 2026. If you're running PMax and brand campaigns simultaneously, this episode gives you the specific levers to stop overpaying for your own traffic. #GoogleAds #PerformanceMax #BrandSearch #PPCStrategy #PaidSearch #AuctionDynamics #AdSpendOptimization #ConversionAttribution #DataCleanRoom #NegativeKeywords #CampaignStructure #MarketingPodcast #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #2026 #SearchAds #ROAS #AdPolicy Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo