Marketers · problem and fix
Performance max campaign control: see where your Performance Max spend goes on Mac
Performance max campaign control comes from three habits: reading the search terms report, setting exclusions on purpose, and testing one change at a time. Google shows part of where Performance Max spend goes, not all of it. This page explains the gaps, what they cost, and the fixes you can run this week without buying a tool.
The short answer
- Read the search terms report every week. Sort by cost and flag queries that spend money without converting.
- Set campaign-level negatives and brand exclusions on purpose. Negatives do not match close variants, so add the spellings yourself.
- Ask your account manager for channel performance access early. It is a beta that needs allowlist approval.
- Test brand traffic with a holdout before you change the setup. Published tests from Haus point in both directions.
- Keep a one-page weekly log in Google Docs so the numbers stay the same for everyone on the team.
What unclear spend in performance max campaigns costs you
Hours spent on manual checks
DoubleVerify's 2026 study of 2,020 decision-makers in 25 countries found 9 hours 58 minutes of weekly manual optimization. It does not define which tasks count, and it does not isolate Performance Max. Read it as a sign of how much hand work marketers do, not as a Performance Max number.
Salary cost of that time
The BLS median for advertising, promotions and marketing managers is $79.70 an hour. Roughly ten hours a week at that rate comes to about $800 in salary alone, before benefits. This is simple arithmetic on general figures. Your real cost depends on who does the work.
Budget that rests on thin data
Optmyzr reviewed 24,702 campaigns run in 2024. It found 51% of advertisers put more than half their budget into Performance Max. Performance Max underperformed beside Search, Shopping and Display, and advertisers lacked channel data to explain why. Optmyzr is a vendor, so weigh that finding accordingly.
Credit for sales you would have made anyway
When Performance Max takes brand searches, its conversions look strong. Haus found Google overstated the brand-term version by 33% in one test. If the platform credits sales you would have won anyway, you fund the wrong line every month.
A weak case for your budget
Nielsen's 2025 survey of 1,400 marketing professionals found only 32% measure media spend holistically across channels. Respondents cited a lack of transparency across new channels. If you cannot show where money goes, the budget conversation gets harder every quarter.
Why it happens
One campaign, many channels
A Performance Max campaign can place ads on Search, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Display Network, Search partners and Maps. Google's channel table reports clicks, conversions and cost for each of them. Without that table, the campaign total hides the split, and the split is where most questions start.
Google optimizes the whole mix
Google's help page says advertisers should focus on campaign-level goals, not individual channel ROI. The reason given is that Performance Max optimizes for marginal ROI across channels. A channel can look weak on its own and still add value to the total. That is hard to prove without a holdout test.
Reporting arrived in pieces
Google announced channel performance reporting and fuller search terms reporting in April 2025. The channel report is still a beta that needs allowlist access. Google's help page says search terms reporting covers all Performance Max campaigns, so check what your own account shows.
Brand searches flatter the numbers
People who search your brand name often convert anyway. Performance Max can take that credit. In one Haus test, the brand-term version drove 1.95x the revenue, but Google's platform had overstated it by 33%. Platform numbers need a second check.
Negatives leak through close variants
Google says negative keywords do not match close variants. A short list lets similar queries through, so spend keeps flowing to the same kinds of searches. Google also says Performance Max does not always need negative keywords for brand traffic. Mixed guidance makes a negative list harder to trust.
Few marketers see the whole mix
Nielsen's 2025 survey of 1,400 marketing professionals found only 32% measure media spend holistically. Nielsen did not name Google in that release. A 2026 EU Commission study of 50 advertisers found 60% used Performance Max. Only 58% said Google, Meta or Amazon provide raw data, which says nothing about whether they can verify results.
How to fix it
These work with or without any app.
Pull the search terms and read the Source column
In Google Ads, open the campaign, then the Insights and reports tab, then the search terms view. Export the rows. Read the Source column first. It tells you whether a query came from a search theme or keywordless targeting, so you know which lever to pull.
Sort by cost and tag each row
Paste the export into Google Sheets with ⌘ V. Right-click the cost column header and choose Sort sheet Z to A. Add a column called Action with three values: keep, negative, brand. Tag rows with spend and no conversions first.
Add campaign-level negatives in small batches
Google allows up to 10,000 campaign-level negative keywords. Add a few at a time, then check the search terms again the following week. Negatives do not match close variants, so add the spellings and plurals you saw, not only the main term.
Use a brand list before you guess
Create a brand list at campaign level if you want to exclude brand traffic. Google says brand exclusions catch misspellings and foreign-script versions, which negative keywords can miss. Record the date you set it. Then compare results against a holdout, not your memory.
Run a geo holdout for brand traffic
Split your locations into two groups with similar sales history. Keep the setup the same in one group. Change only the brand setup in the other. Run at least three weeks, as Haus did, and compare total revenue, not only platform conversions.
Use placement exclusions at account level
Google says Performance Max respects account and MCC placement exclusions. Use them for placements you never want. Review the list monthly, and log every addition so you can explain it later to your team or your manager.
Ask for channel reporting and keep a weekly log
Contact your account manager to apply for the channel performance report, which is in beta. Until access arrives, keep a weekly Google Doc with spend, search terms reviewed, changes made and open questions. That log is your control record.
Where Performance Max spend goes, in plain terms
Performance Max is one campaign that buys ads across several Google surfaces. Google's channel report lists Search, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Display Network, Search partners and Maps. The campaign decides how much money goes to each one. You set the goal and the budget. The system chooses the mix.
That split is the heart of the control problem. You can see total cost for the campaign in a minute. Seeing the split takes extra reports, and some of those reports are still limited. Until you read them, the mix stays a guess.
32%
of marketers measure media spend holistically across channels, per Nielsen's 2025 survey
Nielsen releases its 2025 Annual Marketing Report51%
of advertisers put over half their budget into Performance Max, in Optmyzr's review of 24,702 campaigns
Google Listened: 5 PMax Fixes That Solved the Gaps We Found in 24,702 Campaigns1.95x
revenue from Performance Max with brand terms versus without, in one 2023 Haus geo test
Caraway Maximizes PMax via 3-Cell Incrementality Test9h 58m
weekly manual optimization time reported by DoubleVerify for 2026, not specific to Performance Max
Marketers still spend 10 hours a week on manual optimization, DV findsRead the search terms report before you touch settings
Start with the search terms insights. Open the campaign in Google Ads in Chrome, then open the Insights and reports tab. Google's help page says search terms reporting covers all Performance Max campaigns. Menu names change, so confirm them on your own screen.
Look at the Source column. Google says it shows whether a query came from a search theme or from keywordless targeting. A search theme is a signal you gave the system. Keywordless targeting means the system picked the match on its own.
A reading order that takes one sitting
- Copy the search terms into Google Sheets with ⌘ C and ⌘ V.
- Right-click the cost column header and choose Sort sheet Z to A, so the biggest spenders sit on top.
- Mark rows with spend and no conversions. Check the conversion column before you judge a row.
- Tag each flagged row as keep, negative or brand. Keep the list short enough to finish in one sitting.
Brand traffic: keep it, exclude it, or test it first
Brand traffic is the hard call. People who already search your name often buy anyway. Performance Max may take that credit. Google's help page says the campaign is designed to find performing Search traffic for your brand, so negative keywords are not always needed.
Google also says campaign-level brand exclusions are a better option for blocking brand traffic than negative keywords. Exclusions catch misspellings and foreign-script versions of your brand. You set them by creating a brand list at campaign level.
Do not assume exclusion wins. Haus ran a 3-cell geo lift test over three weeks for the brand Caraway. Performance Max with brand terms drove 1.95x the total revenue of Performance Max without them. Google's platform had overstated the brand-term version by 33%. That is one vendor-run case from 2023, not a rule.
Haus also pooled its own experiments. Excluding brand terms drove more incremental revenue in 50% of them. The results conflict, so your account needs its own test before you change the setup.
Run a holdout test you can do without a vendor
A holdout test answers the question that reports cannot. Did the change move real sales, or only the platform's count? You can run a simple version with two groups of locations and one sales sheet. It is not a full lift study, but it beats guessing.
- Choose two groups of locations with similar sales history. Put both in one sheet so the numbers sit side by side.
- Keep Performance Max running in one group. Change the brand setup only in the other group, using separate campaigns split by location.
- Leave the test running for at least three weeks, the length Haus used in its case.
- Compare total revenue in each group, not only the platform's conversion count.
- Write the result in your log before you change anything else.
Keep the design boring. Change one thing, keep the dates fixed, and do not add a new budget halfway through. Boring tests are the ones you can defend in a meeting.
Channel reports: what Google offers and how to ask
The channel performance report shows clicks, conversions and cost by channel. Google calls it a beta, and it needs allowlist access. You must contact your account manager to apply. Open it from the campaign's Insights and reports tab, then choose Channel performance.
Ask early. Access can take time, and waiting means weeks of guessing. Meanwhile, use placement reports, asset-level metrics and asset group reporting. Google lists all three among its Performance Max reporting options.
Google also tells advertisers to judge campaigns on campaign-level goals, not channel ROI. The reason is that Performance Max optimizes for marginal ROI. That view suits the system. A budget owner still needs a line-by-line answer, so write both views in your notes.
Mistakes people make with Performance Max controls
- Pasting a huge negative list in one go. Google allows up to 10,000 campaign-level negatives, but a big list can block good queries by accident.
- Assuming a negative keyword catches close variants. Google says negatives do not match close variants, so add the spellings you see.
- Judging a channel from one day of data. Compare full weeks with the same dates.
- Turning off brand exclusions because one report looks strong. Confirm the change with a test first.
- Treating a search theme as proof of intent. It is a signal you supplied, and the system still decides where the ad runs.
Use Google Ads Editor on Mac for long lists
Google Ads Editor is a desktop tool from Google. It runs on macOS 13 or later, so check your version first. Open Apple menu > About This Mac to see it. Use the editor when your negative lists get long and browser edits slow you down.
Turn the review into a weekly routine
A routine beats a big audit. Pick one morning each week. Export the search terms, sort by cost, add the negatives and brand changes you agreed on, and write three short lines in your log. Share the log with your team in Slack.
Where Lazur helps, and where it stops
Lazur is a voice assistant for the Mac. Hold ⌥ ⌘ to ask about anything on your screen, and Lazur answers out loud. It points at things, so you can find the control yourself. It does not click buttons or change your account for you.
Use it for the slow parts. Ask where the search terms report sits in Google Ads. Ask it to guide you through adding a negative keyword, one click at a time. Hold fn to dictate your weekly log at the cursor in Google Docs.
Customer data and team rules
Some teams keep a shared rulebook for ad data. Read it before you copy numbers into a document. If no rule exists, ask the person who owns the account data what is allowed.
Your next step this week
Open the search terms report today and sort by cost. Read the top rows and the Source column. Write down what you see, then pick one change to test. Wait a full week before you judge the result.
If you want the routine in a document, ask Lazur to draft a checklist, then copy it into Google Docs and edit it. Plans and pricing are on the pricing page.
Faster with Lazur
Where Lazur helps with unclear spend in performance max campaigns
Hold ⌥ ⌘ and say what you want. Lazur sees your Google Sheets window. Lazur draws a circle and a label around the button or menu you need.
- 1
Hold ⌥⌘ and talk
- 2
Lazur draws a circle and a label around the button or menu you need.
- 3
You stay in Google Sheets. Nothing to copy into a chat window.
More things to say in Google Sheets
- “Where is the search terms report for this campaign?”
- “Walk me through adding a campaign-level negative keyword.”
- “What does the Source column mean on this screen?”
- “Dictate my weekly log.”
- “Draft a note asking my account manager for channel reporting access.”
- “Find Google's current help pages on Performance Max reporting.”
Free for 3 days, then $18/month. Download for Mac
You say“Where is the search terms report for this campaign?”
Lazur · points at itYou find the tab Lazur means without hunting through every menu.
What marketers say to Lazur for this
Each one is a single hold of ⌥ ⌘.
“Where is the search terms report for this campaign?”
Lazur circles the tab on your screen and labels it. You click it yourself, so you learn the path.
Points at it
“Walk me through adding a campaign-level negative keyword.”
Lazur guides you one click at a time and waits for each click before it gives the next step.
Walks you through it
“What does the Source column mean on this screen?”
Hold ⌥ ⌘ and Lazur answers out loud from what it sees, so you can check the wording against your own report.
Explains what's on screen
“Dictate my weekly log.”
Hold fn and speak. Clean, formatted text appears at the cursor in Google Docs or Google Sheets.
Types what you say
“Draft a note asking my account manager for channel reporting access.”
Lazur drafts the text and types it where you ask. You edit it and send it yourself from your own email.
Drafts it
“Find Google's current help pages on Performance Max reporting.”
Research runs in Lazur's own Chrome tabs and returns a summary and a report. Check the sources yourself before you act.
Researches in the background
“Remind me to review search terms tomorrow morning.”
Lazur adds an Apple Reminders item. The review itself is still your job.
Handles the small stuff
A plan you can start this week
- Day 1
Pull and sort the search terms
Open the campaign in Google Ads in Chrome and find the search terms insights. Copy the rows into Google Sheets. Sort by cost, highest first. Change nothing in the account yet.
- Day 2
Read the Source column
Filter for rows that show search themes and rows that show keywordless targeting. Note which source spent money with no conversions. Write one sentence about it in your log.
- Day 3
Ask for channel reporting
Draft a short note to your account manager asking for channel performance access. Ask Lazur to draft it, then rewrite it in your own words and send it yourself.
- Day 4
Set negatives and the brand list
Add campaign-level negatives in a small batch, including the spellings you saw. Decide whether brand exclusions belong in a test. Do not change both settings at once.
- Day 5
Write the first weekly log
Open a Google Doc with four headings: spend, search terms reviewed, changes made, open questions. Dictate the first draft with fn. Share the link in Slack with your team.
- Weekly
Repeat and compare
Run the same review on the same weekday and date range. Compare the log with last week. Change one thing at a time, and keep any running test on its original dates.
Questions people ask
What does performance max campaign control mean in practice?
It means knowing which queries, channels and audiences spend your money, and having levers to limit the waste. Google gives you some levers, including search terms insights, campaign-level negative keywords, brand exclusions and placement exclusions. Channel reporting is still limited, so the picture stays partial.
Can I see exactly where every Performance Max dollar goes?
No. Google's channel report shows clicks, conversions and cost by channel, but it is a beta that needs allowlist access. Use the search terms report and the channel report together, and treat both as partial pictures.
Are negative keywords enough to stop brand traffic?
Often not. Google says campaign-level brand exclusions are a better option for blocking brand traffic, because they catch misspellings and foreign-script versions. Test the change before you rely on it, since results vary.
How often should I review search terms?
Once a week is a practical start for most accounts. Use the same date range each time, because conversions can arrive late. Review on the same weekday so the habit sticks.
Does Google Ads Editor run on my Mac?
Google says Ads Editor for Mac needs macOS 13 or later. Check your version under Apple menu > About This Mac before you install it. Older versions of macOS will not meet the requirement.
Can Lazur change my Google Ads settings?
No. Lazur points at things on your screen, guides you one click at a time and answers out loud. It does not click buttons or operate other apps for you. You make every change in Google Ads yourself.
Should I cut brand traffic from Performance Max?
Not without a test. Haus found Performance Max with brand terms drove 1.95x the revenue of the version without them in one 2023 case. Its pooled tests were mixed, so run a holdout first.
What if customer data is restricted at work?
Follow your employer's rules before you export, paste or share account data. That covers search terms, customer lists and any tool that reads your screen. Ask the data owner if you are not sure what is allowed.
Sources
- Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max - Google Ads Help · Google · checked 2026-11-08
- Channel performance and more reporting coming to Performance Max · Google · checked 2026-11-08
- Answering Your Top Questions About Performance Max - Google Ads Help · Google · checked 2026-11-08
- About Performance Max campaigns - Google Ads Help · Google · checked 2026-11-08
- System requirements - Google Ads Editor Help · Google · checked 2026-11-08
- Nielsen releases its 2025 Annual Marketing Report looking at the power of data-driven marketing · Nielsen · checked 2026-11-08
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked 2026-11-08
- Marketers still spend 10 hours a week on manual optimization, DV finds · PPC Land (reporting on DoubleVerify) · checked 2026-11-08
- EU study finds DMA has not opened Google, Meta and Amazon ad auction data · PPC Land (reporting on EU study) · checked 2026-11-08
- Google Listened: 5 PMax Fixes That Solved the Gaps We Found in 24,702 Campaigns · Optmyzr · checked 2026-11-08
- Caraway Maximizes PMax via 3-Cell Incrementality Test · Haus · checked 2026-11-08
- PMAX Experiments Revealed: Including vs. Excluding Branded Search Terms · Haus · checked 2026-11-08
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