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Performance Max Campaigns: When to Use Them—and When to Avoid Them

Performance Max Campaigns: When to Use Them—and When to Avoid Them

Performance Max (PMax) campaigns are one of Google’s newest ad types. They promise to simplify advertising by running across all Google channels — Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and Maps — with one campaign. For contractors and home service companies, the pitch sounds appealing: one campaign to cover everything, driven by Google’s automation.

But like most automated tools, the results depend on your goals and how much control you need. For some contractors, PMax can be a useful part of the mix. For others, it can waste budget and deliver leads that don’t align with revenue targets.

What Performance Max Campaigns Do Well

Multi-channel reach
PMax campaigns show your ads across Google’s full network. This increases visibility and can help with awareness in your local market.
Automation and simplicity
Google uses machine learning to optimize bids, placements, and creative combinations. This can save time compared to manually managing multiple campaigns.
Strong for ecommerce and clear goals
PMax was originally designed with ecommerce in mind, where the goal is straightforward: get more purchases. It performs best when conversion tracking is clean and consistent.

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Where Performance Max Falls Short for Contractors

Lack of control
Contractors often want to target specific services (like “kitchen remodel” or “bathroom addition”) and specific areas. With PMax, you can’t see which placements are driving results, which means wasted budget on irrelevant traffic.
Lead quality issues
Because PMax runs ads across display and YouTube as well as search, you often get top-of-funnel clicks. That can lead to lower-quality inquiries compared to traditional Search campaigns where intent is high.
Difficult to optimize for high-value jobs
Contractors rely on filtering jobs — not every lead is profitable. PMax treats all conversions equally unless you’ve set up advanced rules, which most businesses don’t.

When Contractors Should Consider Performance Max

You have a strong Search campaign already running, and you’re looking to test additional reach.
You have offline conversion tracking in place so you can measure which leads actually turn into projects.
You’re running brand campaigns and want more visibility across Google’s ecosystem.

When Contractors Should Avoid Performance Max

If Google Ads is your only lead source and your budget is limited, avoid PMax. Start with Search campaigns where you control targeting, keywords, and intent.
If you need to focus on specific, high-value jobs like remodels or additions, PMax will not give you enough control.
If you don’t have strong conversion tracking, PMax will optimize toward the wrong actions.

Final Word

Performance Max is not a silver bullet for contractors. It can be a useful testing ground once you already have strong systems in place, but it’s rarely the right starting point. Contractors who want predictable growth and high-quality leads should focus first on Google Search Ads. Once you’ve built a reliable foundation, you can test PMax to see if the additional reach adds incremental value.

At B&G Collective we help contractors know when automation adds value — and when control matters more.

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