Performance Max Finally Has Controls: The Settings That Turn a Black Box Into a Campaign You Can Manage

Negative keywords, brand controls, channel-level reporting and audience exclusions have arrived in Performance Max. Here's which ones actually change outcomes and how to configure them.

Can you add negative keywords to Performance Max?

Yes. Campaign-level negative keywords are supported, and they're the main lever for stopping spend on irrelevant queries. Build them from the search terms report on a weekly cycle when a campaign is new.

Does Performance Max cannibalise branded search?

It can, and it frequently does unless brand exclusions are configured. When it serves on your own brand terms it takes credit for demand your other campaigns and organic presence created, which inflates its reported return.

How do I see which channel Performance Max is spending on?

Channel performance reporting shows the split across Search, Shopping, YouTube and Display. It's the most useful diagnostic available in the campaign type, because it converts a single blended result into an attributable one.

Why did my Performance Max ROAS drop after adding brand exclusions?

Because the campaign stopped counting conversions from people already searching for you. The lower number is the accurate one. Judge the change by total account performance, not by the campaign's own reported return.

How should I structure Performance Max asset groups?

By product margin rather than product category where possible. The algorithm optimises toward the goal you set, so grouping high-margin and low-margin products together pushes it to chase revenue that may not be profitable.