Should you use PMax or Shopping Campaigns [Updated for 2026]

Executive Summary

There is no universally superior choice between Standard Shopping and Performance Max (PMax). Choose campaigns based on which setup drives profitable sales, and adjust the structure when performance or spend distribution indicates room to scale.

This advice is aimed mainly at e-commerce brands that are already getting results and spending roughly $5,000–$20,000 per month on Google Ads. The presenter notes that brands spending under $5,000 monthly may need more foundational guidance first.

Decision and Scaling Playbook

• Start with results, not campaign-type dogma. Keep a campaign type that is working. Don’t turn off PMax or Shopping simply because someone says one is always better. Some accounts rely mostly on Search and Shopping, while others put about 90% of their spend into PMax.
• Check whether spend can scale profitably. A campaign may work well initially, then lose efficiency as its budget rises. The presenter describes brands scaling from around $1,000 to $6,000–$8,000 per month, then encountering problems near $10,000 in monthly spend. If profitability falls, diagnose the cause before adding more budget.
• Find where spend is concentrated. Review products, product categories, locations, search terms, asset groups, and placements. If Google is concentrating spend in only a few areas, consider creating a separate campaign to give other promising areas their own budget.
• Segment gradually and only with enough data. Budgets are set at the campaign level, so separate campaigns can direct spend into new categories, locations, or product groups. The presenter recommends testing roughly one new campaign at a time, rather than assuming more campaigns automatically improve results. Look for “sidekick” products with good conversion metrics but relatively low spend.
• Use campaign type or segmentation to direct budget toward what works. Depending on the account, this could mean adding a Standard Shopping campaign, a Search campaign, or another PMax campaign.

Diagnosing Scaling Problems

• Shopping and Search: “CPC resistance.” These campaigns tend to reach bottom-of-funnel traffic, which may be limited. As budgets increase, CPCs can rise faster than spend. One warning example is a 20% budget increase followed by a 30%–40% CPC increase.
• PMax: spend concentration and declining ROAS. PMax may put a large share of spend into only a few products—sometimes 80% on three to five products—then test related areas as it seeks more conversions. If conversion volume is limited, ROAS may decline as the campaign expands.
• In both cases, investigate before increasing the budget. Determine whether the issue is limited reach or poor allocation, then carefully open up new areas of spend.

Reviewing PMax Placements

Use Google Ads → Insights → Reports → Channel performance to see where PMax spend is going. In Google Search, distinguish ads using product data (Shopping ads) from ads not using product data (traditional Search ads). Also review spend across YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Search partners.

The presenter’s account examples show how channel mix can guide the next step:

• One account spent $1,090 over 14 days. The transcript reports $1,080 on Google Search and $120 on Shopping ads, with most Search spend attributed to ads without product data. The figures do not reconcile, so treat them as directional.
• In that example, the product had many customizations and was considered a strong Search candidate. The suggested next step was to test a separate Shopping campaign.
• A second account had about $12,000 in spend, with nearly $11,400 going to Shopping ads within PMax. A separate Search campaign could help direct more budget to Search.
• As a rule of thumb, the presenter says to investigate when more than roughly 5%–10% of PMax spend is outside Google Search. Consider this alongside performance and account context. If Search and Shopping placements both scale while maintaining acceptable results, that may be fine.

Key Takeaway

Treat campaign structure as a way to allocate budget—not as a fixed doctrine. Monitor profitability, CPCs, ROAS, conversion data, and channel- and product-level spend. Then test targeted segmentation when the data supports it.

Presenter and Sources

The presenter is Aaron Young of Define Digital Academy. The recommendations are based on his review of hundreds of accounts, anonymous client-account examples, and a question from an unnamed Google Ads Mastery member. The channel analysis references Google Ads Channel Performance reporting.