Does Performance Max Filter Brand Searches?
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Written by Christopher Krassnig, Founder & CEO of ZenoX Media. Answers every question here from the accounts ZenoX runs, not from theory.
The short answer
Not on its own: Performance Max can show ads on searches for your brand unless you add a brand exclusion. A brand exclusion stops it serving on the brands in your list across Search, Shopping and YouTube search. A ticked Shopping box can still let branded Shopping ads through, so ZenoX's advice is to check that setting too.
What Does a Brand Exclusion Block?
Google's brand exclusions page says the setting keeps Performance Max off branded searches you pick. In Performance Max it covers Search, Shopping and YouTube search only.
Google's Performance Max FAQ adds two details. Brand exclusions can catch clear misspellings and brand names written in other scripts. Negative keywords cannot, because they do not match close variants. And a query is only blocked when it clearly refers to the brand.
What Is the Shopping Box?
When you add a brand exclusion, Google shows a box: "Allow Shopping ads on searches that mention excluded brands". If it stays ticked, your products can still show in Shopping on brand searches. The exclusion still applies to the rest.
That is useful for a store that wants its products in the Shopping row on its own name. It also means Performance Max can still get branded Shopping clicks. Read its return with that in mind.
How Do I Add One to a Live Campaign?
Google's path: Campaigns, then the Settings tab. Pick the Performance Max campaign. Open Additional settings, then Brand exclusions. Pick a brand list or make a new one with your store name, then save. You can also change many campaigns at once with Edit, then Change brands.
Does a Brand Search Campaign Fix It Alone?
Partly. Google's page on how Performance Max works with other campaigns says an exact match Search keyword that matches the query wins over Performance Max. Without an exact match, the campaign with the higher Ad Rank serves.
So a brand Search campaign helps, but searches that do not hit your exact keyword can still go to Performance Max. Our setup at ZenoX: a brand exclusion on Performance Max plus a small brand Search campaign. That is our advice, not a Google rule.
What Should I Check in My Account?
Our checklist: open each Performance Max campaign and look for a brand list. Make sure it has your own store name. Check the Shopping box and decide if you want branded Shopping ads there. Then read the search terms for brand names before you judge the campaign's return.
The same controls apply to ads in AI Mode. Google's AI Mode ads Help page says negative keywords and brand exclusions still decide where ads show. See what changed for AI Mode ads.
Where Can I Get Help?
If you want someone to set this up, see our Performance Max service, Google Shopping service or Google Ads agency. To work through it with other store owners, join the Google Ads Ecom Lab on Skool.
Common Questions
- Does Performance Max Exclude My Brand by Default?
- No. You add brand exclusions yourself, with a brand list on the campaign.
- Do Brand Exclusions Cover YouTube and Display?
- In Performance Max they cover Search, Shopping and YouTube search inventory only.
- Are Negative Keywords Just as Good?
- Not for brands. Google says negative keywords do not match close variants, while brand exclusions can catch clear misspellings and other scripts.
- Why Do I Still See Brand Clicks in Shopping?
- Check the box that allows Shopping ads on searches that mention excluded brands. If it is ticked, branded Shopping ads can still serve.
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