Earlier this year, we previewed the timeline and process for upgrading your Smart Shopping and Local campaigns to Performance Max using the “one-click” upgrade tool in Google Ads.1 The tool started rolling out in April for Smart Shopping campaigns and is available now for most advertisers. We strongly recommend using the tool to upgrade your campaigns as soon as you can to get a head start on the holiday season. The self-upgrade tool for Local campaigns will be available soon. More information is coming in the next few weeks, stay tuned for updates.
Starting automatic upgrades for Smart Shopping campaigns
Advertisers using Smart Shopping campaigns will have advance access to the self-upgrade tool for two months on average to give them time to upgrade themselves before automatic upgrades begin. Automatic upgrades are starting now on a rolling basis for Smart Shopping campaigns that have not already been self-upgraded using the tool. Keep these details in mind as automatic upgrades begin:
- Automatic upgrades will gradually progress and finish in September for most advertisers. You’ll receive a notification in Google Ads two to three weeks before your campaigns are automatically upgraded to help you prepare. The notification will provide a specific date when your campaigns will start automatic upgrades.
- Some Smart Shopping campaigns using features like vehicle ads that are not yet available in Performance Max will complete automatic upgrades in early 2023. For campaigns not yet eligible for upgrades, advertisers will receive more specific information later this year about their automatic upgrades coming in early 2023.
- Until your automatic upgrade process begins for Smart Shopping campaigns, you can still upgrade your campaigns using the one-click tool in Google Ads.
How do I self-upgrade?
You can upgrade your Smart Shopping campaigns on your own using the upgrade tool, which can be accessed from the notification, Recommendations page, or Campaigns page in Google Ads.
When your campaigns are self-upgraded using the tool or automatically upgraded, learnings from your previous Smart Shopping campaigns carry over to your new Performance Max campaigns to maintain consistent performance. Your campaign settings like conversion goals, budget, creative assets, and bid strategy will also automatically transfer to Performance Max.
Keep these best practices in mind to upgrade easily and get started on Performance Max:
- Add more creative assets once you’ve upgraded your Smart Shopping campaigns. Providing as many text headlines and descriptions, images, and videos as possible helps you access additional inventory and formats. Uploading your own video assets is especially important for driving strong results on YouTube. With video ad creation now available in Google Ads, anyone can build a high-quality video ad in a matter of minutes and then add it to your campaigns–including Performance Max.
- Visit the Insights page to better understand your campaign performance and find new levers to improve results. For instance, quickly identify potential campaign setup issues with diagnostic insights or check out performance shifts to see what factors drove changes in your campaign performance.
What happens to my previous Smart Shopping campaigns?
After you upgrade to Performance Max, your previous Smart Shopping campaigns will be set to “Removed” status and you won’t be able to edit or reactivate these campaigns. However, you can still access your historical data from the Campaigns page or Overview page in Google Ads. Also, you’ll no longer be able to create new Smart Shopping campaigns. Find more details about the upgrade process in the Help Center.
Take advantage of new Performance Max features
Once you’ve upgraded, you’ll be able to take advantage of the new inventory, formats and insights available in Performance Max to help you drive better results. For example, newly launched video formats let you draw from your product feed and showcase your product imagery front-and-center to capture viewers’ attention across YouTube on Shorts, in-feed video, and in-stream. Now, you can also bulk edit your listing groups in Performance Max and review click share reporting to find opportunities to capture even more clicks.
Upgrade to Performance Max as soon as you can to make sure you’re well positioned for the upcoming holiday season. You can also visit the Help Center to learn additional best practices, and mark your calendars for Think Retail on August 30 to hear the latest holiday trends and ways you can get your business ready.
Posted by Tal Akabas, Group Product Manager, Performance Max campaigns
1. In CSS Program Countries, Performance Max campaigns can be used with any Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) you work with. The ads will show on general search results pages and on any other surfaces the CSS has opted in to.
