Danish
Finally, more transparency is coming to Performance Max campaigns – something many advertisers have long been asking for. Performance Max has long been known as Google’s “black box” – an effective campaign format, but with limited insight into how and where ads perform. Google has now made significant changes to this.
In April 2025, Google revealed a series of long-awaited reporting capabilities in Performance Max. The new features provide deeper insight into campaign performance, search terms, and ad assets. They can therefore significantly change how one should optimize and prioritize Performance Max campaigns going forward.
In this post, we review the most important news – and how you can use them to increase insight, control, and campaign performance.
1. Channel Performance: Get clarity on what works – and where
One of the biggest improvements is the introduction of channel-specific reporting. Now you can analyze campaign results across Google’s networks – including Search, YouTube, Gmail, Display, and Maps – in one consolidated report.
This provides new opportunities for insight, for example:
- Which channels drive the most conversions?
- Is it YouTube or Search that contributes most to the results?
- What does the data show about where it pays to intensify efforts?
The new Channel Performance feature offers both visual dashboards and detailed data tables that can be easily downloaded and shared. This improvement makes it possible to optimize with greater precision – as you can now better identify which channels deliver real value, and thus target efforts more effectively.
2. Search Term Reporting: Gain insight into what users are searching for
Another important update is access to search terms at the same level as in traditional Search and Shopping campaigns. This update provides the opportunity to work far more strategically with ad messages and targeting.
How can you use the data? You can do this by, for example:
- Developing new ad materials based on the search terms that generate high conversion rates
- Adding negative keywords and brand exclusions to increase relevance
- Adapting messages according to actual user intent
With this new insight, you can improve targeting and ensure that ads reach the right people with the right messages.
3. Asset Reporting: Measure what actually works
Google has also improved reporting at the asset level. Now you can get detailed insight into clicks, impressions, and costs for each individual asset – not just conversions. This opens up for a much more targeted optimization of the creative elements in the ads.
Now it’s possible to:
- Identify the assets that have the greatest impact on performance
- Prioritize the development of new creative elements based on what works
- Increase variation in ads and improve Ad Strength – but most importantly, work with relevance for the target audience
The new asset reporting provides more control over the creative elements in campaigns and makes it possible to make data-driven decisions about which elements should be prioritized.
More transparency and control – without compromising AI
With the new features, Performance Max becomes significantly more transparent and operational. There are now much better opportunities to:
- Make data-driven decisions based on real performance
- Adapt creatives based on what actually works
- Create more precise campaigns that target the most relevant audiences
Google’s AI still plays a central role in identifying the most valuable conversions, but with the new reporting capabilities, you get far greater insight into what happens behind the scenes. This provides a much more operational approach where you can optimize campaigns at a much deeper level.
Do you need help with sparring or execution of Performance Max? At IIH Nordic, we are always ready to help with both execution and strategic sparring.
