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Writer's pictureSotirios Seridis

How to Add Search Themes to Your Performance Max Campaigns in Google Ads

Ready to boost your Performance Max campaigns? Let's talk about a game-changing feature that's been causing quite a buzz: Search Themes. This useful addition to your Performance Max toolkit is all about giving Google's AI a little nudge in the right direction. Adding search themes to your Performance Max campaigns allow Google to better grasp what your business is about and serve your ads to people searching for relevant topics. This quick and easy guide will show you how to add Search Themes to your Performance Max campaigns in Google Ads!





How to Add Search Themes to Your Performance Max Campaigns in Google Ads:


  1. Login to your Google Ads account

  2. Navigate to Campaigns and select the Performance Max campaign you would like to modify

  3. Navigate to Asset Groups and click on the pen icon next to "Signals" for the Asset group you would like to modify

  4. Under Search Themes, you can include up to 25 entries



📝 Keep in mind that a "Search Theme" is NOT a target keyword. It means that you are selecting a keyword theme (keyword group/selection of keywords) to target via your Performance Max campaign. This means your ads will be eligible to show up for any relevant queries to your keyword theme; it functions similarly to a broad match in a paid search campaign.


💡 Use your best-performing queries based on historical paid search campaigns' data (if available) or use Google Keyword Planner to find relevant queries and group them into themes to include in your Performance Max campaigns.




Frequently Asked Questions on Adding Search Themes to Your Performance Max Campaigns in Google Ads


What are search themes in Performance Max campaigns?


Search themes are a Performance Max feature that allow advertisers to provide additional context to your campaign's targeting, by indicating queries you expect your customers to use when searching for your products or services.



How do search themes differ from keywords in traditional search campaigns?


Unlike keywords in traditional paid search campaigns, search themes in Performance Max don't give you direct control over which queries trigger your ads. Instead, they act as signals to guide Google's AI in finding relevant placements across all Google properties, including Search.



Do search themes respect my brand exclusions and negative keywords?


Yes, search themes respect brand exclusions in Performance Max and account-level negative keywords. This ensures that your ads won't show for irrelevant or unwanted traffic based on your existing settings.



Can I see the performance of each search theme in my Performance Max campaign?


No, there is no detailed reporting on the performance of the search themes you included in your Performance Max campaign. However, you can create one Performance Max campaign with multiple asset groups, each of which include only one search theme and no audience signal. You will then be able to see the performance of each asset group (with each keyword theme) and compare them against each other.




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