Since its inception, Google’s Performance Max (PMax) has been marketed as the 'all-in-one' solution for busy business owners. The pitch is simple: give Google your assets, set a budget, and let the machine do the rest.
In Brisbane’s competitive retail and service landscapes, this 'set and forget' mentality is the quickest way to erode your margins. At Local Marketing Group, we’ve audited dozens of accounts where PMax was effectively a 'black box' burning cash on junk placements and existing customers. To win in 2026, you need to stop treating PMax as a magic wand and start treating it as a powerful, but prone-to-error, intern.
Myth 1: More Data Always Leads to Better Results
The common assumption is that the more signals you give PMax, the faster it learns. While true in theory, feeding the algorithm low-quality data is worse than feeding it no data at all. If your conversion tracking includes 'Soft Leads' or 'Page Views' alongside 'Actual Sales,' the AI will naturally gravitate toward the easiest (and cheapest) actions, not the most profitable ones.
To fix this, you must audit your conversion actions. Ensure you are only bidding on high-intent triggers. For many Australian service businesses, this means mining your CRM to feed offline conversion data back into Google. By telling the AI which leads actually turned into revenue, you force it to look for quality over quantity.
Myth 2: Audience Signals are 'Targeting'
This is perhaps the biggest misunderstanding in modern search marketing. In a standard Search campaign, your keywords define who sees your ad. In PMax, your 'Audience Signals' are merely a suggestion. Google uses them as a starting point, but it will quickly move beyond them if it thinks it can find a cheaper click elsewhere.
If you find your ads appearing on irrelevant mobile games or kids' YouTube channels, it’s because your audience signals are lying to the algorithm—or rather, the algorithm is ignoring them in favour of 'reach.'
Actionable Fix: Use Account-Level Negative Keywords. You can now apply a negative keyword list to PMax campaigns. If you are a high-end landscaping firm in Ascot, you should be excluding terms like 'cheap,' 'free,' and 'DIY' to prevent the AI from chasing low-value traffic.
Myth 3: PMax Handles Seasonality Automatically
While Google’s AI is smart, it doesn't know that a snap lockdown is over, that it's a public holiday in Queensland, or that your competitors just launched a 50% off sale. Relying on the algorithm to 'catch up' to market shifts often results in missed opportunities or overspending when demand has already peaked.
Smart advertisers use Seasonality Adjustments. This is a tool within Google Ads that tells the AI to expect a temporary spike (or dip) in conversion rates. Whether it’s a flash sale or a local event, preparing the machine beforehand is essential to beat the rush and maintain a stable ROAS.
The 'Brand Cannibalisation' Trap
One of the most frustrating aspects of PMax is its tendency to claim credit for 'conversions' that would have happened anyway. By default, PMax will bid heavily on your brand name. While this looks great on your reports (high ROAS!), it’s often just stealing traffic from your organic search results or your dedicated Brand Search campaign.
How to reclaim control: 1. Brand Exclusions: Use the Brand Settings at the campaign level to exclude your own business name. This forces PMax to find new customers rather than just poaching existing ones. 2. New Customer Acquisition Mode: Toggle this setting on to bid more aggressively for users who haven't purchased from you before. This is the only way to ensure your PMax budget is actually driving growth, not just recycling your current customer base.
Auditing Your Asset Groups
If your PMax campaign is serving 'Low' quality assets, your CPCs will skyrocket. Google rewards relevance. Don't just upload one headline and a stock photo.
Video is non-negotiable: If you don't upload a high-quality video, Google will auto-generate one using your images. These usually look unprofessional and perform poorly. Specific URLs: Don't just send everyone to the homepage. Use themed Asset Groups that point to specific category pages or high-performing landing pages.
Final Verdict
Performance Max is a tool, not a strategy. To make it work for an Australian SMB, you must provide it with clean data, strict negative keyword lists, and clear boundaries regarding brand bidding.
Stop letting the AI drive the bus without a map. By implementing these guardrails, you move from passive spending to active, profitable scaling.
Ready to stop the budget leak? At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in auditing complex Google Ads accounts to find the hidden waste. Contact us today for a strategy session and let’s turn your PMax campaign into a precision growth engine.