Knowledge base
Real questions, answered plainly
The questions below are the ones DIY advertisers actually ask, in the same plain language we would use answering them in conversation. No gated forms, no invented statistics. Start wide, measure honestly, take the reins.
Is Performance Max worth it for a small budget?
Small-budget accounts are actually one of the better fits, with one condition attached.
How do I know if my agency is actually managing my account?
Ask for the change history and their reasoning on one recent decision, not the monthly report.
When should I stop letting Meta's AI control my budget?
Once Advantage+ has generated a few weeks of real placement data, that is your cue to review, not necessarily to pull back.
What conversions is Performance Max really taking credit for?
Some real conversions, plus a share of demand you already had, plus whatever your tracking setup happens to count.
Should I turn on auto-apply recommendations?
For low categories on a lightly staffed account, yes. For budget and bid-strategy categories on a high-spend account, review manually first.
Is Advantage+ shopping worth trying?
Yes for catalog accounts starting from limited data, with the same "measure and adapt" rule as every other automated campaign type.
How much of my Performance Max spend goes to Display and YouTube instead of Search?
There is no universal number. Google's channel-level breakdown in your own account is the only honest answer.
What is a "fishing expedition" and when should I run one?
Letting Performance Max or Advantage+ explore broadly on purpose, when you have no data and need some fast, to find out where real demand shows up.
How do I stop Performance Max from cannibalizing my branded search?
Apply a brand exclusion (or a brand list) and compare branded-versus-non-branded conversion share before and after.
What is optimization score, and should I chase it?
A percentage measuring how closely your account matches Google's recommendations. Useful for a neglected account, weaker for a deliberately conservative one.
How often should I review an automated ad campaign?
Weekly for a quick spend-and-conversion glance, monthly for a real placement and change-history review.
Can I exclude placements in Performance Max?
Yes, at the account level: you can exclude specific YouTube channels/videos, mobile app categories, and content types, though not individual Display sites the way a standard Display campaign allows.
What's the difference between automated bidding and Performance Max?
Automated bidding is one setting inside a campaign (how bids are set). Performance Max is a whole campaign type that also controls targeting, placements, and creative assembly.
Want these questions answered against your own account, not in the abstract? If you would rather have someone read your actual Performance Max, Advantage+, and conversion-tracking setup and tell you specifically what to change, that account-level read is part of what The Discoverability Company's advertising management service does for clients, alongside hands-on Google Ads and Meta management. See the advertising management page.