Knowledge base
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.
A fishing expedition is a deliberate choice to run an automated, broad campaign type, Performance Max or Advantage+, specifically to generate data you do not have yet, not because you have given up on targeting. You are trading precision for speed on purpose.
Run one when you are launching a new product, entering a market with no prior ad history, or taking over an account with unreliable past data. Feed it real creative and a real budget, give it two to four weeks, then stop treating it as a fishing expedition and start treating it as a campaign to measure and adapt. The expedition has a start and an end. The common mistake is starting one and never checking back.