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Let me start with this…
Google just made one of the most important Performance Max updates in the last 18 months.
No, it’s not a shiny new asset group hack.
This one is actually useful.
Google is rolling out channel-level reporting in Performance Max.
What does this mean?
Up until now, if you were running a PMax campaign, your results were all bundled together — whether they came from Shopping, YouTube, Display, Search, or Gmail.
But now, you’ll start seeing exactly which channels are driving your conversions, including:
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Search
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Shopping
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YouTube
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Display
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Gmail
This level of insight finally gives us what I’ve been asking for since PMax was launched — the ability to see and adjust strategy based on actual channel performance.
✅ What I Like About This Update:
- You can now make better decisions about which campaign types to double down on (e.g. if YouTube is spending without conversions, you can adjust).
- For eCom brands, knowing whether your conversions are coming from Shopping vs. Display makes a big difference in where to invest your creative efforts and budget.
- It helps agencies and freelancers actually justify their strategy to clients.
This still doesn’t mean that Performance Max is a set-and-forget campaign.
It still needs to be used the RIGHT way — with the right exclusions, clear goals, and ongoing optimisation — if you want to get the best results.
👉 This change is rolling out gradually, and will appear in the Asset Group Reporting tab under “Performance by Channel”.
🔍 Full Search Terms Reporting Comes to Performance Max
This one’s been a long time coming.
Search terms reporting is now rolling out inside Performance Max — and it gives us the same level of detail we’ve had in Search and Standard Shopping campaigns for years.
What does that mean?
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You’ll now be able to see exactly which search terms triggered your Performance Max ads
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This goes beyond search themes and vague audience groupings
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You can finally start to audit your PMax traffic with real transparency
Use this data to:
✅ Identify wasteful or off-target terms
✅ Spot new high-intent queries you can feed into your Search campaigns
✅ Reinforce the right exclusions to protect your branded traffic
If you’ve been frustrated with PMax’s “black box” vibe — this change makes it feel a little less opaque.
👉 This update is rolling out now, so check your Search Term Insights tab inside your PMax campaign settings.
📊 Better RSA Reporting is (Finally) Here
Here’s something I’m excited about…
Google is finally improving the reporting inside Responsive Search Ads.
Instead of just giving vague scores like “Good” or “Excellent” — very soon, you’ll start to see clearer asset-level data.
✅ Impressions, Clicks, and Cost will now be included directly in the asset reports
✅ This is being rolled out across Performance Max, Search, and Display campaigns
✅ You’ll be able to see which headlines and descriptions are driving actual results — not just what Google “rates” as good
This is huge.
For years, we’ve had to guess which asset combinations were working inside RSAs. Now, we’ll finally be able to:
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Spot which headlines are getting traction
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Double down on top-performing messages
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Prioritise building more creative that actually aligns with what’s working
Use this data to understand which themes and formats drive the most impact, so you can prioritise what to build next and maximise variety without flying blind.
(This will include Responsive Search Ads — which may mean we say goodbye to traditional Ad Copy Split Testing)
My Take: Don’t Let These Tools Run You
These updates are helpful — but they don’t replace fundamentals.
PMax and RSAs can still go rogue if you let them.
So here’s the 2025 rule I keep repeating:
Advanced Google Ads strategies are just the right foundations, stacked in the right order.
These new reporting updates simply give you better data to apply those foundations.
If you want to go deeper on this, I’m walking through these changes in the May 13th edition of the Live Masterclass inside the Google Ads Mastery Community.
We’ll be covering:
✅ How to decode the new PMax channel reports
✅ Which RSAs to pause, split-test or scale
👉 Click here to join the Mastery Community with 20% off and get access to the replay.
Have a great week,
Aaron
- Monday 5th May, 8pm AEST: Demand Gen Campaign Set-up Guide (Updated)
- Wednesday 7th May, 8pm AEST: The Google Ads Terms You Need to Know
Head Over To My YouTube Channel 👇
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[LIVE MASTERCLASS + Q&A]
Search Ads & Landing Pages | Johan Carlberger
💻
Wednesday, 7th May, 2025, 12:00 AM (AEST)
Tuesday, 6th May, 2025 2:00 PM (GMT)
Tuesday, 6th May, 2025, 7:00 AM (PT)
