Shopping, Search, Performance Max — differences

Google Ads offers 6 main campaign types, each optimized for a specific goal and format. Picking the right one determines whether your campaign succeeds or burns budget. This article maps each type to use cases so you pick correctly.

Who is this for

Mediabuyers planning their next Google Ads campaign, anyone confused by Google's growing list of campaign types, agencies onboarding new clients onto Google.

The 6 campaign types

Wevion supports all 6 (verified vs apps/backend/src/providers/google/domains/campaign.provider.ts).

When to pick each

Search

Best for: capturing intent-driven traffic. People search "best running shoes" → your ad appears.

Strengths:

• Highest intent: people search for what they want

• Predictable performance (CPC + conversion rate based on keywords)

• Granular control via keyword match types + negatives

Weaknesses:

• Limited reach (only people who search those terms)

• Competitive in popular verticals (high CPC)

Use when:

• Established product/service with search demand

• Need predictable lead/sale volume

• High-intent verticals (legal, finance, B2B SaaS, services)

Display

Best for: awareness, retargeting site visitors, broad reach.

Strengths:

• Massive scale (Google Display Network covers 90%+ of internet users)

• Cheap CPM/CPC vs Search

• Visual format (banner, video, native)

Weaknesses:

• Low intent — most viewers aren't actively buying

• Banner blindness (low CTR)

• Brand safety concerns (control where ads appear)

Use when:

• Awareness campaigns (top-funnel)

• Retargeting people who visited your site

• B2C consumer brands needing reach

Video (YouTube)

Best for: consideration + brand storytelling + YouTube viewer engagement.

Strengths:

• Video format = high engagement

• Multiple sub-formats (skippable, bumper, in-feed, masthead)

• Behavioral targeting on YouTube watch history

Weaknesses:

• Requires video creative (production cost)

• Hard to measure direct response

Use when:

• Brand launch

• Consideration content (explainer video, product demo)

• Have video assets already produced

Shopping

Best for: e-commerce with a product catalog.

Strengths:

• Ad shows product image + price + store name on Google Search results (rich format)

• Auto-generated from your Google Merchant Center feed (no need to write copy per product)

• Higher CTR than text ads for product searches

Weaknesses:

• Requires Google Merchant Center setup + product feed (one-time setup, ~hours)

• Catalog-quality requirements (good images, accurate prices, in-stock data)

• Less control over copy + creative

Use when:

• E-commerce store with 50+ products

• Want to compete on product-name searches

• Have a clean product feed

Performance Max (PMax)

Best for: scaling spend with Google's AI doing the optimization across all channels.

Strengths:

• One campaign reaches Search + Display + YouTube + Discover + Gmail + Maps

• Google's AI optimizes within campaign budget

• Often delivers conversion uplift vs running each channel separately

• Lower management overhead

Weaknesses:

• Black box — limited visibility into where ads run, which audiences convert

• Requires strong asset groups (lots of variations of headlines, descriptions, images, video) + audience signals

• Cannibalize Search if not careful (PMax may take credit for branded-search conversions)

Use when:

• Mature account with proven conversion data (30+ conversions/month)

• Comfortable with less granular control

• Want to scale spend with AI optimization

Avoid when:

• New account with no conversion history

• Strict brand safety requirements (you don't know where ads run)

• Need fine-grained reporting per channel

App

Best for: mobile app installs and in-app engagement.

Strengths:

• Targeted to app store users

• Optimizes for installs or in-app events (purchase, level reached)

• Multi-format: app store, Play Store, in-app, YouTube

Use when:

• Mobile app business

• Need install volume or specific in-app events

• Have Firebase / app SDK linked to Google Ads

Decision flow

1. Goal = sales of products → Shopping (catalog) or Performance Max (broader)

2. Goal = leads → Search (high-intent) + Display (retargeting)

3. Goal = app installs → App

4. Goal = brand awareness → Display + Video

5. Goal = scale with proven account → Performance Max

Performance Max requires assets + signals

PMax demands more setup than other types:

• Asset groups: 3+ headline variations, 3+ description variations, 1+ image (square + landscape + logo), 1+ video (or Google auto-creates from images)

• Audience signals (optional but recommended): existing customer lists, in-market audiences, custom intent — Google uses these as starting points for who to target (the AI expands beyond)

• Conversion tracking: at least one active, well-converting conversion action

Spend time on assets — PMax success correlates strongly with asset quality.

Cross-type considerations

• Cannibalization: running Search + PMax simultaneously can have PMax take credit for branded conversions. Use negative keyword lists to scope what PMax serves on.

• Bidding strategy: each type defaults to a strategy; switch only with enough data. Auto-bidding needs 30-50+ conversions/month to learn.

• Audience reuse: custom audiences and customer lists work across types.

What you'll see in Wevion

Campaign Creator's campaign type dropdown is gated by what your Google Ads account supports + what Wevion's adapter exposes. All 6 types are supported in Wevion.

After launch, Ads Manager shows each campaign with its type badge (Search / Shopping / PMax / etc.).

Common questions

• "Can I switch a campaign's type after launch?": No. Cancel and create a new one.

• "Why is my PMax campaign performing worse than my Search campaign?": PMax needs ~2-4 weeks of learning + 30+ conversions. Plus asset quality matters a lot. Don't kill in week 1.

• "Shopping ad rejected for catalog issue": fix the feed in Google Merchant Center; Wevion's Shopping campaign respects whatever Merchant Center says.

• "App campaign requires Firebase link": yes — Firebase or the equivalent app SDK linked to your Google Ads account is required for App campaigns.

• "Smart Shopping vs Performance Max": Smart Shopping was deprecated, fully migrated to PMax in late 2022. Use PMax.

Related

• Set up Google Ads conversions — required for most types

• Launch your first campaign — end-to-end launch flow

• Product catalog basics — required for Shopping + PMax