How to Set Up a PMax Feed-Only Campaign in Google Ads

Performance Max campaigns are powerful, but they usually require a lot of assets:

• Headlines
• Images
• Videos

But what if you don’t have those?

Or you just want to focus on your product feed?

That’s where feed-only Performance Max campaigns come in.

What Is a Feed-Only Performance Max Campaign?

It’s a setup where:

• Google uses only your product feed
• No creatives (images, videos, headlines)

So your ads behave more like:

Shopping ads powered by automation

When This Approach Makes Sense

Feed-only PMax works well when:

• You don’t have creative assets
• You want a simple setup
• You want to test automation
• You already optimized your feed

It’s also useful as a transition step from Standard Shopping to PMax.

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1 – Create Performance Max Campaign

In Google Ads:

1. Click New Campaign
2. Choose Sales
3. Select Performance Max
4. Select your Merchant Center account
5. Give your campaign a clear name (for example: PMax Feed Only – All Products)

Step 2 – Bidding

Choose your bidding strategy.

• Maximize conversions
• Maximize Conversion value

If you don’t have data start with Maximize conversions or Maximize Conversion Value

If you already have conversions > you can use Target CPA or Target ROAS

Step 3 – Campaign Settings

Location targeting (important)

Choose:

People in or regularly in your targeted locations

Avoid Presence or interest to prevent irrelevant traffic.

Devices (important but often ignored)

By default, ads can show on all devices:

• Mobile
• Desktop
• Tablet
• TV screens

It’s recommended to exclude tablets and TV screens in most cases, as they usually bring low-quality traffic.

Brand settings (very important)

You can use brand exclusions.

This is useful if:

1. You want to exclude your own brand traffic (e.g., people searching your website name)
2. You want to separate campaigns by brand

Example:

If you sell Nike and Adidas:

• Campaign 1 – Nike products
• Campaign 2 – Adidas products

You can exclude other brands in each campaign to keep them clean.

This is especially helpful for controlling branded vs non-branded traffic.

Step 4 – Asset Generation (Skip This)

Google may offer:

Select pages to enhance and suggest images from

Uncheck this option. Also:

Skip asset generation completely

You don’t want Google to auto-create creatives.

Step 5 – Asset Group Setup (Core Step)

Now comes the most important part.

Name your asset group

Example:

Feed Only Test

Select Listing Groups

Go to:

• Listing groups

Choose:

All products or Specific product groups

Brand Guidelines (Optional)

You can skip or leave default.

Assets Section (Important)

Do NOT add anything.

Skip:

• Headlines
• Descriptions
• Images
• Videos

This is what makes it feed-only.

Asset Optimization & Search Themes

Here you can add:

1. Search themes (recommended)

Important:

• This is NOT keyword targeting
• It helps Google understand your products better

Example:

If you sell business cards:

• “custom business cards”
• “premium business cards”

2. Audience Signals

Not required – but recommended.

You can add:

Remarketing signals:

• Product viewers
• Cart abandoners
• Existing customers

Interest-based segments:

Example:

• Business owners
• Marketing services

This helps Google find better users faster.

Step 6 – Budget

Set your daily budget:

• Start with $10–$30/day for testing

Adjust later based on performance.

Step 7 – Summary & Launch

Review everything and launch your campaign.

Step 8 – Add Negative Keywords (Important)

Even though Performance Max is highly automated, you still have some control over what traffic you want to avoid.

Negative Keywords

PMax campaigns now allow you to add negative keywords.

This helps prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches.

Examples:

• free
• cheap
• DIY
• jobs

This is especially important if you’re running a feed-only campaign, since Google relies heavily on your feed and search signals.

Important Behavior of Feed-Only PMax

Even without creatives, PMax can still:

• Show your products in Shopping results
• Use remarketing on Display

For example:

• Show products to users who already viewed them
• Show products to cart abandoners

It can also display your feed in banner-style ads across the web, even without adding images manually.

Why Use Feed-Only PMax

• Simple setup – No creatives needed.
• Focus on products – Everything depends on your feed.
• Great for testing – You can test automation without heavy setup.
• Higher Priority in Auctions

One important thing to understand:

This means Google may prefer showing PMax ads when both campaign types are running.

Because of this, many advertisers use:

• PMax for scaling
• Standard Shopping for control and testing

There are different strategies for running both together effectively – we’ll cover those in another article.

Important Note

Feed-only PMax still depends heavily on:

• Feed quality
• Product titles
• Pricing
• Images

If your feed is weak > results will be weak.

Final Thoughts

Feed-only Performance Max is not the “standard” way to run campaigns – but it’s a very practical one.

It allows you to:

• Keep things simple
• Test automation
• Scale without heavy creative work

Just remember:

👉 Your feed does all the work here.

If your feed is not optimized, this campaign won’t perform well.

FAQ

Why choose Performance Max instead of Standard Shopping?

Performance Max is better when you want to scale and automate. It uses Google’s machine learning to optimize bids, placements, and audiences across multiple channels. Standard Shopping gives more control, but PMax can deliver better results once you have enough data.

Should I stop Standard Shopping after launching Performance Max?

Not necessarily. Many advertisers keep Standard Shopping running for testing and control, while using Performance Max for scaling. The best approach depends on your strategy and campaign structure.

Which campaign type is better for beginners?

Standard Shopping is typically better for beginners because it provides more transparency and control, making it easier to understand performance and optimize step by step.

Do I need a product feed for both campaign types?

Yes, both Standard Shopping and Performance Max campaigns rely on a product feed from Merchant Center to display your products in Google.