Over the past nine months, I’ve put Google AI Max to the test, conducting 23 in-depth analyses with 16 well-established advertisers across diverse sectors. My goal? To truly harness the capabilities of this campaign for optimal outcomes.
Of course, your own tests and insights might differ, and that’s where the real conversation begins. I’m eager to engage in a dialogue about AI Max, encourage replication of my analyses in your accounts, and explore outcomes unique to your data.
Before you dive into your AI Max tests, consider some critical elements. Two stand out:
Your campaigns must bid on crucial conversion actions relevant to your business. Utilize tools like Enhanced Conversions to polish your conversion strategy. Aim for value-based bidding when possible. Additionally, ensure your campaigns are not restricted by budget limitations. This is particularly important with AI Max as it opens up new targeting opportunities.
Let’s delve into some key insights I’ve gathered from testing AI Max.
AI Max can reach its full potential when you activate all three core features:
- Search term matching.
- Text customization.
- URL optimization.
Campaigns that leveraged all three features saw a 40% higher success rate compared to those that only used search term matching.
Text customization can significantly enhance performance, increasing return on ad spend and extracting more value per impression. While it’s more frequently applied to headlines than descriptions, the benefits are clear.
One exciting outcome of text customization is the observable boost in Quality Score. Our analysis showed that enabling this feature improved Quality Score from 6.8 to 7.3, with ad relevance seeing the most significant rise.
Given these findings, I encourage testing all three features if possible, especially since our tests showed that only half of the campaigns utilized text customization and even fewer activated URL optimization.
If you’re testing AI Max, consider implementing it across your entire account rather than selectively. This approach facilitates a more comprehensive assessment of its impact.
Not all new AI Max traffic will be completely new to your account, with 54% of queries having been previously captured by other campaigns. Despite this, AI Max still provides an additional uplift in conversion value.
Ensure you evaluate AI Max by looking at overall account performance rather than isolated campaign tactics. Additionally, monitor how AI Max interacts with other campaigns, notably Dynamic Search Ads (DSA), since overlapping capabilities can sometimes hinder performance.
Once you’re comfortable with AI Max, explore additional testing opportunities such as partnering it with Search Bidding Exploration (SBE) for achieving even greater customer reach.
Finally, it’s crucial to experiment beyond AI Max’s current scope. Consider alternative strategies and the evolving balance between segmentation and consolidation within your account structure.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
