Shopping and Performance Max, managed
Google Shopping Ads Agency Feed-first Shopping and Performance Max for ecommerce brands and apps.
We engineer the product feed, the campaign structure and the creative that Google’s algorithm rewards, so your Shopping budget compounds into profitable revenue instead of quietly leaking into cheap placements.
5.0 on Clutch, 48 reviews €500M+ ad spend managed 150+ brands
Men’s Waterproof Trail Running Shoes, Vibram Sole
€89.00
Your store
shoe_final_v2
€92.00
Somewhere lower down
Recommended by ecommerce stores that scaled with us.
5.0 on Clutch · 48 reviewsThe channel
Performance Max is the most complex channel Google has ever shipped.
One campaign type now decides how your budget moves across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Gmail and Discover. The algorithm is powerful, but it only performs when you control its inputs.
When Google retired Smart Shopping and replaced it with Performance Max, it handed the algorithm more control than any previous Google product. PMax allocates budget, selects audiences and assembles creative combinations on its own, across every Google surface at once.
Run well, it delivers reach and blended returns that no single-channel campaign can match. Run poorly, it quietly absorbs budget, claims credit for brand searches that would have converted anyway, and drifts spend towards cheap impressions instead of high-intent Shopping placements.
The difference between the two is almost invisible in the Google Ads interface. You have to know which inputs to engineer, and what to force the algorithm to prioritise. That is exactly what our Shopping practice is built around.
PMax will happily report brand-search conversions as wins it created. We build brand exclusions into every campaign from day one, so the numbers you see reflect growth your spend actually earned. Most agencies do not.
What you get
Every lever that moves Shopping performance, owned by one team.
From the product feed to the video assets PMax demands, we manage the full system, not just the campaign settings.
Feed audit and optimisation
Keyword-rich product titles, complete GTINs, correct categories and clean attributes. The feed is where Shopping performance is won, so it is our first deliverable on every engagement.
Merchant Center health
Disapprovals, policy warnings and shipping or tax mismatches silently kill impression share. We resolve issues on day one and monitor so new ones are caught in hours, not weeks.
Creative for every placement
PMax punishes thin asset groups. We supply full text, image and video coverage, produced and tested through our AI Creative Factory, so Google never auto-generates a weak substitute.
See the AI Creative FactoryCampaign architecture
PMax for reach, Standard Shopping for the SKUs that earn manual control, and brand exclusions everywhere. Structure decides how far your budget goes.
Audience signal engineering
Signals built from your best customers and high-intent segments shorten the learning period and steer the algorithm towards buyers, not browsers.
Measurement and reporting
Conversion tracking wired to revenue, and honest reporting that separates incremental growth from brand-search credit.
The system
Feed first. Then structure. Then scale.
Six steps, run in order, because each one multiplies the next. This is the same sequence behind every Shopping account we manage.
Feed and Merchant Center diagnostic
We audit every SKU and resolve the disapprovals, weak titles and missing attributes that cap performance before campaigns even start. Feeds we audit typically arrive with 20 to 40% of products in poor health.
Feed rewrite
Product titles rebuilt around how buyers actually search, plus complete GTINs, categories and supplemental attributes, so Google can match your products to more of the right queries.
Campaign architecture
PMax as the primary reach driver, Standard Shopping retained for top-revenue SKUs, and brand exclusion lists so the algorithm cannot inflate its own scorecard.
Audience signals
We seed PMax with past purchasers, high-value segments and customer match lists, and suppress existing customers from acquisition budgets.
Creative coverage
Complete text, image and video assets in every required format, refreshed before fatigue shows up in the numbers.
Bidding sequence and scale
Maximise Conversions first, then Target ROAS once conversion volume supports it, then floors as the account matures. Every transition is documented in your reporting.
A senior Shopping specialist replies, not a sales script.
Know when to use what
Performance Max or Standard Shopping? Usually both.
The right answer for most accounts is a deliberate structure that uses each campaign type for what it does best.
| Factor | Performance Max | Standard Shopping |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Broad discovery and full-funnel reach across all Google surfaces | High-priority SKUs that need bid control and impression share visibility |
| Targeting | Algorithm-led, guided by your audience signals | Manual, with full control over product groups and bids |
| Creative | Needs a full asset suite of text, image and video | Driven by the product feed alone |
| Transparency | Limited placement and search term visibility | Full search term reporting |
| Brand protection | Needs explicit brand exclusions | Standard negative keywords apply |
| Our recommendation | Primary campaign for most accounts | Kept for the SKUs that earn the most revenue |
Why Admiral
Ecommerce depth, performance discipline.
Since 2019 we have managed over €500M in ad spend for 150+ brands across Google, Meta, TikTok and Apple Ads. Our Shopping specialists grow ecommerce businesses with catalogues of over 800 products, and every account is run by a senior strategist backed by the full team. The proof is in our case studies.
Official Google Partner
Certified across Shopping, Performance Max and app campaigns, with direct platform support when your account needs it.
In-house AI creative
Our AI Creative Factory produces the video and image assets PMax demands at volume, so asset strength is never your bottleneck.
Senior specialists, not generalists
You work directly with people who grow ecommerce businesses for a living, not a junior learning on your budget.
Recognised in the category
Named a top ecommerce marketing agency on Clutch in 2026, with a 5.0 rating across 48 verified reviews.
Backed by €500M+ in managed ad spend and 150+ brands scaled.
“At Admiral Media, we specialize in Growth and Performance Marketing. Our dedication to quality is why our clients stay with us for years.”
Andre Kempe
Founder and CEO, Admiral Media
For app businesses
Shopping and PMax when there is an app in the mix.
If your ecommerce brand has a companion app, Shopping and Performance Max can drive web transactions and app installs as two coordinated streams inside one account, with audience signals shared between them. Web revenue and app lifetime value get optimised together instead of competing for the same budget.
For subscription and digital product brands, PMax’s reach across Search, YouTube and Display makes it an efficient single-budget channel, provided the feed and signals are configured correctly. It is a technically involved setup, and it is the kind of work our Google Ads team does every day for apps, games and hybrid brands.
When you want newer surfaces alongside Shopping, we also run Snapchat and ChatGPT ads.
A good fit
- Ecommerce brands with an established catalogue and a meaningful monthly Google budget
- Businesses with 100+ SKUs in a product feed
- App and ecommerce hybrids running web and app together
- Teams with conversion tracking in place, or ready to fix it
- DTC brands already scaling on other channels
Not yet
- No product catalogue, so nothing to feed Shopping
- Only a handful of SKUs, which leaves PMax without enough signal
- Not prepared to invest in feed and creative quality
- Looking for a one-off setup rather than managed growth
Questions
Google Shopping and PMax, answered
What is the difference between Google Shopping and Performance Max?
How important is the product feed for Google Shopping performance?
Should I use Performance Max or Standard Shopping campaigns?
How long does Performance Max take to start performing?
What does Google Shopping management cost?
Do you run Shopping and Performance Max for app businesses too?
Next step
Ready to stop leaking ROAS?
Tell us about your store, your catalogue and your goals. We will show you where your setup stands and what we would do differently.
- A senior Shopping specialist on the call
- A clear read on your feed, structure and creative coverage
- No obligation, no spam
Admiral Media is a performance marketing and AI creative agency. Since 2019 we have managed over €500M in ad spend for 150+ brands across Google, Meta, TikTok and Apple Ads. Explore all our services, browse our case studies or get in touch.