Most Performance Max campaigns waste 30-40% of budget on junk traffic.

Here's my 8-point audit framework that finds the leaks:

The 8 Audit Points:

1️⃣ Ad Strength & Asset Performance

Check image diversity, video length, and replace "Low" performing assets. Google's Ad Strength score isn't vanity—it directly impacts auction eligibility and CPCs.

2️⃣ Placement & URL Hygiene

Exclude junk placements (apps, kids' channels) and non-converting URLs. Review placement reports monthly—PMAX loves cheap mobile game inventory that converts at 0%.

3️⃣ Audience Signal Quality

Prioritize first-party data over broad targeting. Customer lists, website visitors, and CRM data beat demographic guesses every time. Weak signals = wasted impressions.

4️⃣ Product Feed Hygiene

Optimize titles, images, and pricing. This is the most ignored, highest impact lever. Poor feed quality kills PMAX performance before campaigns even start.

5️⃣ Budget Pacing

Minimum $50/day or 3x your target CPA. Under-budgeted PMAX campaigns never exit learning phase and bleed money on poor placements. Scale or kill.

6️⃣ Conversion Action Setup

One primary goal, secondary for learning only. Multiple primary conversions confuse the algorithm. Pick revenue-driving actions and commit.

7️⃣ Performance Diagnosis

Know when to pause vs when to scale. Not every underperforming campaign needs killing—some need more data. Learn the difference or burn budget.

8️⃣ Asset Group Structure

Separate by category for clearer learning. Lumping unrelated products together dilutes signal quality and prevents proper optimization.

Why This Framework Works:

✓ Focuses on high-impact leaks first
✓ Uses data, not guesswork
✓ Prioritizes fixes by ROI
✓ Prevents future waste

Real Client Results:

  • CPA: $180 → $68 (-62%)
  • ROAS: 1.8x → 4.2x (+133%)
  • Conversion volume: +140%

Total audit time: 4 hours
Ongoing value: $3K/month saved

This audit is what separates marketers who "run PMAX" from those who actually profit from it.

Check out the full in-depth guide here: https://rananjay.notion.site/Performance-Max-Audit-Framework-Complete-Guide-2ed2341514d5808081f7ea8b4eb9821d?pvs=74