Performance Max without flying blind

The main complaint about Performance Max isn't that it doesn't work. In plenty of accounts, it does. The complaint is that you can't see why it worked, so you can't repeat it.

That's partly fair. But most accounts leave more blind spots in place than they need to.

What you can still look at

The search terms you actually showed up for. It's not the complete list, but you can see the big ones. If a competitor's name is in there, or a term that has nothing to do with you, you've got work to do.

Asset group performance, one by one. If one asset group spends the budget and another brings in the revenue, the system won't tell you. You have to pull that yourself.

Brand traffic split from non-brand. This one matters most. If PMax is counting traffic on your own brand name, the ROAS you see is measuring the fact that people already know you. That isn't growth.

New versus returning customers. If the system keeps selling to people who've already bought, the data looks good while the business stands still.

What to ask if someone else runs it

Three questions that show whether the account is being managed or only watched.

1. What's the result on non-brand traffic, reported separately from brand?
2. Which asset group brings in the revenue, and which one spends the budget?
3. Which exclusions are in place, and when were they last changed?

If nobody can answer those, Performance Max isn't the blind spot.

The takeaway

An automated campaign type doesn't mean there's nothing left to decide. The decisions have moved up a level: inputs, exclusions, data structure, offer. All of those are on your side.