Understanding Performance Max Asset Testing in Simple Terms
Google Ads allows advertisers to create Performance Max campaigns, which help reach potential customers across multiple platforms like YouTube, Search, Display, and more. But how can advertisers know if adding new images, videos, or text (called assets) will improve their campaign results?
That’s where Asset Testing comes in. This tool lets you test the impact of adding new assets to your campaigns and see if they perform better than before.
Why is Asset Testing Useful?
It helps answer important questions such as:
- Does adding more images, videos, or headlines make my campaign more effective?
- Which combination of content works best for my audience?
- Does including videos improve performance?
At the moment, this feature is available for feed-only Performance Max campaigns (campaigns that mainly use product feeds from Merchant Center). More testing options are expected to be available in the future.
How Asset Testing Works
Unlike regular experiments that compare two separate campaigns, asset testing divides traffic within a single campaign into two groups:
- Control group: This runs your original Performance Max campaign without extra assets.
- Treatment group: This version includes the new assets you want to test.
Since both groups operate within the same campaign, results come faster because there’s no need for a long adjustment period.
How to Set Up Asset Testing
If you want to try this feature, follow these steps in your Google Ads account:
- Click on the Campaigns icon.
- Open the Experiments section by clicking on the Campaigns dropdown.
- Click the Experiments option.
- Click the + button to create a new experiment.
- Select Performance Max Optimization and then choose Assets as the testing type.
- Choose the campaign you want to experiment with and select the Asset Group to test.
- Decide how much traffic should go to the Control Group vs. the Treatment Group.
- Add the new assets you want to test.
- Set a start date and end date for the experiment.
- Click Schedule to begin the test.
How to View Results
After setting up the test, you can track performance in the Experiment Report page. This report compares the Control and Treatment groups, showing whether the new assets made a difference. If there’s enough data, you’ll get clear results on whether the changes helped or not.
For details on monitoring, check Monitor your experiments.
What Happens After the Experiment?
Once the test ends, you have two options:
- Apply experiment: If the new assets performed well, you can apply them permanently to your campaign.
- End experiment: If the new assets didn’t help, the campaign will go back to its original state.
Learn More
For more in-depth details, you can refer to the original Google Ads Performance Max optimization experiments guide.