Difference in Google Ads and Microsoft Ads Campaigns: P.Max

In our previous article, we mentioned the essential need for contemporary businesses to operate in the online space with the prospect of achieving their business goals. The two main players in online advertising, Google and Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads), offer businesses the opportunity for targeted advertising. In this article, we will explore the differences between these platforms and discover why you should consider investing in Performance Max campaigns on the Microsoft Ads platform. By reading this, you will expand your knowledge and also uncover how to harness the potential of both platforms.

Performance Max (P.Max) campaigns are a special type of advertising campaigns offered within the Microsoft or Google Ads platforms. These campaigns are designed to allow advertisers to maximize the performance of their ads and achieve their goals effectively and efficiently. P.Max campaigns on both advertising platforms are used to advertise products through commerce ads (search on Google / Bing) and are expanded to the entire advertising networks of Google and Microsoft. However, their difference lies in their structure, which plays an important role in launching advertising or kickstarting sales.

We mainly notice these structural differences in terms of different rules for textual components or different image formats, and many others, which we briefly summarize in the following table.

As we can see, the differences result in slightly different structures in Performance Max campaigns within Google or Microsoft Ads. For example, in Performance Max campaigns for Google, you can also include YouTube videos, which is not possible in Performance Max campaigns in Microsoft Ads. Another difference we can notice is the use of texts, such as headlines and ad descriptions. However, the most significant difference is in the way products are grouped into product groups. In the case of Performance Max campaigns in Google Ads, a maximum of 998 products can be included in each product group, meaning that for larger campaigns, multiple product groups need to be created. Conversely, in the case of Performance Max campaigns in Microsoft Ads, up to 19 998 products can fit into one product group.

It is evident that the mentioned differences should be considered when deciding between Google and Microsoft Ads Performance Max campaigns, depending on the goals of your advertising strategy and the preferences of your target audience.

Furthermore, we would like to mention a solution using the automated tool BlueWinston, with which you can easily create P.Max campaigns within both Google and Microsoft Ads. Moreover, the creation of these campaigns is almost identical. In both cases, BlueWinston offers additional options that are not directly available in these platforms. These features include advanced product filters, product group creation, optimization scripts, and more. The result of using these features often leads to better campaign performance than you would achieve directly through Google Ads or Microsoft Ads.

In today’s digital marketing landscape, it’s crucial to have an understanding of the opportunities offered by the major players in online advertising. Comparing Performance Max campaigns in Google and Microsoft Ads has allowed us to identify their unique features and differences. Decision-making between these two platforms should be based on specific goals, target audience preferences, and available resources. However, regardless of the choice, both platforms offer advertisers a wide range of opportunities to achieve their marketing goals through Performance Max campaigns. Therefore, it’s essential to keep track of developments and innovations on both platforms to fully leverage their potential and continually optimize advertising strategies.