Google Launches Asset Testing in Performance Max to Evaluate Creative Effectiveness

Google has introduced a new Asset Testing feature for Performance Max campaigns, allowing retailers to assess the effectiveness of creative assets. This feature operates on an experimental principle, comparing a control group (campaign with product feed only) to a test group (campaign with added assets). This approach enables faster results and provides insights into how creative changes impact ad performance.

Key Features

The primary goal of asset testing is to determine how adding or modifying creative elements affects the performance of Performance Max campaigns. Key questions addressed by this feature include:

• Does adding assets to a campaign provide benefits?
• Which asset combinations perform best?
• What impact does adding video have?

Currently, asset testing is only available for Performance Max campaigns that use product feeds exclusively. In the future, Google plans to expand testing capabilities.

How It Works

The Asset Testing feature operates within a single campaign, dividing traffic into two groups:

• Control group – A standard Performance Max campaign using only the product feed from Merchant Center.
• Test group – The same campaign, but with additional assets (images, videos, headlines, etc.).

This approach reduces the algorithm’s learning period and allows for quicker insights.

How to Set Up Asset Testing in Google Ads

To launch asset testing, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Google Ads and open the Campaigns tab.
2. Navigate to the Experiments section.
3. Click Create Experiment and select Performance Max – Asset Testing for Retailers.
4. Choose an existing Performance Max campaign and the asset group to be tested.
5. Set the traffic split between the control and test groups.
6. Add the necessary assets according to platform requirements.
7. Assign a name to the experiment and select start and end dates.

Experiment results will be available in the Experiment Report, where you can view summarized data and determine whether enough statistical data has been collected for conclusions.

Conclusions

The launch of asset testing in Performance Max is another step by Google toward providing advertisers with greater flexibility in campaign optimization. This feature allows for faster insights into the effectiveness of different ad formats, helping marketers make data-driven decisions. If you use Performance Max for e-commerce, testing this feature could provide valuable insights into how assets impact your campaign performance.

This article available in Ukrainian.