Search Ads vs Performance Max: Which performs better in 2025?

It’s 2025. You’re a modern marketer looking to push past the limitations of outdated Search PPC strategies that belong to the internet from 10 years ago.

But which Google Ads format should you be focusing on; Search or Performance Max?

If you’re working in ecommerce and PPC, you’re probably already familiar with both of these. But with the constant shifts in automation, AI and what Google’s infamous algorithm is prioritising, it’s no longer a simple decision between the two.

Let's go over the key insights from leading performance marketers, and the facts behind the data, so you can decide where to put your budget in your next PPC campaign: 

• Google Ads: What's changed for ecommerce?
• Performance Max: AI for broad reach
• Search Ads in 2025: Still the gold standard?
• What the data shows: PMax vs Search performance
• Aligning campaign type to objectives
• Metrics comparison: What does success look like for each?
• Combining Search and Performance Max

Google Ads: What's changed for ecommerce?

Over the last few years in particular, Search has undergone a rapid transformation. The PPC of yesteryear is almost entirely gone, making way for innovative and AI-driven solutions to common PPC frustrations for marketers. 

Enter, PMax campaigns. These are now more widely adopted by PPC marketers looking to stay cutting edge, and have replaced many campaigns that would have previously been conventional Search campaigns in the past.

PMax enables your ads to run across YouTube, Display, Gmail, Discover, Search, and Maps, all from one campaign setup. The ease of this setup, paired with the flexibility and broad reach of more automated features makes the PMax switch quite efficient for even the most experienced PPC marketers. It’s a way of covering a lot of ground with minimal start-up time required. 

In recent years we’ve seen a major shift in Google’s approach to PPC. Search Ads are seeing more integration with smart bidding and broad match, often relying more heavily on machine learning. This has led to concerns over transparency and control for both marketers and users alike. So the future of Search is far from clear-cut.

That said, from a marketing perspective, the best approach is to get knowledgeable about how AI is being used, so that you can make informed choices on where and how you implement AI strategy into your existing campaigns.

Ecommerce marketers are now expected to supply high-quality first-party data and creative assets for strong performance. Meaning you need to consider the benefits and drawbacks of both Search and PMax ads moving forward. (Our advice? Go for a mix of the two!)

Performance Max: AI for broad reach

It’s here to stay. The future of Search looks a lot like this ad format. But where is it most useful, and how can you work within its constraints for the best results?

Pros

• Expands your reach automatically across all available Google inventory in a single campaign.

• This ad type uses machine learning to optimise bidding, creative combinations, and targeting.

• Removes the need for you to manually build audiences or manage placements.

• Streamlines your account structure by combining multiple campaign types into one.

Cons

• You get limited visibility into keyword performance and search terms compared to traditional Search campaigns.

• You have reduced control over where your ads appear and how the budget is allocated.

• A high dependency on data and creative quality. Poor inputs can reduce performance overall.

• It may compete or overlap with existing Search and Shopping campaigns without proper structure. This is where good planning is worth its weight in gold!

Best practices
It’s best to provide a wide variety of creative assets (headlines, images, videos) to allow the system to test combinations. Make sure your conversion tracking is accurate and consistent across the customer journey to avoid any misaligned attribution, you  don’t want any incorrect data!

Feed optimisation (product titles, descriptions, images) is critical for ecommerce success. Don’t skip this! Take your time during the initial setup of any shopping feeds to avoid generic ad creation.

Use audience signals such as customer match lists and remarketing data to guide your automation. The more data you have, the more accurate your targeting will be. Finally, make sure you regularly monitor the asset performance and use those insight reports to fuel your strategy and optimisation.

Search Ads in 2025: Still the gold standard?

Don’t let the radical shift to PMax fool you; Search is still worth its weight in gold to the most savvy marketer. Here’s why Search is still one of the most effective and useful ad formats to use in 2025:

Pros

• You’re armed with a high degree of control over keywords, ads, and bidding strategies.

• It’s ideal for capturing intent-driven traffic from users actively searching for specific solutions.

• Each campaign provides transparent data on search terms, conversions, and click-through rates.

• It is much easier to optimise based on granular performance data, because you have control over every ad individually.

Cons

• Search campaigns require ongoing manual management and expertise to maintain.

• Compared to PMax, you’ve got more limited cross-channel reach.

• It can be slower to scale or adapt without automated tools.

• You may miss upper-funnel or discovery-focused users.

Best practices
We’d recommend combining broad match keywords with smart bidding strategies for balance between automation and control. As part of that control, use negative keywords to filter out low-quality or irrelevant traffic.

As a natural part of your marketing rituals, continually test ad copy, sitelinks, and ad extensions to improve relevance and performance. Finally, it’s always useful and efficient to structure your campaigns around specific themes or product categories to maintain clarity and optimisation ease. If you put the work in with some strategic creation, you’ll save yourself heaps of time in future optimisation.

What the data shows: PMax vs Search performance

Debate and speculation with other marketers can be a useful way to broaden your marketing horizons, but the data shows what’s really going on in the world of PPC advancements as the industry reacts to these developments. In a recent article from Mike Ryan at Smarter Ecommerce, several key findings shone a light on the realities of each campaign type:  

• PMax accounted for 82% of ecommerce Google Ads spend as of May 2024, though the trend is plateauing.

• Up to 90% of PMax costs are spent on feed-based Shopping ads. 

• Campaigns will need at least 30 monthly conversions to really maximise the performance of this format type.

• Search campaigns are also competing against Search Max campaign types in terms of what format retains the most ad spend, alongside PMax.

• Max Conversions bidding strategy seems to be preferable for new campaigns with little starting data.

Aligning campaign type to objectives

As with any high-performance PPC campaign, intentional, informed and efficient decision making behind your ad creation strategy is what brings in the best results. A huge part of that is aligning your marketing goals to your campaign type. Here’s what to do when lining your goals up with your campaign type:

• Use PMax if your goal is to reach users across multiple touchpoints quickly with a broad message.

• Choose Search Ads for precise targeting and campaigns that demand clear keyword intent.

• PMax is best suited for large product inventories, brand awareness, or re-engagement strategies.

• Search Ads are more effective for bottom-of-funnel conversions or highly competitive services.

Metrics comparison: What does success look like for each?

So, you’ve built out your new campaigns with a mix of Search and PMax taking center stage. But how do you know that your campaign is actually doing well, beyond the basics like ROI?

Each campaign type has a different look when it comes to measuring success.

Performance Max

• Focus on conversion value, ROAS, and reach across channels.

• Success is often tied to your volume of creative inputs and the strength of your data feed.

• View asset-level insights to see which creatives are driving conversions - these will show you what’s really driving results in your campaign.

Search Ads

• CTR, CPC, and conversion rate are primary success indicators.

• Strong keyword relevance and quality score are the most important elements of this campaign type.

• Transparent reporting allows precise budget and performance control., so get granular and detailed with this campaign type for best results.

Combining Search and Performance Max

If you hadn’t guessed by now, the best campaigns are the ones that combine the broad reach of PMax with the niche targeting of Search. 

• Use Search Ads to capture high-intent demand and fill in gaps where PMax underperforms.

• PMax can serve as a discovery engine, while Search covers precision targeting and retargeting for whatever you find from your PMax campaigns.

• Structure your account to avoid campaign overlap. Use campaign priority settings or exclude specific keywords to prevent wasted ad spend across multiple campaign formats.

A blended strategy offers full-funnel coverage that is AI driven, whilst retaining a lot of manual control for yourself and your team.

Conclusion

So, Search Ads or Performance Max? It’s not really an either/or question anymore.

The most effective marketers in 2025 are adept at using both, with clear intentionality, aligned goals and intelligent testing. PMax brings scale and automation to your larger campaigns, while Search brings intent and clarity for those niche targeting moments where you need a big pay-off. 

Together, they create a funnel reaching both a broad audience and capturing specific preferences of your most engaged user-base.

If you’re running PPC ads this year, don’t follow trends: follow results. And above all? Make sure your campaigns are built with intention, with your informed expertise backing every strategic decision along the way. 

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