Should You Use Performance Max Campaigns Without Merchant Center?

Google’s Performance Max (PMax) campaign type has been gaining traction among advertisers due to its ability to leverage automation across multiple Google networks, including Search, Display, YouTube, and more. While many businesses use PMax campaigns with Merchant Center to drive sales via Shopping Ads, some wonder whether it makes sense to use PMax without Merchant Center.

In this post, we’ll explore the pros, cons, and best use cases for running PMax campaigns without a product feed.

When you run a Performance Max campaign without linking to a Merchant Center account, Google will still distribute your ads across its properties, but you won’t have access to Shopping Ads. Instead, your campaign will focus on other placements such as Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps. The targeting and ad placements will be determined by Google’s AI, using your provided assets, audience signals, and goals.

When Does Using PMax Without Merchant Center Make Sense?

1. Lead Generation Campaigns

If you’re running a lead generation campaign rather than an ecommerce store, you don’t need a Merchant Center feed. Instead, you can provide Google with high-quality assets, such as ad copy, images, and videos, while using audience signals to find potential customers. Performance Max can be effective for driving form submissions, phone calls, and other conversion actions.

2. Local Service Businesses

For businesses like law firms, real estate agencies, and home services, PMax can work well without Merchant Center by focusing on local searches and placements in Google’s ecosystem. By optimizing for location-based conversions, businesses can benefit from increased brand awareness and lead generation.

3. Brand Awareness and Engagement Campaigns

If your goal is to increase brand awareness or engagement rather than drive direct sales, Performance Max without Merchant Center can still be a viable option. With access to multiple ad placements, it can help maximize visibility across Google’s network.

Limitations of Using PMax Without Merchant Center

While PMax can still be effective without a product feed, there are a few key limitations:

• No Access to Shopping Ads – The biggest drawback is that you miss out on Google Shopping placements, which are often a high-converting ad format for ecommerce businesses.

• Less Control Over Targeting – PMax is highly automated, which means advertisers have limited control over specific targeting settings compared to traditional Search or Display campaigns.

• Creative Dependence – Success without a product feed relies heavily on high-quality ad creatives, including compelling images, videos, and text assets.

• Risk of Low-Quality Leads – Without proper conversion tracking, PMax can prioritize quantity over quality, leading to low-quality leads that don’t convert into sales.

The Importance of Feeding PMax with High-Quality Conversion Data

One of the biggest risks of using Performance Max for lead generation is the potential for low-quality leads. Since PMax optimizes for conversions, it’s crucial to provide high-quality conversion data to guide the algorithm effectively.

Use Offline Conversion Tracking

Instead of optimizing for basic conversions like form fills, consider feeding PMax with offline conversion data, such as:

• Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) – Leads that have been reviewed and meet certain qualification criteria.

• Sales or Revenue Data – If possible, track which leads convert into actual paying customers.

By using offline conversion tracking, PMax learns to prioritize leads more likely to convert into customers rather than just generating a high volume of low-intent form submissions.

Best Practices for Running PMax Without Merchant Center

If you decide to use Performance Max without Merchant Center, here are some key strategies to improve performance:

• Use Strong Audience Signals – Provide detailed audience signals based on past customers, website visitors, or customer lists to guide Google’s automation.

• Optimize for Conversions – Ensure proper conversion tracking is set up in Google Ads to give the algorithm the best data for optimization.

• Leverage Offline Conversion Tracking – Feed PMax with MQLs or sales data to improve lead quality and avoid wasting ad spend on unqualified leads.

• Test Different Creative Assets – Since Performance Max relies heavily on visuals and messaging, test multiple variations of headlines, descriptions, images, and videos.

• Monitor and Adjust Regularly – While PMax automates many processes, regular analysis of asset performance, audience engagement, and conversion rates is essential for optimization.

It depends on your goals. If you’re running an ecommerce business, Performance Max is far more effective when integrated with Merchant Center. However, for lead generation, local services, and brand awareness, PMax can still deliver results without a product feed—provided you optimize your assets and conversion tracking effectively. Most importantly, feeding PMax with higher-quality conversion data like MQLs or sales can prevent it from generating a flood of low-intent leads.

Would you like to explore how Performance Max fits into your advertising strategy? Reach out today to get expert guidance on maximizing your ad spend!