Set Up Audience Signals on Performance Max

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Overview

Audience signals in Performance Max provide Google’s algorithm with targeting guidance. By default, PMax optimizes broadly across all users. Innkeepr audience signals narrow that guidance using incremental prediction models — they identify users who are more likely to convert because of an ad, rather than users who would convert regardless. This guide walks you through setting up a test-vs-control campaign structure with Innkeepr audience signals. After completing all steps, you will have two comparable PMax campaigns running: one with Innkeepr signals applied, one without, allowing you to measure the difference.

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Prerequisites

Technical Requirements:

• Active Google Ads account with Performance Max campaigns enabled
• Sufficient conversion data for signal generation (minimum 30 days recommended)

Timeline at a Glance:

Important: Do not evaluate performance before the 60-day mark. PMax needs time to collect data, optimize bid strategies, and stabilize across inventory types. Early results are unreliable.

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Understanding Signal Parameters

Before configuring your signals, it helps to understand what each parameter controls: Audience Type: Seed For Performance Max campaigns, Innkeepr uses Seed audiences. A seed audience provides Google with a reference group of users — Google then finds additional users with similar characteristics to target. Innkeepr’s seed audiences are built from users with high predicted incremental conversion probability, so the lookalike expansion is based on incrementality rather than general conversion likelihood.

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Setup Instructions

Step 1: Design Your Campaign Structure Why a campaign split (not an asset group split)? As of February 2026, Google does not allow access to click-based performance data at the asset group level through the API. Only campaign-level data includes full-funnel metrics (clicks, CTR, CPC, conversions, ROAS). Testing in separate campaigns is the only way to accurately compare performance. Budget Allocation:

Why not 50/50? A smaller test budget reduces risk during the learning phase while still generating enough conversion volume for comparison. Increase the test share once you have sufficient data to evaluate results.

Step 2: Create Signal Configurations Create 2–3 asset groups in your test campaign, each targeting the same products but with a different audience signal configuration. Recommended Starting Configurations:

Not sure which configuration fits your use case? Contact our team — we can help determine the right parameters based on your conversion data and product categories.

Step 3: Create and Apply Audiences in Innkeepr

1. Create audiences in Innkeepr based on your selected configurations
2. Select “Google Analytics” as your source — the audience list is uploaded via GA4 and then becomes available in your linked Google Ads account
3. Set the Audience Type to Seed
4. Configure parameters — set lookback window, percentile threshold, and conversion lag according to your chosen configuration
5. Link audiences to the corresponding asset groups in your test campaign in Google Ads

Step 4: Configure Audience Signals in Google Ads When setting up audience signals on your asset groups, only include the following signal types: Keep:

• Innkeepr seed audiences — these are your primary audience signals
• Search terms — custom search themes that are relevant to your products

Remove:

• Demographics (age, gender, household income, parental status) — these restrict the signal unnecessarily and overlap with what Google already optimizes for
• Interests and detailed demographics (in-market, affinity audiences) — adding these dilutes the Innkeepr signal with broad Google segments
• Other first-party user lists (CRM uploads, website visitors, customer match lists) — mixing other lists with Innkeepr signals makes it impossible to attribute performance to a specific signal source

The goal is to isolate Innkeepr’s incremental signals as the primary targeting guidance. Additional signal types introduce noise and make it difficult to measure the effect of the Innkeepr audiences. Step 5: Configure Campaign Settings Ensure parity between test and control campaigns:

• Identical target ROAS (tROAS) across both campaigns — mismatched tROAS invalidates the comparison (see Best Practices below)
• Proportional daily budgets — 20–30% for test, 70–80% for control
• Identical asset groups in both campaigns, except for the audience signals in the test campaign
• Similar inventory types enabled across both campaigns — ensure test and control use the same inventory configuration (Search, Display, Shopping, Video, Discover)

Step 6: Pre-Launch Checklist Before activating your campaigns, verify:

• Test and control campaigns have identical tROAS values
• Budget split is 20–30% test / 70–80% control
• Audience signals are applied only to test campaign asset groups
• Asset groups (products, creatives, ad copy) are identical across both campaigns
• Inventory types match across both campaigns
• Conversion tracking is verified and capturing all relevant conversions
• Innkeepr audience sizes are sufficiently large (check in the Innkeepr dashboard)

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Monitor & Optimize

Weeks 1–4: Hands Off

• Do not adjust tROAS, budgets, or signals during the initial learning phase
• Review the PMax placement report weekly to understand spend distribution
• Expect inventory shifts — campaigns with Innkeepr signals may allocate more to Display/Video early on (this is expected behavior)

Weeks 4–8: Early Evaluation

• Compare ROAS, CPA, and conversion volume at the campaign level (test vs. control)
• If performance is significantly off target, make small adjustments (10–20% tROAS change) — but always adjust tROAS on both test and control campaigns equally, otherwise the campaign with higher tROAS will lose spend
• Allow 7–14 days after any adjustment before re-evaluating

Weeks 8–12: Performance Review

• Aim for 50–100+ conversions per campaign before drawing conclusions

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Best Practices

Target ROAS Alignment Set identical tROAS values across test and control campaigns. Google Ads gives more bidding flexibility to campaigns with lower tROAS, which skews results and makes it difficult to isolate the effect of audience signals. If you need to adjust tROAS, always adjust both campaigns equally — otherwise the campaign with higher tROAS will receive less spend.

• Use your standard tROAS as the baseline for both campaigns
• Only adjust tROAS if both campaigns deviate from target, and always by the same margin
• Align the actual tROAS value with your business objectives and historical performance

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Troubleshooting

ROAS Below Target After 60+ Days Spend Concentrated in Display/Video This is common in the first 30–45 days. Before making changes, review actual ROAS — Display/Video placements may be converting efficiently despite the inventory shift. If ROAS is genuinely below target: increase tROAS, temporarily reduce budget, and wait 7–14 days for PMax to rebalance. Campaign Stuck in Learning Phase (30+ Days) Low Conversion Volume in Test Campaign