Google PMax with Primer: Improve Targeting with Custom Audiences

Guide Google's ad algorithm with your ICP

After being launched in November 2021, Performance Max, now better known as PMax ad campaigns, received lots of criticism. People say AI algorithms are not transparent enough and complain about bot clicks eating up the budget. Advertisers want more influence on who sees their ads and when.

What is Google's position? The official page states that "Audience signals work best when you add your data and custom segments". Google admits that while AI algorithms improve targeting, they still need guidance from marketing teams to customize ad display. Primer PMax offers just that. Primer enables advertisers to build audiences matching their ICPs and sync them with Google Ads to make ads better targeted. Learn more about how it works in our guide.

How is PMax Empowered by Primer?

Primer’s B2B ad targeting serves to enhance PMax in a number of ways.

→ Primer builds custom audiences based on your ICP and pushes them into selected marketing channels, including Google Ads.

→ More specific audiences serve as a signal to Google Ads, informing the network who should – or shouldn’t – see the ads.

It makes targeting more precise, increases conversion rates, lowers cost per lead, and strengthens the pipeline.

Top of the Funnel: When to Use PMax with Primer

Using Primer Audiences as Signals in PMax ad groups is recommended for the top of the funnel, when you are only building a connection with your target audience:

They know little or nothing about your product. — You know the characteristics of your perfect customer and want to reach people like that across the Google network.

Why is Google's PMax Alone not Enough (and How Primer Helps)?

Primer’s audiences specifically address the limitations of Google Ads. PMax campaigns may be ideal for businesses seeking automation, but those who want more customization face limitations. Use Primer in PMax ad groups to boost Google Ads' capabilities when:

You’d like to accelerate results

If you don't feed Google Ads with historical data or targeting signals, it will need time to learn from mistakes. PMax uses the settings you choose when configuring a campaign, but they cannot ensure high precision. As a result, you may face extremely high CPA and low accuracy for the first few weeks. The use of Primer minimizes the time required for learning, as it informs algorithms about the target audience right away.

You need precision targeting

PMax simplifies the lives of marketers, allowing more people to run digital ads without specialized knowledge. However, overautomation and broad scale doesn’t always work in your favor. In this regard, PMax is often called a black box, as no one truly knows how it works and what affects ad display.

By using Primer ad audiences, you can make the work of Google's algorithms much more transparent. You create an ICP and tell Google Ads who you want to reach, no guesswork.

You want to exclude junk leads

PMax campaigns give the scale that, unfortunately, often comes with lower conversion rates and the "spray and pray" approach. You may get junk leads and an advertising pipeline that is too expensive to maintain. With custom audiences, the scale remains, but performance indicators considerably increase. Your ads serve a specific purpose, resulting in higher conversion rates, lower CPL, and more qualified leads.

4 Steps to Boost Your PMax Ads with Primer

Primer PMax is easy to set, even if you are new to digital ads. You only need to create a custom audience in Primer, sync it with Google Ads, and set the audience as a signal. We also recommend testing the new campaign to check whether it makes a difference.

1. Create an audience in Primer.

Go to Primer and build an audience based on your ICP profile. Indicate the types of companies, departments, and seniorities that generate the most conversions. You should already know it before setting audiences based on historical data and your existing customer base.

Note. Exclude your current customers from Salesforce or HubSpot.

2. Sync the custom audience with the Google account.

Select Google Ads as one of your target audience destinations in Primer. It will make the audience visible in your Google Ads account.

3. Add the audience as a signal in Google Ads.

In your Google Ads campaign, scroll to asset groups and assign the Primer audience as a signal. It will fine-tune PMax machine learning and make ads more likely to reach the right people.

4. Run A/B tests.

Use your PMax budget to create two campaigns: one with a Primer signal and one without. Compare the results, including lead quality, CPL, and conversions, to evaluate the performance.

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How Zylo Achieved 10X Pipeline ROI

Zylo was looking to reach decision-makers in tech enterprises to promote its SaaS management solution. They needed flexibility and advanced targeting to display the ads to specific categories of users.

‍I needed something that could build amazing audiences based on role, intent, and sales activity. That's what Primer does," says Chris Cruz, Senior Director of Demand Generation and Digital Marketing at Zylo.

The company started using Primer for paid search and Performance Max campaigns. Primer audiences help both to increase awareness at the top of the funnel and drive bottom-funnel conversions with Google's built-in retargeting.

Zylo's marketing team spent the same budget on the same campaign, with the only difference — they created a custom audience with Primer. It brought them tangible results, including:

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‍Our KPI is pipeline generated per dollar spent, and we aim for 10x. We consistently hit that with Primer," Chris said. "And we're doing it while pushing further upmarket every quarter."

Read the full case about Zylo and Primer partnership.

FAQs

• What are the signs a PMax campaign needs customization?

Low conversions, high cost per lead, and irrelevant leads mean that your PMax ads are not performing. You need to guide Google Ad algorithms with signals, such as custom audiences by Primer. It may also be helpful to change creatives to test how other options work.

• How to measure Primer audience’s effectiveness for PMax campaigns?

Split your budget between the campaigns: the one that uses the Primer audience as a signal and a regular PMax campaign. Run both campaigns for several weeks and compare the results. A better quality of leads and a lower cost per lead signify that the campaign is more effective.

• Do you need to export or format the Primer audience for PMax ads?

Primer has direct integration with Google Ads. You don't need to export its audiences and format data before synchronizing it between tools. Just go to Google Ads and assign the necessary Primer audience as a signal.