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How Do You Set Up a Google Ads Performance Max Campaign?

A step-by-step guide to Google Ads Performance Max setup, including conversion-page configuration, ad assets, budget, billing and campaign reporting.
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You can create a lead-generation Performance Max campaign from the Google Ads area of the dashboard if you have a connected Google Ads account and a website. The guided flow asks for a landing page, conversion page, locations, ad assets and daily spend, then lets you review the setup before launch. Make sure Google Ads has an active, verified primary conversion goal: the page path entered in the dashboard is not a substitute for configuring a conversion action in your account.

Before you start

  • A Google Ads account connected in the dashboard.
  • A website. The documented integration supports website types created on the platform.
  • A lead-focused conversion destination, such as a thank-you page shown after someone submits a form.
  • Google Ads billing set up. Advertising spend is billed by Google, not by the dashboard; incomplete billing can prevent the campaign from running.

The dashboard’s conversion-page field and Google’s conversion goal serve related but different purposes. The form asks for a page path; Google’s general Performance Max guidance calls for an active, verified primary conversion goal in the account. Choose a page or event that represents a real lead outcome, and confirm the corresponding conversion action is configured in Google Ads. Google’s campaign setup guidance covers the wider account setup.

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How do I create a Performance Max campaign?

  1. Sign in to the dashboard, open Google Ads, and choose Start first campaign.
  2. Select the website you want the ad to lead to.
  3. Enter the conversion page path, such as the path to a thank-you page after a form submission.
  4. Enter the locations where you want ads to appear. The documented options include countries, cities, ZIP codes and regions.
  5. Continue to ad creation. You can let the dashboard generate text and images, or skip generation and enter assets yourself.
  6. Review or edit the business name, headlines, descriptions, images and logo. The flow shows a live preview.
  7. Choose one of the daily-spend options, which display an estimated number of weekly leads, or enter a custom daily amount.
  8. Review the summary—landing page, average daily budget, audience language, locations and business name—and select Start campaign.

These are the labels and steps in the support instructions retrieved on October 7, 2026. Interface labels can change, so follow the current in-product prompts if they differ. The integration is a guided lead-generation setup; it does not necessarily expose every setting available in Google Ads.

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Where do I set the conversion page?

Enter it in the conversion-page field during campaign creation. The dashboard gives a thank-you page path as an example. Use a destination reached after a genuine lead action, not simply the home page or a page someone can visit without submitting a form. Then verify separately that Google Ads is recording the relevant primary conversion goal. The page destination tells the setup which page is associated with the lead; the account’s conversion action defines what Google measures as a conversion.

What ad text and images should you prepare?

You can use generated creative or enter assets manually; manual fields start empty. The platform says filling available headline, description and image fields gives Google more combinations to test, but not every optional field is mandatory in every setup.

Google’s general Performance Max specifications allow up to 15 short headlines (maximum 30 characters each, with at least one at 15 characters or fewer) and up to five long headlines (maximum 90 characters each). Google recommends starting with at least 11 headlines, two long headlines, four horizontal images, four square images and one square logo. Asset requirements and recommendations vary by asset type and campaign setup, and these Google specifications do not guarantee that every field appears in the dashboard integration. Check Google’s current asset specifications before publishing.

Prioritize accurate, distinct headlines and clear images that represent the offer. Use the live preview to catch errors in the business name or presentation before launch.

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How do I choose locations and a daily budget?

Choose the geographic areas where you can actually serve prospective customers. The documented dashboard flow accepts countries, cities, ZIP codes or regions; Google’s broader campaign flow includes additional settings for locations, languages and goals. If your targeting needs controls not shown in the guided flow, review the campaign options available directly in Google Ads rather than assuming the dashboard exposes them all. Google’s setup guidance describes its broader flow.

The dashboard offers daily-spend choices with estimated weekly leads and allows a custom daily spend. Treat the displayed lead estimates as estimates, not promised results: actual volume and cost depend on the campaign, conversion measurement, targeting and auction conditions. Confirm the amount is appropriate for your business and that Google Ads billing is complete before launching.

What happens after you launch?

Google reviews ads before they go live. The platform says this typically takes up to 24 hours; that is an estimate, not a service guarantee. It also says Google AI may need up to four weeks to learn and optimize a new campaign. Separately, Google recommends running Performance Max for at least six weeks and avoiding frequent changes during the initial learning phase. These are guidance timeframes, not a promise of approval, lead volume or performance.

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Where can I see leads and cost per lead?

Once the campaign is live, the dashboard’s Google Ads area reports impressions, clicks, leads, average cost per lead and spend, with date-range filtering. The campaigns table shows campaign names, budgets, metrics and statuses; open a campaign from the table for its details.

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Use the conversion outcome you configured as the measure of a lead, then check lead quality and cost alongside clicks and impressions. The reported metrics show campaign activity; they do not independently verify whether a lead is qualified or valuable to your business.

What should you check if the campaign is not serving or results are unexpected?

  • Conversion tracking: Confirm the primary conversion goal is active and verified, and that it represents the intended lead action.
  • Assets: Review asset quality and whether useful headlines, descriptions and images are available.
  • Targeting and budget: Recheck locations, campaign settings and daily spend against the audience and objective.
  • Billing: If setup is incomplete, finish Google Ads billing; the dashboard may prompt you before the campaign can run.
  • Business Profile sync: Google says a recently linked Google Business Profile may take 24–48 hours to sync in the relevant setup context. This timing concerns Business Profile location syncing, not every campaign launch. See Google’s troubleshooting guidance.

The documented flow is specifically for lead-generation Performance Max campaigns. If you need a different objective or more control over Google Ads settings, use Google Ads’ campaign setup and confirm the available options for your account.

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