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Freedom251 › Blog › affiliate locations

How to Choose a Location Asset for Performance Max Campaigns

By Freedom251 Team · · 11 min read

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Choose the location source by ownership first. Link your Google Business Profile when you own and manage the locations. Use affiliate locations when independent retailers, dealers or service providers sell your products or deliver your services. Then use location groups to limit which locations a campaign can promote. For Performance Max campaigns with store goals, the selected physical locations inform geographic reach, so Google advises against adding extra positive geographic or radius targeting; apply exclusions when necessary.

The decision in one table

Your situation Choose Reason and caution
You own and manage the stores or service locations Link your Google Business Profile, when available Google recommends the Business Profile source for control and address accuracy. Changes made in the profile can flow to linked Google Ads accounts.
You own locations but cannot use a suitable Business Profile or chain listing Select owned locations directly from Google Maps Google documents this as a fallback and limits direct selection to up to 10 locations. The locations must actually belong to you.
Other businesses sell your products or provide your services Use affiliate locations with the relevant chain or Global Location Group source This identifies third-party sellers rather than claiming them as your own locations.
Only some account locations should appear in a campaign Create and select a location group A campaign can use all linked locations or a defined subset. Campaign-level settings take precedence over account-level settings.
Performance Max campaign optimized for store goals Select the physical locations to promote; use exclusions if needed Google infers geographic reach from the selected locations and advises against adding additional positive geo or radius targets.
Standard Performance Max campaign serving outside the intended area Review the geographic targeting option and add negative locations where appropriate Presence reaches people physically in an area; Presence or interest also reaches people who have shown interest in it.

Location assets and geographic targeting are related but separate controls. The asset supplies business-location information for eligible ads and campaigns; a geographic setting controls who Google may reach. Treating them as the same setting is a common source of unwanted impressions.

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Start by identifying who owns the locations

Your own locations

Use the owned-location path when your company operates and manages the stores, offices, clinics, branches or other customer-facing sites. For a chain, linking the company’s own Google Business Profile is Google’s recommended approach when that profile is available. It gives you a central place to maintain addresses, phone numbers, opening status and other location information.

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Do not select a location merely because your product is sold there. If another retailer owns the shop and you do not manage its listing, it is not one of your owned locations. Declaring a third-party site as your own can lead to a location-asset disapproval.

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Third-party retailers, dealers and service providers

Choose the affiliate location type when other businesses sell your products or provide your services. Select the applicable chain or Global Location Group source so Google can associate your ads with the correct third-party locations. This is a different business relationship from a branch your company owns, even when both locations carry the same product.

Ownership is the first decision because it determines the data source, the claim made in the ad and the verification path. A technically correct campaign with the wrong location type can still be rejected or show misleading information.

Choosing a source for locations you own

Google Business Profile: the preferred source

For your own locations, link the relevant Google Business Profile whenever you can. Google Ads location data is sourced from Google Maps and Business Profile, and updates made successfully in the profile can flow to linked Ads accounts. Maintaining the profile at its source reduces the risk of an address or phone number in an ad becoming different from the information customers find in Maps or Search.

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Use the profile as the operational record: correct an address, phone number, business name or closure status there rather than trying to patch the same value in every campaign. After an update, allow for Google’s normal review and synchronization process before assuming the ad asset is wrong.

Direct Google Maps selection: a limited fallback

If you cannot use a suitable Business Profile or chain listing, Google documents direct selection of owned Google Maps locations. The documented limit is up to 10 locations. This option is for sites you own; it is not a way to assemble a list of independent retailers that happen to stock your products.

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Because the Maps fallback is limited, it is generally unsuitable for a large chain or a broad network that changes frequently. In those cases, resolve the Business Profile or chain-data issue instead of maintaining a small, manually selected sample.

How to choose between the two owned-location options

  • Use Business Profile when you operate multiple sites, need ongoing control or expect frequent address and status changes.
  • Use direct Maps selection only when the Business Profile and chain options do not fit and no more than 10 owned locations are required.
  • Do not substitute a retailer’s listing for an owned location. Reclassify it as an affiliate location if another business owns and operates the site.

Affiliate locations: when and how to use them

Affiliate locations represent businesses outside your company that sell your products or provide your services. Select the affiliate location type and then choose the appropriate chain or Global Location Group source available in Google Ads. The source should describe the real retail or service relationship, not simply a geographic area where you want ads to appear.

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Review the resulting list before attaching it to a campaign. A chain-wide source may contain more locations than the campaign needs, while a narrower group may omit an important region. If only a subset is relevant, create a location group and select that group at the campaign level.

Control campaign scope with location groups

All locations versus a subset

A Performance Max store-goal campaign can use all linked locations or a selected subset. “All” is appropriate when every location in the account supports the same promotion and customer journey. A subset is safer when stores differ by inventory, service area, opening date, language, promotion or local offer.

Location groups let you make that selection explicit. Build a group around the locations that should be promoted, then attach it to the relevant campaign. If the same account contains both owned and affiliate sources, keep groups clear enough that the campaign’s location relationship is understandable.

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Account, campaign and ad-group settings

Google states that campaign-level location-asset settings override account-level settings. If a campaign must use a special subset, set that choice on the campaign rather than relying on the account default. Where Google Ads exposes an ad-group-level location-asset setting for the applicable campaign type, use it only when the narrower scope is intentional and documented.

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When auditing a campaign, check the effective setting at the most specific level first. An account-wide selection can appear correct while a campaign override silently limits or changes the locations being used.

Store-goal Performance Max: location assets and reach

Performance Max for store goals is designed around offline actions such as store visits, store sales, calls and direction clicks. Its setup requires choosing locations from a Business Profile or an affiliate location source. Google can determine a dynamic or automatically selected radius around promoted locations using factors such as the locations themselves, travel-distance preferences, business vertical, population density and competitors.

For this campaign configuration, Google’s setup guidance says: “Geographic targeting will be inferred based on the physical business locations specified for your campaign, and therefore it is not recommended to apply geographic targets, including radius targets, when location assets are applied.” In practical terms, select the physical locations you want to promote and let that location set inform reach. Add geographic exclusions when you must prevent serving in a particular place, but do not stack additional positive city, region or radius targets unless Google’s current interface and your campaign objective explicitly require a different setup.

This advice is specific to the store-goal configuration. It should not be copied blindly to every Performance Max campaign.

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Other Performance Max goals: keep geo targeting separate

A campaign with an online-sales, lead-generation or another non-store objective may use the general geographic-targeting controls. In that case, inspect the targeting mode as well as the location asset.

Presence

Presence targets people physically in the selected area. It is the tighter choice when delivery should be limited to people who are currently there, subject to Google’s normal targeting behavior.

Presence or interest

Presence or interest includes people physically in the area and people who have shown interest in it. Someone outside the region may therefore be eligible because of searches or other signals indicating interest in that place.

When serving extends beyond the intended audience

First identify whether the campaign is a store-goal campaign or another Performance Max objective. For a standard campaign, review Presence versus Presence or interest and add negative locations where appropriate. For a store-goal campaign, check the selected physical locations and location group before adding more positive geo targets; the location set is intended to inform reach.

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Step-by-step setup workflow

  1. Inventory the locations. Make a list of every site the campaign could promote and label each one as owned, affiliate or not eligible. Remove locations that are closed, outside the offer’s service area or owned by another business.
  2. Select the source type. Choose your linked Google Business Profile for owned locations when available. Choose affiliate locations for third-party retailers or service providers. Use direct Google Maps selection only for owned locations that cannot use a suitable profile or chain listing, and keep within the documented limit of 10.
  3. Open the location-asset setup in Google Ads. In the location-assets workflow, connect the Business Profile or choose the affiliate chain or Global Location Group source. Confirm that the displayed business relationship matches reality.
  4. Create a location group when needed. Build a group containing only the locations intended for this campaign. Use “all locations” only when every linked location should support the same campaign.
  5. Attach the scope to the campaign. During Performance Max setup, select the location source or location group for the campaign. Remember that a campaign-level setting overrides an account-level setting.
  6. Apply the campaign’s geographic approach. For store goals, rely on the selected physical locations for geographic reach and use exclusions if necessary. For other goals, choose the appropriate geographic targeting mode and review whether Presence or Presence or interest matches the audience you intend to reach.
  7. Check eligibility and preview behavior. Confirm that each location is open, verified and represented with the correct address and phone information. Allow Google’s integrity verification to complete before judging whether a location can show.
  8. Document the decision. Record who owns the locations, which source was linked, which group was selected and which exclusions or targeting mode were applied. This makes later audits and handoffs much faster.
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Keep location data accurate

Correct errors at the source

Location assets draw data from Google Maps and Google Business Profile. Fix an incorrect address or phone number in those sources. A successful correction can flow to linked Google Ads accounts; editing campaign settings alone will not reliably repair inaccurate source data.

Handle temporary and permanent closures

If a location is marked temporarily or permanently closed in Business Profile, Google says its location asset will not show to customers in the final ad. Check closure status before launching a promotion, and update reopening information at the source when the business resumes service.

Expect integrity verification

Google Ads may require integrity verification before a location becomes eligible to show. A newly linked or corrected location can therefore remain unavailable while verification is pending. Treat a pending status differently from a disapproval: verify the source details, wait for the review process and investigate only after the status remains unresolved.

Know where location information may appear

Google lists Google Maps and Search, the Search Partner Network, Display and YouTube as possible surfaces for location information. Display location assets are available only through Local Campaigns or Performance Max with store goals. The surface does not change the ownership rule: the source must still represent the actual business relationship.

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Troubleshooting by symptom

Symptom Likely cause Action
A retailer appears as an owned location The wrong location type was selected Remove it from the owned source and configure it as an affiliate location with the appropriate chain or Global Location Group.
The wrong stores are included The campaign uses all account locations or an overly broad group Create a narrower location group and apply it at campaign level.
An address or phone number is wrong Source data in Maps or Business Profile is inaccurate Correct the source listing and wait for the linked Ads data to update.
A closed store still seems eligible Business Profile status is not current or the campaign is using another location source Check temporary/permanent closure status and confirm the campaign’s effective source and group.
A location asset does not appear Integrity verification is pending, or the location is ineligible Review the location status and source details; allow verification to complete before making further changes.
Store-goal ads reach an unexpected area Extra positive geo or radius targeting was layered over physical locations Remove the additional positive targets, check the selected locations and use exclusions for places that must not receive ads.
Standard Performance Max ads reach people outside the service area Presence or interest includes people interested in the area Review the geographic mode, switch to Presence when appropriate and add negative locations for unwanted areas.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Choosing by product availability instead of ownership: a shop that stocks your product is not automatically your location.
  • Using a broad chain source for a local promotion: restrict the campaign with a location group when only selected branches participate.
  • Adding radius targeting by habit: store-goal campaigns already infer reach from the physical locations you select.
  • Fixing source errors inside the campaign: update Maps or Business Profile so the correction can propagate to linked Ads accounts.
  • Ignoring campaign overrides: a campaign-level choice can replace the account default.
  • Assuming every Performance Max campaign follows store-goal rules: online or lead campaigns may require explicit geographic targeting and a deliberate Presence setting.
  • Judging eligibility before verification: a pending integrity check is not the same as a permanent rejection.

What the available guidance does—and does not—prove

Google’s setup documentation explains ownership, source selection, location-group scope, verification and geographic controls. It does not publish a controlled comparison showing that Business Profile, Maps or affiliate assets produce a particular conversion lift over another source. Choose the source for accuracy, control and correct business representation rather than promising a performance percentage that has not been established.

Interface labels and campaign guidance can change. Before a major launch, open the current Google Ads Help documentation and verify the labels shown in your account, especially for store-goal geographic targeting and location-group assignment.

Launch checklist

  • Every selected location is correctly classified as owned or affiliate.
  • Owned locations use the linked Business Profile where practical.
  • Any direct Maps selection contains only locations you own and no more than 10 locations.
  • The affiliate source is the correct chain or Global Location Group.
  • The location group includes exactly the branches, dealers or retailers covered by the offer.
  • Campaign-level settings have been checked against the account default.
  • Addresses, phone numbers and open/closed statuses are correct in Maps or Business Profile.
  • Integrity verification and eligibility statuses have been reviewed.
  • Store-goal campaigns do not add unnecessary positive geo or radius targets.
  • Non-store campaigns use the intended Presence or Presence or interest mode, with negative locations where needed.
  • The final ad surfaces and campaign objective match the location strategy.

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