Performance Max vs Standard Shopping in 2025: Which Should You Use?

Right then. Let’s settle a question I get asked constantly by ecommerce brands:

Should I use Performance Max or Standard Shopping in 2025?

Today, I’ll not only answer that — I’ll also show you a hybrid setup that lets you use both to your advantage, and it’s working incredibly well for my clients right now.

Performance Max vs Standard Shopping in 2025: The Big Comparison

Performance Max vs Standard Shopping in 2025: The Big Comparison

When I compare Performance Max (PMax) and Standard Shopping, I break it down into five key areas:

1. Ad Placement and Reach

  • Standard Shopping only gets you into the Google Shopping tab and the Shopping results at the top of Google Search.

  • Performance Max covers all of Google: Shopping, Search text ads, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps.

So, if you're looking for maximum reach across Google’s network, PMax wins.

But with that reach comes complexity — more on that in a moment.

2. Bid Strategies

Here’s what you get:

  • Standard Shopping: Manual CPC, Maximise Clicks, Target ROAS.
    PMax: Maximise Conversions, Maximise Conversion Value, Target CPA, Target ROAS.

Notice what’s missing from PMax? Manual CPC and Maximise Clicks.

PMax is laser-focused on conversions — which is great if that’s your goal — but you lose a bit of flexibility and control.

3. Search Terms Data

This one is a biggie.

  • Standard Shopping gives you a proper search terms report — the good kind that actually helps you optimise.

  • PMax gives you “search term insights,” which are auto-categorised, full of duplicates, and a bit of a pain to work with.

If you like digging into your data (as you should), Standard Shopping is the winner here.

4. Negative Keywords

  • Both campaign types now allow campaign-level negative keywords.

  • But only Standard Shopping supports shared negative keyword lists — a small but handy detail.

5. Control and Granularity

  • Standard Shopping gives you up to 20,000 ad groups.

  • PMax gives you 100 asset groups (but honestly, most advertisers won’t come close to hitting either limit).

What does matter is that Standard Shopping still supports bid strategy portfolios — and PMax doesn’t. If you like to share data across multiple campaigns for smarter bidding, that’s another win for Standard Shopping.

When to Use Standard Shopping

Standard Shopping is the better option when:

  • You’re just starting out and your monthly budget is under $3,000.

  • You want to reach profitability faster.
    You want to mine search term data and use it to build branded/non-branded Search campaigns.

  • You’re seeing plateaued results with PMax and want better ROAS without losing performance.

I particularly recommend it for brands that want full control, transparency, and data visibility.

When to Use Performance Max

Performance Max shines when:

  • Your monthly budget is above $3,000 and you're aiming for scale.

  • You want to be on every ad placement type — Shopping, Search, YouTube, Display, and more — but don’t want to build separate campaigns for each.

  • You’re OK with giving up some control for ease and automation.

  • You have a mature Standard Shopping setup and now want to unlock extra scale and reach.

In short, if you want automation and reach, go PMax. If you want control and data, start with Standard Shopping.

A Better Strategy: The “Best of Both Worlds” Campaign Setup

A Better Strategy: The “Best of Both Worlds” Campaign Setup

Let me show you what we’re using at Big Flare right now that’s working brilliantly in 2025:

We combine both campaign types — Standard Shopping and Performance Max — in a single strategy.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Run Standard Shopping as Your Primary Campaign

  • Put the majority of your Shopping budget here.

  • Use a lower Target ROAS.

  • This ensures higher bids, giving Standard Shopping higher ad rank and winning more auctions.

Step 2: Add a PMax Campaign with a Higher Target ROAS

  • This keeps PMax from stealing too much budget.

  • It allows PMax to run with lower priority, acting more as a discovery campaign.

  • You use it to find new audiences, explore new search queries, and activate retargeting via YouTube/Display.

This works because Google changed its campaign priority rules at the end of 2024. Now, the campaign with the highest ad rank, not campaign type, gets the impression.

So, this setup gives you the control and ROAS of Standard Shopping, plus the reach and discovery power of PMax — without them cannibalising each other.

I call it the “Best of Both Worlds” strategy, and I’m transitioning more and more clients to it this year.

What You’ll Need to Run This

  • For Standard Shopping: Just your product feed.

  • For PMax: Product feed, plus:

    • 15 headlines

    • 5 long headlines
      5 descriptions

    • 5 logos

    • 20 images

    • 5 videos

It’s a bit of a content lift for PMax, but the added reach can be worth it.

Final Thoughts

If you’re running ecommerce campaigns in 2025, the question isn’t “Standard Shopping or Performance Max?” — it’s “How do I use both together smartly?”

Here’s the short version:

  • Use Standard Shopping for control, data visibility, and faster path to profitable ROAS.
    Use PMax for reach, automation, and built-in retargeting.
    When you’re ready, combine both in a “Best of Both Worlds” setup, using bid strategies to control which campaign wins the click.

This hybrid strategy gives you more scale, better performance, and smarter use of Google’s machine learning — all without sacrificing control.