Uncovering the Truth: Insights from the Report on PMax Delivery, Attribution, and Asset Performance – and the Data’s Misleading Aspects.

For years, PPC advertisers have considered Performance Max to be a black box. They viewed Smart Shopping in the same way before it, and even considered them both a black hole.

Its powerful automation drives convincing results. However, a lack of transparency into channel performance frustrates advertisers. They seek clarity and accountability in their marketing efforts. This often leaves them in the dark regarding how their investments are paying off across various channels.

Now, Google is beginning to provide some answers to these longstanding challenges. They are rolling out the new Channel Performance report. This rollout represents strides toward the transparency advertisers have demanded for years. This new feature sheds light on how different marketing channels are performing. It also offers insights into the return on investment (ROI) of each channel.

This guide explains what the Channel Performance report is. It outlines its strengths and weaknesses. It also details how you can effectively utilize it to enhance your advertising strategies. By leveraging the insights from this report, advertisers can gain a clearer understanding of which channels are driving results. They can optimize their ad spend accordingly. Ultimately, this will improve their overall return on investment. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out, this report could be a game changer. It offers valuable data to inform your decisions. This data can help you achieve better marketing outcomes.

Why the Channel Performance Report Could Change Everything!

The Channel Performance report is essentially a pre-built network report. (We can discuss the semantics of channel versus network another day.) It can be found under Campaigns > Insights and Reports > Channel Performance (beta).

It offers tabular network data and an interactive flow diagram from impressions down through conversions. 

The Channel Performance report only works for Performance Max campaigns. However, credible clues suggest that this report may support additional campaign types in the future.

This is important. Performance Max is (in)famously a “channel soup.” All campaign types can serve across different ad networks within Google’s grasp. Many of them do so by default.

Previously, untangling this mix to determine channel performance was challenging. This task was left to manual reports. In the case of PMax, it relied on third-party scripts based on guesswork.

The Channel Performance report is Google’s native solution. 

Unveiling the Secrets of the Channel Performance Report

The report is composed of two main elements: 

• A comprehensive account-level view that delivers an insightful summary of each campaign’s channel data, featuring exclusive hidden functionalities.
• A campaign-level view offers a neat Sankey diagram. However, it is, in my opinion, deeply flawed. There is also another data table. This table is more detailed than at the account level.

Furthermore, there are various customization options, which can be saved as preferred views, and multiple export options.

1. Unleashing the Power of Your Account: Channel Data at Your Fingertips!

The account view is a newer addition to the Channel Performance report, and in some ways my favorite view. 

When you accessed this report earlier, the page was blank. It prompted you to select an individual Performance Max campaign. 

Now, this handy table is the first thing you’ll see.

It has a series of rows for each campaign, nested rows for each channel, and columns for the performance metrics. 

One thing I love is that each nested row has the channel icon next to it. 

Tabular data can sometimes make my eyes cross, but this simple visual aid makes the data much easier to skim.

By default, the campaign rows are sorted alphabetically. You’ll want to sort by something more practical. This includes impressions, costs, revenue, etc.

After that, you can really leap down the page easily, comparing the distribution of your key campaigns.

But that’s the obvious part.

My top tip for this view is that you can change your segment, and among the options, two really stand out for me: 

• Ads using product data.
• Ad event type (under Segment > Conversions).

The first provides a view of the volume and performance of “ads using product data” (feed-based ads). It compares these to “ads not using product data” (asset-based ads).

Yes, that’s right, finally a simple comparison of feed ads and asset ads. Besides network performance, this area in PMax has been one of the most contentious. It is also the least transparent. This situation has prompted many advertisers to run so-called “feed-only” PMax campaigns.

Now you can easily see what’s going on with this performance facet. This is visible across all your PMax campaigns. An account-level summary row is also at the bottom. 

You might like or dislike what you’re seeing. In either case, you can head over to your asset-group-level and asset-level reporting to dig deeper. 

Be cautious when judging the performance of asset-based ads. They should not be held to the same efficiency standards.

The second segment, ad event type, might sound non-descript, but it’s really important.

It lets you easily understand the volume and performance of your click-through versus view-through conversions. 

This has been (yet another) divisive topic in PMax: 

• Do view-based conversions belong mixed together with standard conversions? 
• Does this inflate performance? 

Now you can answer these questions per campaign and also at the account view in the summary row.

But what if you want even more detail? 

What if, for example, you want to learn your feed versus asset share in, say, YouTube specifically? 

That’s not possible at the account level, but it certainly is at the campaign level.

Just click on any campaign and it will load a new page drilling down to the next reporting level. 

2. Unveiling the Campaign: Daring Data Visualization and In-Depth Analysis

The first thing you’ll notice on this page is the large Sankey diagram. 

It’s visually striking and has become a signature of the Channel Performance report.

That said, we need to set it aside for now. Scroll down to the data table below, which is similar to the one you just saw.

The campaign data table: A deeper dive

Get ready for an exciting exploration into the core of our campaign data! This is not just a table; it’s a treasure trove of insights waiting to be uncovered. Each number tells a story. Each statistic reveals a secret. Every trend is a pulse that captures the essence of our mission. With every click, we’re peeling back layers. We are exposing the vibrant tapestry of our efforts. This showcases the relentless passion and hard work that drive our campaigns forward. Let’s delve in and unleash the powerful narratives hidden within these figures!

While the Sankey diagram gives a high-level view, the table below is where real analysis happens. 

It’s more reliable for decision-making because it shows the raw numbers without visual distortion.

The table breaks performance down by channel and ad type – the feed-based versus asset-based split we discussed earlier. 

For each segment, you can review multiple metrics by default. My top tip is to go to Columns > Conversions.

There, you can select Conv. value / Cost (a.k.a. ROAS) and Cost / Conv. (a.k.a. CPA). 

These are hidden by default. You can indeed see them. I don’t think I have to tell you why they are interesting to know.

Crucially, the table also includes an export function. It also offers scheduling options. These features allow you to pull the raw data for deeper analysis in a spreadsheet.

The Sankey diagram: Mastering the flow visualization

As noted earlier, this visualization officially called the Channels-to-Goals chart – is visually striking, but it has limitations. 

Before addressing those issues, let’s clarify its purpose and what it can tell us.

The Sankey diagram presents a visual breakdown of performance across the channels within your PMax campaign. 

It maps the customer journey within your campaign. Users see an ad, also known as impressions. They then click or engage with it, referred to as interactions. Ultimately, this leads to converting, which means results or conversions.

This is great. For the first time, advertisers can see the flow of core funnel metrics directly in Google Ads. These metrics are segmented by the specific channel driving the traffic. 

This allows you to understand how PMax allocates your budget. You can see which parts of its vast inventory are actually working for you.

Decoding the channels unravels the intriguing layers of communication that shape our interactions. Through the vibrant dance of words and expressions, we uncover profound connections. These bonds reveal hidden meanings. They share experiences that resonate deeply within our souls. Each channel is a gateway to a world brimming with emotion, passion, and understanding. As we decode these channels, we embark on a journey. This journey ignites our senses and enriches our lives. It brings forth a tapestry of collective human experience that is both beautiful and transformative.

People often look at the Sankey and get stuck. “Where’s my Shopping data?” is probably the single biggest example of this. 

As we’ve discussed, a key feature of the report is how it segments ads into feed-based and asset-based ads.

When we combine that dimension with the network or “channel” dimension, we can translate the labels into more familiar terms:

• Search
  • Ads using product data: These are your Shopping ads.
  • Other ads: This represents your Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) and Responsive Search Ads (RSA) traffic.
• Display
  • Ads using product data: These are Dynamic Product Ads. In my assessment, there is likely a lot of Dynamic Remarketing and some Dynamic Prospecting.
  • Other ads: These are your standard Responsive Display ads.

These are my interpretations of the data, which might not be perfect. 

It would be extremely helpful if Google offered more detailed documentation on what’s included.

Feed-based YouTube ads can comprise a variety of formats and placements. Some of these, like “GMC Image Shorts,” are not documented anywhere.

Google’s guidance is quite vague.

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Why Native Reports Fail to Deliver the Insights You Need

While a welcome addition, the report has some shortcomings.

The misleading Sankey diagram 

The visual proportions of the diagram are not based on volume, which makes it extremely misleading at a glance. 

A channel that appears to drive significant traffic may actually account for only a tiny share of your impressions.

In the example below, the asset-based Search ads segment appears to have a couple hundred thousand impressions. In reality, it only has 4,500 impressions. 

This makes the chart almost useless for quick, accurate analysis, which is the entire point of data visualization.

The Crucial Need for Ratios in the Data Table

The data table provides useful raw data. However, it lacks key calculated metrics needed for analysis. These include conversion rate and cost per click.

To see the full picture, you must export the data and do your own calculations.

This feels, to be honest, a bit petty of Google. 

They could easily add these columns, but it seems they would prefer not to. Grab your calculator.

Unleash the Power of Your Report: Here’s How!

Despite its limitations, you can still extract valuable insights into which channels deliver what.

The key is to focus on asset quality and traffic quality, because direct channel control is limited.

Analyze placement data for quality control 

While the report doesn’t let you directly control channel mix, it helps you monitor traffic quality. 

Use the placement reports to see exactly where your Display and YouTube ads are showing.

• Export this data into Google Sheets. Note that, frustratingly, it only contains impression data.
• Use built-in functions like =GOOGLETRANSLATE() to understand foreign-language placements. The integrated =AI() function helps categorize domains and videos for brand safety.
• Exclude low-quality or irrelevant placements or content at the account level, prioritizing bad placements that are higher in volume.

Build your own Sheets-based reporting or try scripts

Google has confirmed that API access and MCC-level reporting are coming to the Channel Performance report. I also expect this data to be supported in the Report Editor. 

In the meantime, you can export the report as a .csv or send it directly to Google Sheets.

With a smart setup, these exports allow you to calculate custom metrics. You can build charts and apply heatmaps. You can reshape the data as needed.

To help the community, I helped build a script that enhances Google’s report in several practical ways:

• Adds key metrics like conversion rate, CTR, CPC, CPM, and more.
• Applies clear, common-sense labels such as “Shopping” and “Responsive Display.”
• Includes charts with proportional visuals for more accurate interpretation.
• Cleans and parses columns to remove friction.

The script works for individual PMax campaigns, not the account-level view. I’m waiting for Google’s feature set and scripting options to stabilize before expanding the script.

What’s Next for PMax Reporting: Are You Ready for the Shift?

We know Search Partner data is coming. API access and MCC-level reporting are also on the way. We are likely to see support for additional campaign types, such as Demand Gen.

It’s encouraging to see Google share this level of detail, and there’s reason to believe this momentum will continue. 

The Channel Performance report already addresses one of the most persistent criticisms of Performance Max. This criticism is that it operates as a black box. 

Three years ago, it would have been hard to imagine Google responding to advertiser feedback at this scale. This is especially true for transparency.

Still, better visibility doesn’t automatically translate into better decisions. 

Interpreting this data correctly takes time, context, and careful analysis. That work remains firmly in the hands of advertisers.