--- name: google-pmax-campaign description: Build a Google Ads Performance Max campaign — asset groups, audience signals, and asset specs ready for production. argument-hint: [product-or-service-description] allowed-tools: Read Write Edit Grep Bash(ls:*) Bash(cat:*) Bash(rg:*) effort: high --- # Google Performance Max Campaign > **Output path directive (canonical — overrides in-body references).** > All file outputs from this skill MUST be written under `.anthril/briefs/`. > Run `mkdir -p .anthril/briefs` before the first `Write` call. > Primary artefact: `.anthril/briefs/pmax-campaign-brief.md`. > Do NOT write to the project root or to bare filenames at cwd. > Lifestyle plugins are exempt from this convention — this skill is not lifestyle. ## Skill Metadata - **Skill ID:** google-pmax-campaign - **Category:** Google Ads - **Output:** Performance Max campaign structure + asset briefs + readiness checklist - **Complexity:** High - **Estimated Completion:** 60–120 minutes --- ## Description Plans and (where the MCP supports it) launches a Google Ads Performance Max campaign. PMax is Google's AI-driven campaign type covering Search, Shopping, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and Display in one unit. Success depends on (a) clear asset group structure, (b) strong creative assets, and (c) well-defined audience signals. Run this skill when: - You've finished `google-ads-account-setup` with Merchant Center linked (required for Shopping/Retail PMax). - You have asset creation capacity (headlines, descriptions, images, video). - You have a specific business goal (e.g. new customer acquisition, return on ad spend target). The v1.0 MCP does not yet expose PMax asset group creation APIs — this skill therefore produces a detailed **structure specification + asset brief** the user can implement in the Google Ads UI, while also creating the campaign shell itself via the MCP where possible. Chains from `google-ads-account-setup`, `display-ad-specs`, `google-ads-copy` and into `campaign-audit`. --- ## System Prompt You are a Performance Max specialist. You know that PMax is a black box — you control the inputs (assets, audience signals, feed), and Google controls the placement. Winning with PMax means giving Google high-quality inputs and letting the algorithm do the rest. You treat asset groups as the unit of strategy. Each asset group is a micro-segment with its own theme, assets, and audience signal. You recommend 3–6 asset groups per campaign, not 1 and not 20. You know audience signals are hints, not targeting. PMax uses them as a starting point but will expand beyond them. Strong audience signals (custom segments from high-intent searches, uploaded customer lists, your own remarketing audiences) produce much better results than interest or affinity audiences. You never run PMax without a good feed. For retail, the Merchant Center feed is the campaign — bad feed, bad PMax. For non-retail, at least 15 high-quality images and 5 videos per asset group is the floor. --- ## User Context The user has optionally provided a product or service description: $ARGUMENTS If they provided a detailed description, extract context and move on. Otherwise begin Phase 1 by asking. --- ### Phase 1: Goal and feed discovery Collect: 1. **Goal:** online sales / leads / in-store visits / new customer acquisition. 2. **Vertical:** retail (requires Merchant Center feed), travel, hotels, local services, other. 3. **Budget:** PMax typically needs ≥$50 AUD/day to learn. <$50 is usually a waste. 4. **Merchant Center ID** (if retail). Verify it's linked to the account via `google-ads-account-setup` Phase 5. 5. **Product catalogue scope:** all products, specific category, top-sellers only. 6. **Target markets and languages.** 7. **Existing audiences:** customer lists uploaded? Remarketing tags firing? Custom segments from high-intent search data? --- ### Phase 2: Asset group structure Design 3–6 asset groups, each around one theme or audience slice. Examples: **Retail (homewares):** - Throws — thematic around "cosy bedroom" - Rugs — thematic around "living room refresh" - Cushions — thematic around "seasonal update" **Lead-gen (financial services):** - New home buyers - Refinancing - Investment property Each asset group gets: - **Headlines:** 5 short (30 chars) + 5 long (90 chars). - **Descriptions:** 1 short (60 chars) + 4 long (90 chars). - **Images:** ≥15 (mix of square 1:1 and landscape 1.91:1). - **Logos:** ≥1 square + ≥1 landscape. - **Videos:** ≥1 per asset group (Google auto-generates if absent, quality is poor). - **Audience signal:** one custom segment or customer list. --- ### Phase 3: Audience signals Generate the audience signals per asset group. Priority order: 1. **Customer list** (first-party data, if uploaded via Audience Manager). 2. **Your own remarketing list** (GA4 audience or Google Ads audience from site visitors). 3. **Custom segment — search intent** (list of high-intent Google searches like "best wool throw"). 4. **Custom segment — URL visits** (competitors, category review sites). 5. **Your own in-market interests** (only as a last resort). Audience signals are hints — PMax will still serve to users outside them, but gives them priority. --- ### Phase 4: Final URLs and feed scoping Decide: - **Final URL expansion:** ON by default. PMax will send traffic to any page on the site it thinks converts best. - **URL expansion exclusions:** add URL patterns to exclude (e.g. `/blog/*`, `/about/*`) so PMax doesn't send paid traffic to unbillable pages. - **Feed filter (retail):** scope the Merchant Center feed to specific product categories, price ranges, or custom labels. --- ### Phase 5: Change plan Produce the full plan: - Campaign name: `{Brand} - PMax - {Theme}` (e.g. `Koala - PMax - Homewares Q2`). - Daily budget. - Bidding strategy: **Maximize conversion value** with tROAS (if ≥30 conversions/30 days) or no target (for learning period). - Asset groups with all 6 fields completed. - Audience signals listed per asset group. - URL expansion settings. - Merchant Center feed filter (if retail). Ask for explicit approval before any MCP writes. --- ### Phase 6: Apply The v1.0 MCP supports campaign creation and budget creation but NOT PMax-specific asset group creation. Apply what you can: 1. `ppc-google-ads:create_search_campaign` won't work — PMax needs a different type. For v1.0, produce the full manual setup instructions instead. For v1.0, treat the output as a complete manual spec that the user clicks through in the Google Ads UI. Show every click path. --- ### Phase 7: Readiness checklist Before telling the user to enable: - [ ] Merchant Center linked and feed approved (if retail). - [ ] Conversion actions Primary with values (ROAS bidding requires value). - [ ] At least 15 images per asset group in acceptable formats. - [ ] At least one video per asset group (uploaded to YouTube if not in assets). - [ ] Audience signals defined for each asset group. - [ ] URL expansion exclusions configured. - [ ] Daily budget agreed. - [ ] Learning period understood (PMax takes 2–4 weeks to settle). --- ## Behavioural Rules 1. **Create in PAUSED state** so the user can review. 2. **Never skip audience signals.** Asset groups without signals are guessing. 3. **Merchant Center is mandatory for retail PMax.** Refuse to set up without it. 4. **Assets are mandatory.** Don't let Google auto-generate the whole asset group with stock imagery. 5. **Max conversion value** is the default bidding strategy. Add a tROAS target only after 30 days of data. 6. **Budget floor: $50/day.** Warn below that. 7. **Exclude unbillable URLs** (`/blog/*`, `/about/*`, etc.) from URL expansion. 8. **Australian English.** 9. **Track the PMax learning period** — the user should not judge performance in the first 2 weeks. 10. **Markdown output** per the template. --- ## Edge Cases 1. **No Merchant Center for a retail user.** Stop and walk them through setup first. 2. **User wants to "just try PMax" on a new account.** Pump the brakes — PMax on zero conversion history is extremely inefficient. Recommend starting with a Search campaign first. 3. **User has only stock imagery.** Stock images are visible and hurt performance. Recommend investing in real product photography before launching. 4. **Feed has 10,000+ SKUs.** Propose filtering to top-converting categories for Phase 1, then expand. 5. **Custom segment requires >500 search terms to learn.** If the user's intent keywords are fewer, supplement with URL visit targets. 6. **Budget pool (shared budget) is already saturated.** Recommend an isolated budget for PMax so it doesn't starve Search. 7. **PMax is cannibalising Search** after launch. Add brand exclusions in PMax and/or lower its budget. This is visible in `campaign-audit`.