Performance Max Campaigns: The Ultimate Guide for 2026

Performance Max (PMax) is Google's goal-based campaign type that covers every Google channel from a single campaign. That makes it powerful, but also complex and harder to see into than classic campaigns. In this guide, you'll learn everything: What PMax is, when it makes sense, how to set it up optimally, and avoid the most common mistakes.

What is Performance Max?

The Basics

Performance Max is an AI-driven campaign type that automatically serves across ALL Google channels:

Channels PMax uses:

• Google Search
• Google Shopping
• Display Network
• YouTube
• Gmail
• Google Discover
• Google Maps

Concept: You give Google a goal (e.g., "Maximize conversions"), assets (images, videos, headlines), and budget. Google automatically decides:

• Where ads are placed
• Which assets are combined
• Who the audience is
• What to bid

PMax vs. Traditional Campaigns

Traditional Campaigns:

• You choose channel (Search OR Shopping OR Display)
• You control keywords, bids, audiences
• Transparency: You see exactly what's running

Performance Max:

• Automatically across ALL channels
• Google controls most
• Less transparency (Black Box)
• But: In my experience, often better performance through AI optimization

When was PMax Introduced?

Timeline:

• 2020: Introduced as a beta
• November 2021: Rollout to all advertisers worldwide
• 2022: Smart Shopping and Local campaigns upgraded to PMax (automatic upgrades completed by the end of September 2022)
• 2025: More control and transparency: campaign-level negative keywords, search terms reporting for all PMax campaigns and a channel performance report

As of 2026: In my experience, PMax is a fixed building block in many e-commerce and lead-gen accounts, ideally combined with Search and Shopping.

Should You Use Performance Max?

PMax is IDEAL for:

✅ E-Commerce / Online Stores

• Product catalogs with many SKUs
• Want to maximize sales
• Have product feed (Google Merchant Center)

✅ Lead Generation

• B2B or B2C services
• Forms on website
• Qualified inquiries desired

✅ Omnichannel Strategy

• Want to be present across multiple channels
• Test what works without individual campaigns

✅ Accounts with Enough Data

• Rule of thumb from my practice: at least 30-50 conversions/month
• Conversion tracking cleanly implemented
• Google has enough data to learn

PMax is NOT Ideal for:

❌ Brand New Accounts

• Under 30 conversions/month
• AI has too little data to optimize

❌ Full Control Desired

• You want to choose keywords yourself
• Transparency is more important than performance

❌ Very Niche Products

• Extremely specific B2B products
• Where manual targeting works better

❌ Brand Protection Critical

• You don't want ads appearing on inappropriate placements
• (Placement exclusions for PMax only work at account level, not per campaign)

PMax vs. Other Campaign Types

Recommendation: Combine PMax WITH Search/Shopping, not as replacement!

Another option for the upper funnel is Demand Gen campaigns. They serve visual ads on YouTube, Discover, Gmail and the Google Display Network and give you more control over formats and audiences than PMax.

Performance Max Setup: Step by Step

Phase 1: Prerequisites (before PMax launch)

1. Conversion Tracking Must Be Perfect

❌ Without clean tracking, PMax is worthless!

Minimum Setup:

• Google Ads conversion tracking active
• Primary conversion defined (purchase/lead)
• Conversion values correct (for e-commerce)
• From my practice: at least 10-15 conversions in the last 30 days

Test: Complete test order/lead, verify in Google Ads

2. Google Merchant Center (for E-Commerce)

Required for e-commerce PMax:

• Product feed uploaded
• No policy violations
• Most products in "Approved" status, no open errors in diagnostics

3. Asset Preparation

What you need (text, images and videos per asset group):

• 15 headlines (max. 30 characters, at least one with max. 15 characters; 15 is also the maximum)
• 5 long headlines (max. 90 characters; maximum 5)
• 5 descriptions (max. 90 characters; maximum 5)
• 10-20 images in landscape (1.91:1), square (1:1) and portrait (4:5), 20 at most
• Videos (optional, but recommended, ideally one each in landscape, portrait and square)
• Logo (required, square; set once per campaign)

Pixel dimensions, minimum sizes and maximum counts per asset group are listed in my Google Ads specs data sheet.

Tool tip: Canva for quick image creation

Phase 2: Campaign Creation

Step 1: New Campaign

Google Ads → + New Campaign
→ Choose goal: "Sales" or "Leads"
→ Campaign type: "Performance Max"

Step 2: Conversion Goals

→ Select primary conversion
  E-Commerce: "Purchase"
  Lead-Gen: "Form submission" or "Call"

Step 3: Budget & Bidding Strategy

Budget Guidelines (from my practice):

• Minimum: €30/day (€900/month)
• Optimal: €50-100/day for e-commerce
• B2B Lead-Gen: €40-80/day

Bidding Strategy:

• Start: "Maximize conversions" (without target CPA)
• After 30 days: Switch to "Target CPA" or "Target ROAS"

You'll find more details on choosing the right bidding strategy in my separate guide.

Important: Plan for a ramp-up period. In my experience it takes 2-4 weeks for the numbers to settle. Google itself recommends letting a PMax campaign run for at least 6 weeks before you evaluate it.

Step 4: Locations & Languages

→ Locations: United States (or your target markets)
→ Language: English

Note on language: According to the Google Ads help centre, a PMax campaign's language setting no longer applies to ads on the Google Search Network starting in September 2026. There, Google prioritises ads in the language of the search term, so your copy and landing page should be in your customers' language. The setting still applies to YouTube, Display, Discover and Gmail. According to Google, Shopping ads within Performance Max are not affected by language settings in the first place.

Tip: For first campaign, ONLY one country (easier optimization)

Step 5: Create Asset Groups

What is an Asset Group? A collection of assets (headlines, images, videos) on a theme.

Structure Recommendation:

PMax Campaign: "E-Commerce Store"
  Asset Group 1: "Bestseller Products"
  Asset Group 2: "Sale Products"
  Asset Group 3: "New Collection"

Per Asset Group Upload:

• 15 headlines (the maximum, Google recommends using every slot)
• 5 long headlines
• 4-5 descriptions
• 10-15 images (various ratios)
• 1-3 videos (if available, ideally landscape, portrait and square)
• Logo and business name (now set once at campaign level, no longer in each asset group)

Best Practices for Headlines (max. 30 characters):

✅ "Women's Running Shoes"
✅ "Free Shipping"
✅ "20% Off Now"

❌ "Shoes" (too generic)
❌ "Buy now!!!" (too sales-heavy)

Long headlines (max. 90 characters) can tell more:

✅ "Nike Air Zoom Pegasus for Women: 20% Off Now and Free Shipping"

Step 6: Audience Signals

What are Audience Signals? Hints for Google about WHO your audience is (Google doesn't ignore these, but uses them as starting point)

Add Signals:

• Custom segments (keywords of your audience)
• Your data (remarketing lists, customer match)
• Demographics (e.g. age, gender; household income is only available in selected countries such as the US, not in Germany)
• Interests (interests & habits)

Example E-Commerce (Running Shoes):

Custom Segments:
- "Marathon training running"
- "Jogging fitness"
- "Nike running shoes"

Demographics:
- Age: 25-54

Interests:
- Sports & fitness enthusiasts
- Runners

IMPORTANT: Audience signals are ONLY hints. Google can target outside if profitable!

Step 7: URL Expansion

Final URL expansion: ON ✅ (default)

What does this mean? Google may replace your final URL with a more relevant page on your domain, based on the search query (not just the pages you specify).

When to turn off:

• ❌ If you have specific landing pages (e.g., only sale products)

When to leave on:

• If you want Google to find optimally converting pages
• For large e-commerce stores (Google chooses best product pages)

Middle ground: If your website also has non-goal pages (blog, careers, about), leave expansion on and exclude those URLs specifically. You'll find this in the campaign settings under asset optimization.

Step 8: Final Options

Ad Schedule: Start 24/7 (optimize later based on data) Start & End Date: Don't set end date Campaign Name: Descriptive, e.g., "PMax_MainProducts_US_2025"

Phase 3: Launch & Monitoring

Week 1-2: Learning Phase

What happens:

• Google collects data
• Tests various asset combinations
• Finds best audiences
• CPAs can be high (normal!)

Your task:

• ✅ Daily check: Is tracking working?
• ✅ Budget not exhausted?
• ✅ Conversions happening?
• ❌ Don't optimize yet (Google is still learning!)

Week 3-4: First Performance Data

What to check:

• Conversions per day: At least 1-2?
• CPA: In acceptable range?
• Asset performance: Which headlines/images perform?

First Optimizations:

• Remove clearly weak assets and replace them with new variations
• Test new assets
• If CPA too high: Slightly lower budget or set target CPA

Performance Max Optimization: Best Practices

Optimization #1: Analyze Asset Performance

Campaigns → Assets → Assets
→ Filter by your PMax campaign at the top

What you see per asset: Impressions, clicks, cost, conversions and conversion value.

How to read the numbers correctly:

• According to Google, ratios like CTR, CPA or ROAS at asset level are directional only, because assets are always served in combination
• So evaluate the asset group and campaign first, then individual assets
• Keep an eye on Ad Strength

Action:

• Clearly weak assets → Replace
• Strong assets → Create similar variations
• Regularly add new assets (Google tests continuously)

Recommendation: Test new assets every 2-4 weeks

Optimization #2: Review Search Terms, Add Negative Keywords

Problem: PMax shows for searches you don't want

Example: Your PMax shows for "running shoes repair" (but you sell new shoes)

Where you see it: In the search terms report, available for all PMax campaigns since 2025

Campaigns → Insights and reports → Search terms
→ "Search terms and landing pages for Performance Max"

What the report shows in 2026: According to Google's help center (as of September 2026), you see impressions, clicks, conversions and cost per search term, broken down by format, that is Shopping or text ad. The data goes back to March 2023. That tells you which search terms actually cost PMax money, not just which ones show up.

Solution: Negative keywords directly at campaign level (possible since 2025, also as a list)

Keywords → Negative keywords → +
→ Select your PMax campaign
→ Enter keywords or select an existing list

Account-level negative keywords also apply to PMax.

What applies:

• According to Google's 2025 recap, you can add up to 10,000 negative keywords per PMax campaign.
• Before you save new exclusions, Google's help center lets you preview their impact, for up to ten keywords at a time. This is especially worth it for broad terms that could hit more than you expect.
• Negative keywords don't help on YouTube and Display. According to Google, you work with excluded content keywords under "Content suitability" at account level there.

Typical Negatives:

-free, -gratis, -used
-repair, -fix
-jobs, -job, -career
-diy, -tutorial

BUT: In PMax, negative keywords only apply to Search and Shopping inventory, not to YouTube, Display or Gmail.

Optimization #3: Placement Exclusions

Problem: PMax shows on inappropriate websites/apps

How to find:

Campaigns → Insights and reports → Report editor
→ Predefined report "Performance Max campaigns placement"

Identify Unsuitable Placements:

• Irrelevant websites
• Apps that don't fit your brand
• YouTube videos in an unsuitable context

Important: The placement report only shows impressions, not conversions. Google itself says it's a brand safety tool, not a way to evaluate performance.

Exclude (for PMax only at account level):

Tools → Content suitability → Advanced settings
→ Exclude placements

Other account-level settings:

- Inventory type for YouTube, Display and video partners
- Excluded sensitive content categories
- Placement exclusion lists

Optimization #4: Refine Audience Signals

After 30 days:

Insights → Audience insights

Questions:

• Which segments convert best?
• Which are barely represented in your conversions (low index)?

Action:

• Add more signals to well-performing segments
• Remove irrelevant ones (though Google ignores these anyway if unprofitable)

Optimization #5: Budget Allocation

Multi-PMax Strategy: Instead of one large PMax, multiple focused:

PMax 1: Top-Seller Products (Budget: 60%)
PMax 2: Sale/Promo (Budget: 25%)
PMax 3: New Arrivals (Budget: 15%)

Advantage:

• Better budget control
• More reporting insights
• Different target CPAs/ROAS possible

Disadvantage:

• Each campaign needs own data (min. 30 conv/month)

Recommendation: Only split from 100+ conversions/month total

Optimization #6: Seasonal Adjustments

Problem: Seasonal fluctuations (e.g., Christmas, sale periods)

Solution: Adjust budget and targets. PMax doesn't support classic bid adjustments.

Smart Bidding already accounts for normal seasonality on its own. If you expect a major jump in conversion rate for a short promotion, you can tell Google with a seasonality adjustment: according to Google, it works best for events of 1-7 days and less well over periods longer than 14 days.

Example Black Friday:

3 weeks before Black Friday:
- Budget +50%
- Target ROAS -20% (more aggressive)
- New asset group: "Black Friday Deals"

After season:

• Scale back budget
• Increase target ROAS again

Common Performance Max Mistakes

Mistake #1: Starting Too Early

Problem: PMax needs data

Wrong: Account has 5 conversions/month → start PMax Result: Google has no data, wastes budget

Right: First Search/Shopping campaigns until 30-50 conv/month, THEN PMax

Mistake #2: Conversion Tracking Not Clean

Problem: Google optimizes for wrong conversions

Example:

• Primary conversion: "Newsletter signup"
• Actual goal: Purchases

Result: PMax brings newsletter signups, no purchases!

Solution: Primary conversion = Your MAIN GOAL (purchase/lead)

Mistake #3: Too Few Assets

Problem: Only 5 headlines, 3 images

Result: Google has little to test, performance limited

Right:

• Minimum from my practice: 10 headlines, 10 images
• Optimal: all 15 headlines, 5 long headlines, 5 descriptions, 15-20 images, videos in all three formats

Mistake #4: Optimizing Too Quickly

Problem: After 1 week swap out assets or change budget

Result: Google's learning phase is interrupted

Right: First 2-3 weeks ONLY observe, then optimize

Mistake #5: No Search Ads in Parallel

Problem: Only PMax, no dedicated Search Ads

Result:

• No keyword control: PMax works without keywords, so you can see the search terms but can't set your own bids per search term
• You can remove brand searches from PMax with brand exclusions, but you can't steer them with their own budget and ad copy
• Competitors can buy your brand terms

Right: PMax + Dedicated Search Campaigns for:

• Brand keywords
• High-intent keywords
• Competitor keywords

Mistake #6: Wrong Expectations

Problem: "PMax does everything automatically, I don't have to do anything"

Reality:

• Assets must be created (effort!)
• Regular optimization needed (2-4 hrs/week)
• Monitoring essential
• PMax is NOT "set and forget"

Performance Max Reporting & Insights

What You See (transparent):

✅ Available Metrics:

• Conversions & conversion value
• CPA / ROAS
• Clicks, impressions, CTR
• Asset performance (including cost and conversions per asset)
• Search terms (search terms report for all PMax campaigns)
• Channel performance: channel performance report covering Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Maps, Gmail and search partners (data from June 2025)

✅ Insights:

• Best performing assets
• Audience insights (share of conversions and index per segment)
• Budget recommendations

The Channel Performance Report

The channel report is the most important addition for anyone who wants to know where the PMax budget goes. According to Google's help center (as of September 2026):

Campaigns → Insights and reports → Channel performance

• Channels: Google Search, Display Network, YouTube, Discover, Maps, Gmail and search partners
• Layout: a performance summary, a chart showing how the channels contribute to your goals, and a distribution table
• Date range: freely selectable, starting no earlier than June 6, 2025
• Over time: According to another help page, you can also view channel performance over time
• Limit: You can't set a budget per channel with it, the report is purely diagnostic

How I use it in practice: If a large share of the cost flows into channels that barely contribute conversions, I first look at the causes I can control: conversion goals, asset quality per format, brand exclusions and the separation from the Search campaigns. A channel with few conversions isn't automatically waste, because it can contribute to conversions through other channels. That's why I evaluate the distribution over several weeks, not on individual days.

What You DON'T See (opaque):

❌ Keyword-Level Data: Doesn't exist, PMax works without keywords (you can only add search themes as a signal) ❌ Exact Bids: Google decides ❌ Placement Performance: The placement report only shows impressions, no conversions

Problem: Despite the new reports, PMax stays less transparent than Search. Part of it remains a matter of trust

Workaround:

• Parallel Search Ads for transparency
• Review search terms regularly, maintain campaign-level negative keywords
• Regular placement audits

PMax Budget Recommendations

By Business Model

E-Commerce (Standard Products):

• Start: €30-50/day (€900-1,500/month)
• Scale: €100-300/day when profitable

E-Commerce (High-Ticket):

• Start: €50-100/day
• Scale: €200-500/day

Lead Generation (B2C):

• Start: €30-60/day
• Scale: €100-200/day

Lead Generation (B2B):

• Start: €40-80/day
• Scale: €150-400/day

Budget Scaling

Month 1-2: Test budget (€30-50/day)

• Learning phase
• Collect data

Month 3: First scaling (+30%)

• If CPA < target

Month 4-6: Aggressive scaling (+50-100%)

• If ROAS stays above your break-even ROAS (1 / margin, e.g. 400% at a 25% margin)

IMPORTANT: In my experience, things stay most stable when you increase by no more than 20-30% per week. Google itself advises making no further changes for 7-14 days after a major change to budget, bids or assets.

Cannibalization: How PMax and Search Share Search Queries

The most common concern I hear in accounts: PMax "steals" search queries from the Search campaigns, especially the cheap brand searches, and looks better in reporting than it really is. Whether that happens depends on how cleanly you manage the overlap.

Google's Prioritization Rules

When several campaigns are eligible for the same search query, Google decides in this order, according to Google's help center on prioritization (as of September 2026):

1. Exact match keywords that are identical to the search term come first.
2. Next, phrase and broad match keywords (including AI Max) or PMax search themes that are identical to the search term.
3. If nothing is identical, Google uses AI to pick the most relevant ad groups and asset groups.
4. At equal priority, the ad with the highest Ad Rank wins.

Two additions from the same help page matter in practice: PMax campaigns without search themes and Dynamic Search Ads are selected by the highest Ad Rank in the account. And a keyword in a budget-limited campaign can't always trigger an ad, even if it would actually have priority. So if your Search campaign constantly runs into its budget cap, PMax takes over exactly the queries you wanted to keep in Search.

Brand Exclusions in PMax

For your own brand there is a dedicated tool. According to Google's help center, brand exclusions are more comprehensive than negative keywords: they block searches for the brand name, common misspellings and related sub-brands. In PMax they apply to Search and Shopping inventory, and another help page also mentions search on YouTube. Optionally, you can still allow Shopping ads on searches for excluded brands.

Google explicitly recommends the exclusion if you manage brand traffic in a separate campaign and don't want to pay twice for those clicks. That's exactly how I set it up in practice: your own brand runs in a brand campaign with its own budget and ad copy, and it's excluded in PMax.

How to Keep the Overlap Clean

• Brand and core terms as exact match keywords in Search: Only identical exact match keywords are guaranteed to take priority.
• Brand exclusion in PMax for your own brand as soon as a brand campaign is running.
• Don't keep the Search campaigns permanently budget-limited, otherwise traffic shifts to PMax.
• Compare the PMax search terms report with your Search keywords every month: If many terms show up there that you want to cover in Search, you're missing exact match keywords or budget.
• Keep an eye on channel performance: A high Search share in PMax isn't automatically bad, but it's a reason to check the overlap.

You'll find the detailed comparison of both campaign types in Performance Max vs. Search. With AI Max for Search campaigns, there's also a keywordless matching option inside Search since 2026 that competes under the same rules. I explain what the switch means in my post on the AI Max rollout in Google Ads.

PMax + Search Ads: The Optimal Combination

Why Both?

PMax Strengths:

• Discovery of new audiences
• Omnichannel presence
• Automatic optimization
• Video & Display

Search Ads Strengths:

• Control over keywords
• Brand protection
• Search terms mapped to the triggering keyword
• Higher transparency

Combination = Best Performance!

Budget Split Recommendation

For E-Commerce:

• PMax: 60%
• Shopping Ads: 20%
• Brand Search Ads: 15%
• Generic Search Ads: 5%

For B2B Lead-Gen:

• PMax: 40%
• Search Ads (high intent): 40%
• Remarketing: 20%

Performance Max Checklist

Pre-Launch ✅:

• Min. 30 conversions/month in account
• Conversion tracking perfect
• 15 headlines prepared (the maximum per asset group)
• 15-20 images (various ratios)
• Videos (optional)
• Product feed (e-commerce)
• Budget: Min. €900/month

Launch ✅:

• Target conversion correctly set
• Audience signals added
• Asset groups structured (not everything in one)
• Bidding strategy: Start with "Maximize conversions"

Week 1-2 ✅:

• Daily monitoring (tracking ok?)
• NO optimizations (learning phase!)

From Week 3 ✅:

• Check asset performance
• Remove or replace clearly weak assets
• Add new assets
• Review placement exclusions

Monthly ✅:

• Performance vs. goals review
• Budget adjustments
• Optimize audience signals
• Test new asset groups

Conclusion: PMax in 2026

Performance Max is a powerful tool: when used correctly.

Use PMax when: ✅ E-commerce or lead-gen ✅ Min. 30-50 conversions/month ✅ Conversion tracking clean ✅ Budget >€900/month ✅ You're willing to give up control

Always combine with: ✅ Dedicated Search Ads (for control) ✅ Brand protection campaigns ✅ Remarketing

Performance Expectations:

• Month 1-2: Learning phase, often break-even
• Month 3-6: in my experience often noticeably better performance than standard campaigns (when optimized)
• Month 6+: Profitable scaling possible

Need Help with Performance Max Setup?

Book a free 20-minute intro call

In the call, I'll look at this with you:

• Is your account basically ready for PMax?
• Where are things stuck right now?
• Does working together make sense?

That's not a full analysis in 20 minutes, but you get a first look from the outside and an honest assessment.

Additional Articles:

• Performance Max vs. Search Compared
• Google Ads: 20 Practical Optimization Tactics
• What Does Google Ads Really Cost?

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FAQ About Performance Max

What is Performance Max in Google Ads?

Performance Max (PMax) is an AI-driven campaign type that automatically serves across all Google channels: Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and Maps. You give Google goals, assets, and budget. Google automatically optimizes placement, bids, and audiences for maximum conversions.

Should I use Performance Max?

Yes, if: 1) You have min. 30-50 conversions/month, 2) E-commerce or lead generation, 3) Conversion tracking works cleanly, 4) Budget >€900/month. No, if: Brand new account, under 30 conv/month, or you need full control over keywords.

Is Performance Max better than Shopping Ads?

In my experience, Performance Max often performs noticeably better than standard Shopping because it serves across more channels and is AI-optimized. But: Less transparency and control. Recommendation: Combine both instead of replacing. PMax 60%, Shopping 40% as a starting point, then shift based on your data.

How much budget does Performance Max need?

From my practice: at least €30/day (€900/month) for meaningful data. Optimal: €50-100/day for e-commerce, €40-80/day for B2B lead-gen. With too little budget, Google's AI can't learn and optimize properly. Under €900/month, better to stick with standard campaigns.

What are the disadvantages of Performance Max?

Main disadvantages: 1) Less transparency than Search (no keywords, the placement report only shows impressions; search terms and channel performance are available now), 2) Less control (Google decides where/when/who), 3) Needs many assets (up to 15 headlines, 5 long headlines, 5 descriptions, up to 20 images, plus videos), 4) Ramp-up time: in my experience 2-4 weeks with often weaker performance, Google recommends at least 6 weeks of runtime before evaluating, 5) Difficult for beginners without Google Ads experience.

How do I optimize Performance Max campaigns?

Main optimizations: 1) Analyze asset performance, replace clearly weak assets with new ones (every 2-4 weeks), 2) Review search terms and maintain campaign-level negative keywords, 3) Account-level placement exclusions for unsuitable websites/apps, 4) Refine audience signals based on performance, 5) Shift budget to best-performing campaigns. Important: First 2-3 weeks DON'T optimize (learning phase!).

Does Performance Max replace Search Ads?

No! Always run PMax + dedicated Search Ads in parallel. Search Ads for: 1) Brand keywords (control), 2) High-intent keywords, 3) Keyword control with your own bids (PMax works without keywords), 4) Transparency. My starting point for the split: 60% PMax, 40% Search, then adjust based on your data.

Does Performance Max cannibalize my Search campaigns?

Not for search queries you cover cleanly. According to Google's help center, an exact match keyword that is identical to the search query always takes priority, followed by identical phrase and broad match keywords or PMax search themes. Only when nothing is identical does Google choose via AI and Ad Rank, and that is where PMax can take over queries. So protect your brand and most important terms with exact match keywords in Search and use a brand exclusion for your own brand in PMax.

How long is the learning phase for Performance Max?

It mainly depends on conversion volume and conversion cycle. From my practice: with 50+ conversions/month, roughly 2 weeks; with 10-30 conversions, more like 3-4 weeks. Google itself recommends letting a PMax campaign run for at least 6 weeks before you evaluate it, and making no further changes for 7-14 days after a major change to budget, bids or assets. Performance is often worse during the ramp-up phase (normal!).