How Google Ads Performance Max Drives Brand Search

In this episode of The Google Ads Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how Performance Max campaigns can inadvertently appear on brand search terms — and why that matters for your ad spend. Using the example of a mid-market e-commerce retailer running PMax alongside Exact Match brand campaigns, they dissect the auction dynamics, the role of conversion attribution, and the data clean-room workaround that prevents self-competition. Lucas explains the actual cost-per-click difference between brand-term clicks driven by PMax versus traditional campaigns, and why Google's own recommendation to 'let PMax handle brand' isn't always in the advertiser's interest. Luna pushes back with a real-world case where PMax brand overlap actually improved overall ROAS. They end with a practical checklist for segmenting Performance Max by brand and non-brand using campaign-level negative brand lists — a workaround that became available in early 2026. If you're running PMax and brand campaigns simultaneously, this episode gives you the specific levers to stop overpaying for your own traffic. #GoogleAds #PerformanceMax #BrandSearch #PPCStrategy #PaidSearch #AuctionDynamics #AdSpendOptimization #ConversionAttribution #DataCleanRoom #NegativeKeywords #CampaignStructure #MarketingPodcast #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #2026 #SearchAds #ROAS #AdPolicy Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo