Google Ads: Display vs Performance Max

Google Ads has come a long way from the days of simple text ads and keyword targeting.

Today, it offers a growing suite of campaign types that help target users all the way across the consumer funnel, allowing marketers to reach target users across the whole customer journey in ways previously not possible through PPC. Just some of the campaign types now span: search, video, display, shopping, and more. Yet two options often confuse even seasoned marketers: Display Campaigns and Performance Max (PMax) Campaigns.

At a glance, both campaign types can serve visual ads and reach users across Google’s display network. But behind the scenes, they operate very differently…

So, what defines each campaign type? Which should you use? When? And is it ever worth running both at the same time?

Let’s break it down.

What Is a Google Display Campaign? 

The display campaign is one of Google’s most developed campaign types, allowing marketers to leverage creative imagery across the entirety of the Google Display Network. This includes over 35 million websites, mobile apps, YouTube and Gmail placements, allowing marketers to reach around 90% of internet users worldwide. Unlike traditional search, this gives you access to an enormous audience outside of the search results page.

Display campaigns also allow you to tailor and target across native placements. These ads are essentially designed to appear as organic posts and blend into the look and feel of a particular website.

When it comes down to display ads, there are 2 main ad types/formats that you can launch:

• Responsive Display Ads
• Uploaded Display Ads

Responsive Display Ads

RDAs are a display campaign ad type that automatically adjust the size format and appearance of uploaded creatives, scaling to the appropriate placement size on a website. Just some of the placements include:

• Sidebar Banners
• Header Banners
• Sponsored content Slots
• Native Site Placements
• Inline-Mid Content
• Bottom of Page Banners

Uploaded Display Ads 

Uploaded Display Ads – while similar – are slightly different. Instead of uploading a handful of creatives and allowing Google to decide where you serve, UDAs allow you to upload creatives of specific sizes, ensuring you will only serve in placements that fit those specific dimensions. This is beneficial for those who want more control over the exact placement/positions on a page where ads are serving.

As a result of this more manual and fixed formatting, UDAs allow for additional file types beyond standard JPGs, such as HTML5 Creatives. These allow for professional-looking animation and movement that can stand out visually on a website.

Why Use Google Display? 

Display campaigns are ideal when you want to build awareness, retarget users, or stay front-of-mind throughout the customer journey towards conversion. For example:

• Retargeting past visitors who didn’t convert
• Promoting a launch to a broad audience
• Driving interest during seasonal campaigns

You also have more control over:

• Audience targeting (e.g. affinity, in-market or custom)
• Placements (specific websites, YouTube channels or apps)
• Creative combinations (headline, image, call-to-action)

If you prefer hands-on control over your targeting, creative and placements, Display campaigns give you the ability to do this.

What Is a Performance Max Campaign? 

Performance Max (PMax), on the other hand, is Google’s goal-based campaign type. First launched in November 2021, PMax is a goal-based campaign type that runs across all of Google’s properties, including the display network:

• Search
• Display
• YouTube
• Discover
• Gmail
• Maps

Performance Max was Google’s new flagship campaign type that aimed to provide coverage across the whole of the consumer funnel through automation. When it comes to the display side of performance max, you have much less control as the machine learning determines, based on data and user behaviour, which area of the Google advertising network is most optimal to spend money.

Instead of selecting placements or targeting settings manually, you provide Google with:

• Your campaign goals (e.g. leads, sales, website traffic)
• A set of creative assets (text, images, videos, logos) – like standard display
• Conversion data

Then Google uses machine learning to decide where, when, and how your ads appear, with the aim of delivering maximum performance for your set goal.

Why Use Performance Max? 

Performance Max is perfect when your main priority is results and cross-funnel targeting on a smaller budget. It’s best suited for:

• eCommerce businesses running Google Shopping ads
• Lead generation campaigns with strong conversion tracking
• Businesses wanting to simplify campaign setup and let Google’s AI do the heavy lifting

PMax finds potential customers across multiple channels using intent signals, audience data, and historical performance. It’s less about branding and more about outcomes, especially conversions.

Key Differences Between Display and Performance Max 

While both campaign types can help you reach potential customers through visual ads, Display and Performance Max (PMax) can serve very different purposes and are very different in the way that they operate.

Display campaigns 

Display offers a higher level of manual control.

You choose the audience (rather than giving signals), the placements (like specific websites or apps), and the creative format. You’re in the driver’s seat, selecting where your ads show and who sees them. That makes Display ideal for strategies like brand awareness, remarketing, or campaigns where you need to target niche audiences with precision.

Performance Max campaigns

Performance Max is built for automation and scale.

Instead of setting up individual targeting rules, you simply input your goals along with some audience signals and creative assets. Then Google’s AI takes over, automatically delivering your ads across all Google channels, including Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and Maps. It’s designed to find the right customer at the right time using machine learning and real-time intent signals. However, with this campaign type, reporting is more limited; PMax doesn’t offer detailed placement data the way that Display does.

So if you’re looking for full control and detailed insights, go with Display. But if you want performance-focused automation with minimal setup, PMax might be your best bet.

Which Campaign Type Should You Choose? 

Here’s where it gets interesting, because both campaign types are useful, but for different reasons.

Choose Display Campaigns when: 

• Your goal is to target more top-of-funnel users.
• You want brand visibility without relying on AI.
• You want to control where your ads appear, such as avoiding low-quality placements.
• You need detailed reporting to analyse performance by audience or placement.

Choose Performance Max when: 

• Your goal is to target users across the conversion funnel.
• Your goal is conversions (sales, leads, signups), not just traffic.
• You want to run ads across multiple channels without managing them individually.
• You have high-quality creative assets and strong conversion tracking.
• You’re short on time or want to scale quickly with minimal management.

Can You Run Both at the Same Time? 

Yes… and in many cases, you should!

Running Display and PMax together allows you to take advantage of both control and automation. For instance:

• Use Display to run targeted retargeting campaigns with custom creatives.
• Use PMax to find net-new customers across all of Google’s properties, based on your conversion data.

Just be mindful of audience overlap. Google’s systems are smart enough to avoid excessive duplication, but it’s worth monitoring performance to ensure campaigns aren’t cannibalising each other.

So…

Display and Performance Max are complementary tools in a modern Google Ads strategy…

Display gives you control, visibility and the ability to tell your brand story with precision.

Performance Max gives you scale, automation and access to powerful AI-driven optimisation.

The trick is knowing when to use each and how to balance them based on your campaign goals, budget, and level of hands-on involvement.

With the introduction of Demand Generation campaigns in 2023, the conversion has changed slightly, with this newer campaign type offering the opportunity to promote visual and informational content across YouTube, YouTube Shorts, Gmail, Discovery, and Maps, an almost middle ground between PMAX and display – for more information on Demand Generation campaigns you can read our blog here.

If you’re unsure where to start or how to structure a multi-campaign strategy that actually performs, we can help. At Talking Stick Digital, we specialise in building tailored Google Ads strategies that get results. Just get in touch with our team of experts for your FREE audit and a no-obligation chat on how we can elevate your marketing!