a/b-testvsperformance max

Performance Max campaigns leverage Google's automation and machine learning to optimize ad delivery across multiple channels using a wide range of signals and assets. However, because Performance Max limits granular control over specific creatives, audiences, and bidding strategies, marketers often use A/B testing outside or alongside Performance Max campaigns to experiment with different messaging, creative assets, or audience segments before feeding the best-performing variants into the campaign. Additionally, A/B testing can be applied to landing pages, offer variations, or other funnel elements that Performance Max campaigns drive traffic to, enabling marketers to optimize conversion rates and overall campaign effectiveness. This relationship is practical because A/B testing provides the empirical evidence needed to inform and refine inputs into Performance Max, which then uses automation to scale and optimize performance based on those tested elements. In essence, A/B testing acts as a controlled experimentation method to identify high-performing variables that Performance Max can then leverage at scale, while Performance Max’s automated optimization benefits from the insights generated through systematic A/B testing.