Performance Max Is Now Available for Google Ad Grant Accounts
If your church uses the Google Ad Grant, you’ve had access to one campaign type for years: Search. Text ads on Google Search results. That’s it.
That just changed. Google Ad Grant Performance Max campaigns are now available to all grant accounts. And if you’re a church getting $10,000/month in free Google Ads, this is worth paying attention to.
Performance Max (PMax) is Google’s AI-driven campaign type that can show your ads across multiple Google properties. For paid advertisers, that includes Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and Maps. For Ad Grant accounts, the placements are more limited. But it still opens up new possibilities your church didn’t have before.
Let’s break down what this means for your church, what’s different from regular PMax, and how to set it up the right way.
What Is Performance Max (And How Is It Different From Search Campaigns)?
Traditional Google Ad Grant campaigns are keyword-based Search campaigns. You pick keywords like “churches near me” or “Sunday service times,” write text ads, and your ads show up in Google Search results when someone types those phrases.
Performance Max works differently. Instead of targeting specific keywords, you give Google a set of “audience signals” and “search themes.” Then Google’s AI decides where and when to show your ads based on who is most likely to take action on your website.
Here’s the key difference. With Search campaigns, you control the keywords. With PMax, you guide the AI with signals, and Google figures out the targeting.
That sounds scary. And honestly, it can be if you don’t set it up with intention. But it also means your church’s ads can reach people you never would have found through keyword targeting alone.
What’s Different About PMax for Ad Grant Accounts?
This is where it gets important. Performance Max for Google Ad Grants is not the same as Performance Max for paid advertisers. There are real limitations you need to understand.
Limited Placements
Paid PMax campaigns run across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and Maps. Ad Grant PMax campaigns currently run only on Google Search and Google Maps.
That’s a significant difference. You won’t be getting free YouTube pre-roll ads or banner ads across the web. At least not yet. Google has hinted they may expand placements for grant accounts in the future, but right now it’s Search and Maps only.
Maps Requires a Google Business Profile
If you want your PMax ads to appear on Google Maps (and you should), you need to link your Google Business Profile to your Google Ads account. Most churches already have a Google Business Profile set up. If yours isn’t linked, that’s a quick fix.
Image Assets Are Optional But Helpful
You can run a PMax campaign with just text assets. But Google recommends adding images to improve ad strength and performance. Images can show alongside your Search and Maps placements.
Video assets, however, are not eligible for Ad Grant PMax campaigns. Don’t spend time creating videos specifically for this campaign type.
No 5% CTR Requirement
Here’s some genuinely good news. Performance Max campaigns are excluded from the 5% click-through rate minimum that Google requires for Ad Grant compliance. That’s one of the most common reasons churches get their grants suspended. Read our full compliance guide here.
With PMax, lower CTRs are expected because the AI is casting a wider net. Google knows this and doesn’t penalize grant accounts for it.
Search Themes Replace Keywords
Instead of choosing keywords, you set up “search themes” for each asset group. You can add up to 25 search themes per asset group. Think of these as keyword-like guides that tell Google’s AI which types of searches to prioritize.
For a church, your search themes might include things like:
- Churches near [your city]
- Sunday worship service [your city]
- Bible study groups near me
- Family church [your area]
- Community church [your neighborhood]
How to Set Up a Performance Max Campaign in Your Ad Grant Account
Setting up PMax in a grant account follows a similar process to regular PMax, with a few grant-specific considerations.
Step 1: Make Sure Conversion Tracking Is Working
This is non-negotiable. PMax runs on conversion data. If you don’t have conversions set up and tracking properly, Google’s AI has nothing to optimize toward, and your campaign will waste your grant budget on low-quality clicks.
At minimum, track these actions on your church website:
- Contact form submissions
- Event registrations
- Plan-a-visit form completions
- Newsletter signups
If you need help setting up conversion tracking, our Google Ad Grant management team can handle this for you.
Step 2: Choose the Right Campaign Goal
When you create a PMax campaign, Google asks you to choose a goal. For churches, stick with goals tied to your actual conversion actions. “Website traffic” sounds tempting, but it won’t give the AI enough signal to find the right people.
Better goals for churches:
- Leads (if you’re tracking form submissions)
- Local store visits (if you want to drive foot traffic using Maps)
Step 3: Build Your Asset Group
An asset group is the collection of creative elements Google uses to build your ads. You’ll need:
Text assets (required):
- Up to 5 headlines (30 characters each)
- Up to 5 long headlines (90 characters each)
- Up to 5 descriptions (90 characters each)
- Your church’s display URL
- A final URL (your landing page)
Image assets (recommended):
- Landscape images (1200x628 minimum)
- Square images (1200x1200 minimum)
- Your church logo
Search themes (up to 25):
- Add location-specific search phrases
- Include the types of ministries and programs you offer
- Think about what someone would search if they were looking for a church like yours
Step 4: Set Your Audience Signals
Audience signals help Google’s AI understand who you’re trying to reach. These aren’t hard targeting rules. They’re suggestions that help the algorithm learn faster.
Good audience signals for churches:
- Custom segments: People who have searched for “churches near me,” “new church,” “family church,” etc.
- Demographics: Target your local area (set a geographic radius around your church)
- Interests: People interested in religion, spirituality, family activities, community events
Step 5: Set Your Budget and Launch
Your Ad Grant gives you up to $10,000/month ($329/day). You can allocate a portion of that to your PMax campaign. A good starting point is $50-$100/day for PMax while keeping your existing Search campaigns running.
Don’t put all your grant budget into PMax right away. Let it run alongside your Search campaigns and compare performance over 4-6 weeks.
Pros and Cons of Performance Max for Churches
The Pros
Broader reach on Search. PMax can find search queries your keyword-based campaigns miss. Google’s AI identifies patterns in user behavior that manual keyword research can’t always catch.
Google Maps visibility. If your church has a Google Business Profile, PMax can show your ads on Maps. That’s a new placement you didn’t have access to before with standard grant Search campaigns.
No CTR compliance risk. Since PMax is exempt from the 5% CTR rule, you can run these campaigns without worrying about one of the biggest compliance headaches.
Less keyword management. Search themes are simpler to manage than hundreds of individual keywords. For churches managing their own grants, this can save significant time.
AI optimization. Google’s machine learning gets smarter over time. The more conversion data it has, the better it gets at finding the right people for your church.
The Cons
Less control. You can’t see exactly which search terms triggered your ads the way you can with Search campaigns. That lack of transparency makes some people uncomfortable.
Limited placements (for now). The big promise of PMax is multi-channel advertising. But for grant accounts, you’re still limited to Search and Maps. No YouTube, no Display, no Discover.
Needs conversion data to work well. If your church website doesn’t generate many trackable conversions, PMax won’t have enough data to optimize effectively. Google recommends at least 30-50 conversions before the AI really starts performing.
Can compete with your Search campaigns. PMax and Search campaigns can overlap on the same search queries. If your Search campaigns are already performing well, adding PMax might cannibalize some of that traffic without improving results.
Black box reporting. PMax reporting is less detailed than Search campaign reporting. You’ll see overall results but won’t get the granular keyword-level data you’re used to.
Best Practices for Churches Running PMax on the Ad Grant
Start with a test budget. Don’t move your entire grant into PMax. Allocate 20-30% of your daily budget and run it alongside your existing campaigns.
Get conversion tracking right first. This is the single most important factor. If your conversions aren’t set up properly, PMax will underperform. Period.
Use specific search themes. Don’t be too broad. “Church” as a search theme isn’t helpful. “Baptist church in Springfield MO” tells the AI exactly what you’re going for.
Add image assets. Even though they’re optional, images improve your ad strength score and can make your Search ads more visually appealing.
Link your Google Business Profile. This enables Maps placements and gives Google more data about your church location, hours, and services.
Review performance weekly. Check your PMax campaign’s conversion data, cost per conversion, and overall spend. If it’s burning through budget without conversions after 4-6 weeks, pause it and troubleshoot your conversion tracking.
Keep your best Search campaigns running. PMax is an addition to your strategy, not a replacement. Your high-performing keyword campaigns should stay active. Need campaign ideas? Check out our list of winning Ad Grant campaigns for churches.
Should Your Church Use Performance Max?
If your church has a well-managed Google Ad Grant with solid conversion tracking and a Google Business Profile, yes. PMax is worth testing. The Maps placement alone adds value, and the AI-driven targeting can uncover audiences your keyword campaigns miss.
If your church is new to the Google Ad Grant, or if you don’t have conversion tracking set up yet, hold off on PMax. Get your foundation right first. Start with our complete Google Ad Grant guide and build from there.
And if you’d rather have experts handle all of this for you, our team manages Google Ad Grants for 600+ churches. We’ll set up your PMax campaigns, monitor compliance, optimize performance, and make sure your church is getting the most out of every dollar of that $10,000/month grant.
The bottom line: Performance Max for Ad Grants is real, it’s free, and it gives your church more ways to reach your community through Google. It’s not perfect. The limited placements and black-box reporting are real drawbacks. But for churches that are already making the most of their grant, PMax is the next step worth taking.