--- title: "Performance Max Insights, Product by Product" description: "See what Performance Max spends on by segment, category and label. Product Metrics writes each segment to Merchant Center for your asset groups to split on." canonical: "https://www.productmetrics.io/performance-max" pageType: solution language: en publisher: "Product Metrics" dateModified: 2026-09-30 image: "https://www.productmetrics.io/og/performance-max.png" --- > Content index: https://www.productmetrics.io/llms.txt # See what Performance Max spends on, product by product. Then steer it with six segments. Product Metrics shows what every product costs and returns, by segment, category and custom label. Each segment reaches Merchant Center as a label your asset groups can split on. Category Performance by Product Segment, Last 30 days, 12,400 products (illustrative): | Segment | Share of products | Share of spend | Clicks | POAS | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stars | 6.5% | 30.8% | 84,200 | 2.64 | | Question Marks | 10.1% | 27.3% | 75,200 | 1.62 | | Cash Cows | 5.0% | 4.5% | 12,400 | 2.41 | | Dogs | 12.4% | 32.0% | 86,900 | 0.84 | | Drainers | 39.6% | 5.3% | 14,700 | 0.00 | | Ghosts | 26.3% | 0.0% | 0 | – | €123.7K spend, POAS 1.63 vs 2.00 target Dogs take 32.0% of spend on 12.4% of products, at POAS 0.84 against a 2.00 target. _Example scenario with Nike products. Performance data is illustrative. Product Metrics is not affiliated with Nike, adidas or PUMA._ ## Performance Max funds what already gets clicks. Dogs keep their share of the budget until you split them out. ### Clicks without return High volume, low return. In one asset group with your Stars, Dogs share the same budget and target. | | Value | | --- | --- | | Segment | Dogs | | Share of products | 12.4% | | Share of spend | 32.0% | Nike example: Nike Pegasus Plus 2, Nike Air Max 90, Nike Club fleece crew - **You decide.** Take them out of your main campaign: a separate one with a tighter target, or excluded. ### Too little data to judge Low volume, no return yet. Many have spent only cents, too little to call them losers. | | Value | | --- | --- | | Segment | Drainers | | Share of products | 39.6% | | Share of spend | 5.3% | Nike example: Nike ACG Pegasus Trail, Nike Air Max Plus - **You decide.** Keep them in a catch-all campaign so they can collect data. _Example scenario with Nike products. Performance data is illustrative. Product Metrics is not affiliated with Nike, adidas or PUMA._ ## Low-volume Performance Max campaigns miss their ROAS target far more often. So split by conversion volume, not only by segment. Under 30 conversions a month, more than half of campaigns fall below target; past 150 a month, fewer than one in seven do. Give a segment its own campaign only when it keeps that volume. Share of Performance Max campaigns above, on and below their ROAS target, per monthly conversions: | Conversions a month | Above target | On target | Below target | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 0–30 | 32% | 14% | 54% | | 30–60 | 34% | 33% | 33% | | 60–90 | 35% | 38% | 27% | | 90–150 | 36% | 44% | 20% | | 150–300 | 35% | 51% | 14% | | 300–500 | 35% | 55% | 10% | | 500–1K | 30% | 61% | 9% | | 1K+ | 34% | 58% | 8% | - [smec, State of Performance Max 2025](https://smarter-ecommerce.com/blog/en/google-ads/state-of-performance-max-campaigns-2025/): 4,000+ campaigns, grouped by monthly conversions. ### Bestsellers Stars in their own campaign once they bring enough conversions, with room to scale. - Stars ### Catch-all Together they keep the volume Performance Max needs, and Drainers get the chance to collect data. - Question Marks - Cash Cows - Drainers ### Separate or exclude Real spend, low return. A campaign of their own with a tighter target, or no ads at all. - Dogs ## A bad fortnight takes a product out of Stars. You choose the period segments are judged on. POAS and segment per product over the last 30 days and the last 14 days, Target POAS 2.00 (illustrative): | Product | Spend, 14 days | POAS, 30 days | POAS, 14 days | Segment, 30 days | Segment, 14 days | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Nike Vomero 18 | €1,180 | 2.62 | 2.55 | Stars | Stars | | Nike Pegasus Plus 2 | €1,560 | 2.24 | 0.98 | Stars | Dogs | | Nike Air Max 90 | €640 | 0.84 | 0.88 | Dogs | Dogs | Nike Pegasus Plus 2 is a Star over 30 days at POAS 2.24, but spent €1,560 in the last 14 days at POAS 0.98. With a 14-day period it becomes a Dog at the next daily update. _Example scenario with Nike products. Performance data is illustrative. Product Metrics is not affiliated with Nike, adidas or PUMA._ ### 7 to 365 days Segments are recalculated daily over the period you choose. The default is 30 days. ### Faster at 14 days A Star that stops converting drops out sooner, so you don’t exclude it by hand. ### Steadier over longer periods Seven days reacts fastest but moves products more often. Pick what fits your sales cycle. ## Break it down by category and custom label. See which categories carry which segments, and where the spend goes. Spend and POAS per category and product segment, the six largest rows by spend (illustrative): | Category | Segment | Products | Spend | Share of spend | POAS | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Running shoes | Question Marks | 290 | €19.8K | 16.0% | 1.58 | | Running shoes | Stars | 180 | €17.4K | 14.1% | 2.71 | | Running shoes | Dogs | 310 | €14.9K | 12.0% | 0.92 | | Lifestyle shoes | Dogs | 420 | €12.6K | 10.2% | 0.78 | | Apparel | Dogs | 560 | €7.3K | 5.9% | 0.81 | | Lifestyle shoes | Drainers | 1,180 | €2.9K | 2.3% | 0.00 | _Example scenario with Nike products. Performance data is illustrative. Product Metrics is not affiliated with Nike, adidas or PUMA._ - [How Product Segmentation works](https://www.productmetrics.io/product-segmentation) ### Product segment Six segments from Product Metrics ML, on ad clicks and ROAS or POAS against your target. Written to custom_label_0. ### Category priority High, Medium or Low: the products behind the first 60%, next 30% and last 10% of a category’s revenue. Written to custom_label_1. ### Product Score level Product Score rates every product 0–100 on your weights, such as margin, price competitiveness and stock. ## Follow every Performance Max campaign over time. ROAS against its target, with each target and budget change marked on the day. PMax Stars, daily ROAS over the last 30 days: around 4.30 against a 4.00 target until 11 Sep, then around 3.80 against the new 3.50 target. Campaign Explorer, PMax Stars: change events in this period (illustrative): | Date | Change | From | To | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 11 Sep | Target ROAS | 4.00 | 3.50 | | 18 Sep | Budget | €800 a day | €1,000 a day | Conversion delay: 3 days _Example scenario with Nike products. Performance data is illustrative. Product Metrics is not affiliated with Nike, adidas or PUMA._ ### Shopping and Performance Max Every Shopping and Performance Max campaign, over 7 to 365 days or a custom range. ### Changes in context Target ROAS, budget, bid strategy and status changes appear on the day they were made. ### A fair last week Set a conversion delay of up to 30 days, so recent days don’t look worse than they are. ## Performance Max, answered. Anything else? Ask Berend. ### Does Product Metrics work with Performance Max and standard Shopping? Yes, both. It’s built for Google Shopping merchants with 500 to 50,000 products. ### How do I split Performance Max by segment? Filter your asset groups or campaigns on custom_label_0 once. Product Metrics updates the label daily, and products move as their segment changes. ### Do you change my campaigns, targets or budgets? No. Connect your own Google account or MCC. Product Metrics reads your data and writes only the labels you approve. Targets, budgets and bid strategies stay yours. ### How many Performance Max campaigns should I split into? As few as keep each campaign above about 150 conversions a month. Below that, Performance Max misses its target far more often. A common start: Stars, a catch-all for Question Marks, Cash Cows and Drainers, and Dogs separate or excluded. ### Should I exclude Drainers? Not just for low spend. Many Drainers have spent only cents, too little data to judge. Take out Dogs first: they have had real spend at a low return. ### Why is a product still a Star after a bad week? Segments are recalculated daily over the period you choose. Over 30 days, one weak week is averaged in with the stronger weeks before it. Choose 14 days and it drops out sooner. ### Will products jump between asset groups every week? No. Segments are stable: a product needs enough clicks before its segment changes. ### Why does Performance Max keep spending on products that don’t convert? With Maximise conversion value and no target ROAS, Google aims to spend the full budget, whatever the return. Set a target ROAS, and keep Dogs out of your main campaign. ### Do I need margin data? No. It works on ROAS straight away. Connect margins to switch to POAS. ### Is Product Metrics an attribution tool? No. It uses your Google Ads and shop data to show which products perform and why, and turns that into segments and labels. ### Is there a trial, and do I need a credit card? The free analysis needs no card. The 30-day trial does, and cancelling during the trial means no charge. ## Related pages. - [Break-even ROAS calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/break-even-roas-calculator): Check the return you need before you set targets per segment. - [Adblocker benchmark](https://www.productmetrics.io/ad-blocker-conversion-tracking): See which blockers stop the conversion tags Google Ads learns from. - [Google Shopping ads](https://www.productmetrics.io/google-shopping-ads): How Google Shopping ads work, and how to manage and optimise them product by product. - [Performance Max for ecommerce](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/performance-max-for-ecommerce): Which products get the spend, and how to split campaigns. - [Set a target ROAS from your margin](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/target-roas-from-margin): Turn break-even into a target in Google Ads. - [Optimise Google Shopping ads](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/optimize-google-shopping-ads): Eight steps: the feed first, then each product against its break-even. - [Demand Gen vs Performance Max](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/demand-gen-vs-performance-max): What each campaign type is for, and which to run for a shop. - [Google Ads Auction Insights](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/google-ads-auction-insights): Read impression share and competitors for Shopping and Performance Max against break-even. ## See what Performance Max spends on. Your first analysis covers all your products. - [Analyse your products for free](https://app.productmetrics.io/): Free analysis, no credit card - [Find your hidden profit](https://www.productmetrics.io/pricing#calculator): 30-second estimate · no login - [Book a demo](https://cal.com/berend-vrakking/demo): a video call with Berend, then a demo account with example data --- Published by Product Metrics (Berend Vrakking, founder). HTML version: https://www.productmetrics.io/performance-max