Performance Max serves across six main channels: Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps. To see which ones are driving your results, you no longer need complex third-party scripts.

Step 1: Using the “Channel Performance” Report

This is the most direct way to see your spend and conversion breakdown by network.

1. Select Campaign: Click on your Performance Max campaign.

2. Navigate to Reports: In the Campaigns menu, click Insights and reports, then select Channel performance.

3. Analyse the Visuals:

• Channels-to-Goals Chart: A flow diagram (Sankey chart) showing how impressions turn into conversions across different channels.

• Channel Distribution Table: Look for the icons representing each network (Search icon, YouTube icon, etc.).

4. Check Key Metrics: Review the Cost and Conversions columns for each row to see if, for example, your Display spend is actually contributing to sales or just “eating” budget.

Step 2: The “Placements” Report (Where exactly did I show?)

If you want to see the specific websites or YouTube channels your ads appeared on:

1. Open Report Editor: Click Insights and reports > Report editor.

2. Find Predefined Reports: Under the “When and where ads showed” section, select Performance Max campaigns placement.

3. Customise the View: Add the column “Performance Max placement type” to see if it was a “Webpage,” “Mobile App,” or “YouTube Video.”

Advanced Insights: Segmenting by “Product Data”

For E-commerce users, Google now allows you to see if your sales came from Shopping Ads versus Creative Assets (Headlines/Images).

• How: In the Channel performance table, click the Segment icon and choose “Ads using product data.”

• The Insight: This separates “Shopping” traffic from “Standard Search/Display” traffic. If 90% of your sales are “Ads using product data,” your PMax is essentially acting as a Smart Shopping campaign.

Note: You will often see a category called “Google Owned & Operated.” This is a “bucket” that combines privacy-protected placements like the YouTube Home Feed, Discover, and Gmail. Because of privacy regulations, Google does not show individual URLs for these, but groups them here so you can still track the total spend on Google’s own “prime” real estate.