Google Ads: What's Changed

Performance Max Is No Longer a Black Box

The biggest shift in Google Ads this year is that Performance Max finally has the controls advertisers have been asking for. Campaign-level negative keywords, brand exclusions, device targeting and channel performance reporting mean you can now run PMax with genuine strategic oversight rather than blind trust.

For e-commerce brands, the play is:

- Use PMax for Shopping and Discovery with tight asset groups segmented by product category or margin tier

- Layer in campaign-level negative keywords to control search term quality

- Monitor channel splits weekly and adjust creative assets to influence where Google allocates spend

- Keep a standard Shopping campaign running alongside PMax as a benchmark and safety net

Demand Gen Is the New Prospecting Layer

Google's Demand Gen campaigns have matured significantly. They now serve across YouTube, Discover, Gmail and the Display Network with much better creative controls and audience targeting.

For top-of-funnel prospecting, Demand Gen is outperforming traditional Display campaigns on both cost per acquisition and engagement metrics. The key is treating it like a Meta campaign: strong visual creative, audience signals based on purchase intent and measurement tied to assisted conversions rather than last-click.

AI Max: Use It Selectively

Google's AI Max for Search is expanding keyword matching and creative combinations automatically. For broad campaigns this can work well, but for tightly controlled brand or high-intent campaigns it can waste spend quickly.

Our approach: enable AI Max on generic prospecting campaigns where volume matters, but keep it off on brand, competitor and high-converting exact match campaigns where control is more valuable than reach.

Meta Ads: What's Changed

90% of Inventory Is Vertical

Meta has confirmed that the vast majority of ad inventory in 2026 is served in vertical (9:16) placements. If your creative library is still built around 1:1 and 16:9, your CPMs are higher than they need to be and your ads are rendering with awkward cropping on the highest-volume placements.

Every creative asset should be designed vertical-first. Adapt to 1:1 and 16:9 where needed, not the other way around.

Advantage+ Is the Default, Not the Option

Meta's Advantage+ campaigns and targeting tools are now deeply embedded in the platform. Fighting against the automation is getting harder and less productive. The brands winning on Meta in 2026 are the ones feeding the algorithm what it needs:

- High volume of creative variants (aim for 5-10 new concepts per month minimum)

- Clean conversion data through server-side tracking (Conversions API)

- Broad targeting with creative doing the segmentation work

- Fast iteration cycles: test, read data at 48-72 hours, kill or scale

Incremental Attribution Changes the Measurement Game

Meta's incremental attribution feature is now widely available and it's changing how smart advertisers measure performance. Rather than relying purely on platform-reported ROAS, incremental attribution shows what conversions would not have happened without the ad.

For Australian e-commerce brands, this means:

- Your true Meta ROAS is likely different (sometimes better, sometimes worse) than what the dashboard shows

- Budget allocation decisions should factor in incrementality, not just last-click or modelled attribution

- Retargeting campaigns often look worse under incremental measurement while prospecting looks better

The Cross-Platform Strategy

The brands scaling most efficiently are not treating Google and Meta as separate silos. They're running an integrated approach:

Prospecting: Meta broad + Google Demand Gen for awareness and consideration

Mid-funnel: Meta retargeting + Google Search for intent capture

Bottom-funnel: Google Shopping/PMax + Meta DPA for conversion

Retention: Email/SMS for post-purchase (not paid media's job)

Budget allocation should be dynamic. When Meta CPMs spike (common around EOFY and Black Friday in Australia), shift more budget to Google where auction dynamics are different. When Google CPCs rise on competitive terms, lean into Meta's algorithmic prospecting.

Quick Wins for Right Now

1. Audit your PMax search terms using the new reporting tools. You'll likely find 10-20% of spend going to irrelevant queries you can now negative out.

2. Rebuild your Meta creative library in 9:16 first. Test at least 3 new hook styles this month.

3. Enable Meta's Conversions API if you haven't already. Platform-reported data without server-side validation is increasingly unreliable.

4. Review your budget split between prospecting and retargeting. Most accounts over-invest in retargeting at the expense of new customer acquisition.

5. Set up incrementality testing on your top Meta campaigns. Even a simple holdout test will give you better data than relying on attribution alone.

The Bottom Line

2026 rewards advertisers who embrace platform automation but maintain strategic control. Feed the algorithms clean data and strong creative, use the new controls Google has given you, measure what actually matters and keep testing. The brands that treat Google and Meta as an integrated growth system rather than two separate channels are the ones scaling fastest right now.