Performance Max launch checklist — 38 checks before you spend
Most SMB Performance Max failures are launches on soft conversions, missing brand exclusions, and thin asset groups. This is the 38-point pre-flight our strategists run before PMax is allowed to spend meaningfully — tracking first, then creative, then diagnostics.
- Tracking prerequisites (8 checks) — fail these and wait
- Volume, brand Search, and budget readiness (5 checks)
- Brand exclusions and negatives (5 checks)
- Asset groups, creative, search themes, and feeds (11 checks)
- Bidding rules and week 1–4 diagnostics (9 checks)
Who this is for
US and UK SMB owners and marketing leads about to launch or rebuild Performance Max — especially after a dashboard ROAS that did not match pipeline. Score honestly before you raise budget.
How to use it
Start with the Performance Max Readiness Score for a go/no-go in minutes, then work this PDF section by section. More than three fails in Tracking Prerequisites means fix measurement first using our conversion tracking guide. Then follow the Performance Max SMB playbook for setup. Bring your scored PDF to a free Google Ads audit for a second opinion.
Related frameworks
Pair with the Performance Max Readiness Score, Performance Max SMB playbook, Performance Max vs Search comparison, and the attribution inflation insight when in-platform ROAS looks too good to be true. The 47-point Google Ads audit checklist is the full-account day-one scorecard (including an eight-point PMax gate); this PDF is the deeper PMax-specific pre-flight (38 checks).
Want this run on your accounts?
The checklist is free. Applying it properly takes senior time — that's what our audits are for.
Free 24-hour audit