What are creative assets?
Creative assets are individual pieces of content (headlines, descriptions, images, videos and HTML5 bundles) within a Performance Max campaign. Google uses these creative assets as ‘building blocks’ to compile dynamic ads that are shown on different channels, such as Google Search, Maps, Discover and YouTube. Google mixes and matches the assets to create suitable ads for the channel in question.
Target potential clients in as many places as possible
Performance Max is also playing an increasingly important role in the travel industry. In the world of e-commerce, we classify creative assets at product level. In the travel industry this is done at hotel level, where themes, such as sun and skiing vacations or seasonal arrangements, play an important role.
When setting up a PMax campaign, it makes a difference whether you are advertising for a travel platform like Booking.com or for a company providing accommodation listings (like a hotel chain). More promotion is made for the platform on a platform, so you also need to organize your creative assets with that in mind. In that case, the theme is less important. When promoting a hotel chain, the themes play a much bigger role.
Google Hotel Ads not yet integrated: no feed
Unfortunately, companies in the travel industry are still unable to use a feed in Performance Max, as is possible with e-commerce. It is expected that Google Hotel Ads (hotel campaigns) will integrate with Performance Max in the future, but for now, this is not the case.
This means that currently with a PMax campaign you will not appear in the search results area where users are presented with an interactive overview of hotels with photos, amenities and prices, including a link to book the hotel. This is currently only possible with Google Hotel Ads (hotel campaigns).
Performance Max for travel goals (formerly TriPmax)
Is there then no way of using your listing details in Performance Max? Fortunately you can! You have the option to use the hotel listings in your Google Business profile. Google calls this: Performance Max for travel goals. This is therefore a PMax version for travel goals. In its initial form, Google called this TriPmax.
How does Performance Max for travel goals work?
With Performance Max for travel goals, Google makes it easier and faster to create campaigns per listing. You are able to use your Google Business profile to upload all your accommodation data in Performance Max. Google automatically creates asset groups based on your listings with preloaded information, such as titles, descriptions, images and videos. Naturally, you can then review and edit the automatically created assets.
Our advice: Google limits the number of asset groups per campaign to 100. We therefore advise you only to use Performance Max for travel goals for your most popular listings. The ‘normal’ Performance Max campaigns can then be used for the other listings that are less popular. These can be grouped by theme.
How does Google know if your hotel or accommodation matches a particular search?
It is important that the landing page of your ad is set to asset group level. Google scrapes these pages and extracts signals for targeting.
Google also includes the audience signals you have added. You can choose business trips as a theme, for instance. You can then indicate in your audience signals, for example, that you want to target people who are interested in a certain sector or who search for terms such as ‘business trip’. You can then set up the asset group accordingly, by adding a photo of a boardroom and a descriptive business text, for example.
Visible assets by channel
Google determines which creative assets are visible on which channel. There are three types of assets that Google combines itself on the relevant platform or channel:
- Textual assets are actually used on every channel, except for shopping, provided a feed has been added.
- Images give you visibility in Display, Search and Discover. Consider, for example, your logo.
- Video ensures that you are visible on YouTube. If you do not have a video, Google will generate one itself by alternating various images and texts (headlines & descriptions) to create a video in the form of a slide show. Our advice is not to leave this to Google, but to add a video yourself.
Inspiration for assets in the travel industry
Below we have provided the necessary inspiration for optimizing your Performance Max campaign:
Asset group possibilities
You can organize asset groups by type of trip, theme, hotel or target location (language). Examples include:
- hotels in [city]
- hotels with swimming pool
- hotels with sauna
- hotel packages
- ski vacations
- hotel overnight stays with ski pass
A tool such as Adchieve enables you to make use of dynamic values in your asset group. These are values that change, such as ‘starting from’ prices. It is important that you indicate here that it concerns the price per night, which is not the same for every asset group.
Tips for image assets
- Always upload your logo. If you are advertising for a platform, use the platform logo, rather than the advertised hotel.
- If you are using themes in your asset groups, use images that match the theme.
- Always add different formats to images, such as portrait, square and landscape photos. At least one square and one landscape image are required for each asset group.
- Try to include images that fit in with the textual assets, so that Google can better match them.
- Use images of the environment, the exterior view, the bedroom and certain services that the listing offers.
- It is better not to include poor quality images.
Specifications image assets
Tips for textual assets
If you are focusing on competitive prices, luxury rooms, city trips etc., use these words in your headlines and descriptions. These types of words fit in well with the keywords that travelers use when they are weighing up their options.
Additional tips for headlines include:
- Restating your brand name
- Adding CTAs, such as:
-
- Book directly online
- Best price here
- Discover [location where hotel is located]
- Get a discount on your stay
- Affordable vacations
- Last-minute...
-
Specifications for text assets
Tips for video assets
As mentioned earlier, it is better to use your own video than the one automatically generated by Google, which comes across as less professional. Film, for example:
- a tour of your listing
- the facilities offered by the listing
- travelers who are enjoying their stay at the listing (people like to see other people).
Specifications video assets
Exclude keywords
You have the option to exclude campaign-level keywords with Performance Max campaigns. At Adchieve, we recommend that you exclude keywords on your brand name and then to include them in a specially created Search campaign (campaign in the Search Network). In doing so, Google will not have the opportunity to compensate for the good traffic on your brand name in the Performance Max campaign. You will also have more control over keyword management in a Search campaign.
It will also prevent Google from spending unnecessary budget in the PMax campaign by compensating bad clicks with easy opportunities, such as keywords on your brand name. This is what we call the averaging out of campaigns, which we discuss in our article: Performance Max: the Burger Structure.
Specifications of Performance Max creative assets
The specifications that your assets must meet are set out in detail in our article: ‘10 best practices for Performance Max assets’. If you would you like to learn all about this subject, just continue reading.
< Adchieve is currently the only tool
worldwide that can automatically
create asset groups! >
Discover how Performance Max can ensure additional bookings
With these tips & tricks and the article on the ‘Best campaign structure in Performance Max for travel’, we have given you the ingredients to start getting the best out of Performance Max. Google claims a 13% growth in conversions for the travel industry, so do not put it off any longer and start experimenting with PMax campaigns.
If you need any help setting up and/or automating your Performance Max campaigns, we would be more than happy to assist you.
