The feature most in-house and Google Ads freelancers either ignore or misuse is the one that gives you the most control over where your budget lands.
Has Performance Max Removed Transparency and Control?
Performance Max promised simplicity. Hand Google your assets, set a budget, tell the algorithm your conversion goal, and let machine learning do the work. For many brands running mid-six to seven figures, that deal felt reasonable, at least initially.
Results came. Sometimes strong results. But the transparency most account managers (I’ve been running Google Ads since 2000…) were trained to expect from search campaigns simply was not there. No search term report showing which queries triggered your ads. No keyword-level control. No clean read on which part of the campaign was actually performing.
Into this frustration, Google introduced Search Themes. Described as a way to ‘provide hints’ to the algorithm, they were easy to overlook. A small input box. A handful of suggested phrases. Easy to skip in the rush to launch.
But if you skipped them, or if the agency managing your account skipped them, you likely left significant performance on the table.
Are Search Themes the Same as Keywords?
The most common misunderstanding about Search Themes is treating them like keywords.
They are not keywords. You cannot bid on them, set match types, or control them in the way you would manage a traditional search campaign. What they do is something subtler and arguably more powerful: they tell Google’s algorithm where to look when deciding which searches to enter your ads into.
Think of it this way. Without Search Themes, PMax is operating on signals alone: your creative assets, your product feed, your historical conversion data, and whatever Google can infer from your landing pages. That data set is your brand’s past behaviour. It tells the algorithm where you have been, not necessarily where you should go.
Search Themes give you the ability to direct the algorithm toward demand you know exists but that your historical data may not yet reflect. New product lines. Seasonal shifts. Emerging use cases. Audience segments you are trying to reach for the first time.
Search Themes are not keywords. They are signals you send to tell Google where to look when deciding which searches to enter your ads into.
The misunderstanding runs both ways, though. Some practitioners overload their campaigns with dozens of themes, believing more input means better coverage. Others add themes that duplicate what the algorithm already knows from the feed and assets. Both approaches reduce the value of the feature rather than amplifying it.
How Do Search Themes Influence Performance Max Search Queries?
When you add Search Themes to a PMax campaign, you are giving Google up to 25 signals per asset group that inform which search queries the campaign can enter. Google uses these alongside your creative assets, your product feed, your audience lists, and your landing page content to build a picture of relevant searches.
Where Search Themes matter most is in filling the gaps between what your historical data shows and what your strategy actually calls for. A brand launching a premium version of an existing product might have strong conversion history on mid-range terms. Without Search Themes, PMax will likely keep fishing in that familiar water. Add themes that reflect the language premium buyers use, and you redirect the algorithm toward higher-intent, higher-value searches.
| What Do Search Themes Actually Do?: They act as a prioritisation signal, not a control mechanism. Google still decides which searches to enter based on the full picture: assets, feed, landing pages, audience signals, and conversion history. Search Themes shift the weight of that decision toward the territory you define. |
It is also worth understanding what happens without them. Google defaults to what it knows. For established brands with long conversion histories, this may work reasonably well for core products. But it creates a ceiling. The algorithm becomes increasingly self-referential, optimising toward what has already worked rather than what could work with the right direction.
For newer accounts, new product launches, or brands entering new categories, the absence of Search Themes is even more costly. The algorithm has too little signal to work with and no strategic direction from you to compensate. The result is budget spread across low-intent, low-value queries while high-intent searches go untouched.
There is an insight dimension here too. PMax does not show you a full search term report, but Google does surface the top search categories your campaigns are appearing in. If those categories bear little resemblance to your strategic priorities, your Search Themes are either absent or wrong.
Should You Be Updating Search Themes on a Regular Basis?
Stop thinking about PMax as a campaign you configure once and review monthly. Start thinking about it as an ongoing conversation with the algorithm, one where Search Themes are a key part of how you communicate your strategy.
The brands getting the most from PMax treat their Search Themes as a living document. They review them in line with product launches, seasonal pivots, and shifts in customer language. When customer insight from post-purchase surveys or on-site search data reveals new vocabulary buyers are using, that language feeds directly into Search Themes.
The brands getting the most from PMax treat their Search Themes as a living document, not a set-and-forget input.
This connects to a broader principle in the way we think about optimisation. Your customers are constantly telling you how they describe their problems and what they are looking for. That language belongs in your ads, your copy, and your campaign configuration. Search Themes are one of the clearest channels you have for putting customer language to strategic use.
The reframe for founders is this: Search Themes are not a technical detail to delegate blindly. They are one of the primary levers you or your agency has for steering Google’s machine toward the customers you most want to reach. If nobody in your team can tell you what Search Themes are currently active in your PMax campaigns, or why those specific terms were chosen, that is a gap worth closing.
How Do You Use Search Themes Effectively in Performance Max Campaigns?
Build them from customer insight, not gut instinct
The strongest Search Themes come from what your customers actually say, not what you assume they search for. Sources worth mining include post-purchase survey responses, on-site search data, support ticket language, and reviews. This is where tools like Fairing earn their place: systematic customer insight capture gives you a continuous feed of language that belongs in your campaign configuration.
One asset group, one job
PMax allows multiple asset groups per campaign. Each asset group can carry its own Search Themes. This matters because different product lines, different customer segments, and different stages of the buying journey warrant different signals. Avoid the temptation to put all products into one asset group with a catch-all set of themes. The more precise your asset groups, the more relevant your Search Themes can be.
| Google Ads Asset Group Architecture Think of each asset group as having a specific strategic purpose: a product category, a customer type, a seasonal moment. Your Search Themes should reflect that specific purpose rather than try to cover all bases from a single group. |
The 25-theme limit is a discipline, not a constraint
You can add up to 25 Search Themes per asset group. The instinct is to fill all 25 as quickly as possible. A more useful approach is to start with the 8 to 12 themes that most directly represent the searches you want to win, then review performance data before adding more. Overfilling dilutes the signal. Precision feeds better decisions.
Audit against your search categories report
Google surfaces the categories of searches your PMax campaigns are appearing in. Pull this regularly and compare it against your Search Themes. If your themes are pointing toward premium buyers but your search categories are dominated by generic or budget terms, something in your campaign configuration is overriding your intent. This mismatch is often the first signal that your asset group architecture needs revisiting.
Revisit them on product and seasonal cycles
Search Themes should change when your strategy changes. A winter collection launch warrants different themes than your evergreen product lines. A promotional period calls for different language than a brand-building phase. Build a review into your campaign calendar at every major commercial moment, not just when performance dips.
How Do You Manage and Update Search Themes Within a pMax Campaign?
PMax is not a system you set up and observe. It is a system you have to actively steer. Search Themes are the steering mechanism most account managers underuse.
The brands seeing compounding gains from PMax are the ones treating it as part of a wider optimisation system. Customer insight informs which search themes to prioritise. Asset group structure ensures those themes are paired with the right creative. Regular review of search categories closes the loop between intent and outcome.
That is the machine working as it should. Not Google deciding where your budget goes in isolation, but a structured conversation between your strategic intent and the algorithm’s capability.
PMax gives Google’s algorithm enormous power. Search Themes are how you make sure that power is pointed in the right direction.
PMax gives Google’s algorithm enormous power. Search Themes are how you make sure that power is pointed in the right direction. If they are absent, outdated, or misaligned with your commercial priorities, you are not running a Performance Max campaign. You are running an experiment with someone else’s methodology.
| Questions Worth Asking Your Agency or In-House Team 1. What Search Themes are currently active in each of our PMax asset groups, and when were they last reviewed? 2. How were the current Search Themes chosen, and what data informed those choices? 3. Do our asset groups reflect distinct product lines or customer segments, or have we built one broad group trying to do everything? 4. What do our PMax search category reports show, and do those categories match our commercial priorities? 5. When we launch a new product or enter a promotional period, is updating Search Themes part of the launch process? |
Search Themes in Google Ads Performance Max:
Your Questions Answered
Short, direct answers to the questions founders and practitioners ask most about PMax Search Themes.
What are Search Themes in Google Ads Performance Max?
Search Themes are inputs you add to a Performance Max asset group to tell Google’s algorithm which types of searches are relevant to your business. You can add up to 25 per asset group. They are not keywords and they do not work like keywords. They sit alongside other signals such as your creative assets, product feed, and audience lists, and they help Google understand which search queries it should consider entering your ads into. Think of them as a strategic steer rather than a direct instruction.
PMax Search Themes explained simply
Imagine Google’s algorithm is deciding, in real time, which searches your ads should appear for. It looks at everything it knows about your campaign: your images, your copy, your products, your past performance. Search Themes are your way of adding a note that says “also look in this direction.” They do not override Google’s judgment, but they influence it. If you sell premium running shoes and want to reach ultra-marathon runners specifically, a Search Theme pointing in that direction tells the algorithm that territory matters to you, even if your conversion history does not yet reflect it.
How do Search Themes work in Performance Max campaigns?
When Google is deciding whether to enter your PMax campaign into an auction for a particular search query, it weighs a range of signals to determine relevance. Search Themes are one of those signals. They do not guarantee your ad will appear for any specific search, but they raise the probability that the algorithm looks in the direction you have pointed. They are most effective when they reflect language your customers genuinely use and when they cover search territory that your asset content and product feed alone would not make obvious to the algorithm.
What is the definition of a Google Ads PMax Search Theme and what role does it play?
A Search Theme is a short phrase, typically two to five words, that you enter at the asset group level in a PMax campaign to indicate relevant search territory. Its role is to supplement the algorithm’s understanding of your business, particularly where your historical data, product feed, or creative assets do not fully represent your strategic intent. It is a prioritisation signal: it shifts the weight of the algorithm’s decision-making toward the category of searches you have defined without removing Google’s autonomy over which specific queries trigger your ads.
Search Themes vs signals in Performance Max: what does it actually tell Google?
PMax campaigns already use a wide range of signals: your creative assets, your product feed, audience lists, landing page content, and your conversion history. Audience signals, for instance, tell Google who to reach. Search Themes tell Google what searches to consider. The distinction matters. You might have strong audience signal data pointing toward 35 to 50 year old professionals, but without Search Themes, the algorithm may still default to broad or generic queries for that audience. Search Themes direct the algorithm toward specific intent categories, not just demographic groups. They work alongside signals rather than replacing them, and they are the most direct way a practitioner has to influence the search side of PMax behaviour.
Are PMax Search Themes the same as keywords in Google Ads?
No. Keywords in a standard Search campaign give you direct control: you choose the term, you set a match type, and Google only enters your ad into auctions that match those criteria. Search Themes work differently. They are hints, not instructions. You cannot set match types, negative variants, or bid adjustments against a Search Theme. Google will use them as one input among many. This means they require a different management mindset. Rather than trying to engineer precise coverage the way you would with keywords, you are providing strategic context and reviewing whether the algorithm is interpreting that context correctly via the search categories report.
What has changed with PMax Search Themes in 2025 and into 2026?
Google has progressively given Search Themes more weight in the PMax signal stack since their introduction. In 2025, Google confirmed that Search Themes take priority over the algorithm’s own search signals when the two are in tension, meaning a well-chosen Search Theme can actively redirect budget away from the default paths the algorithm would otherwise take. Alongside this, Google expanded the visibility of the search categories report, making it easier to see whether your themes are translating into the right search territory. The practical implication for 2026 is that Search Themes are no longer an optional refinement. They are a core part of how you direct PMax, and leaving them absent or unchanged for long periods is increasingly likely to result in budget drifting toward whatever the algorithm finds easiest rather than what your strategy requires.
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