Perpetual Traffic: PMAX vs. Standard Shopping—The $80K Test That Shocked Us

Podcast: Perpetual Traffic
Host(s): Ralph Burns (Tier 11 CEO), John (Guest, assumed to be John Moran based on context)
Episode: PMAX vs. Standard Shopping: The $80K Test That Shocked Us
Date: October 7, 2025

Episode Overview

In this results-driven episode, Ralph Burns and John dive deep into one of digital advertising’s hottest debates: Google Performance Max (“PMAX”) vs. Standard Shopping for scalable, profitable new customer acquisition. Backed by a rigorously controlled $80,000 A/B test, they dissect whether PMAX really delivers superior results, or if Standard Shopping still reigns supreme for growing businesses without compromising incremental growth or profitability. The hosts reveal granular campaign data, filter out misleading attribution noise, and clarify misconceptions about Google’s hype around AI-powered campaigns.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Challenge: Scaling Without Wasting Ad Spend

• The "Scaling Trap":
  • Marketers often hit a wall where scaling ad spend does not translate to increased sales because platform attribution (e.g., Meta, Google) inflates conversion counts, leading to double-counted or misattributed conversions.
    • Quote (Ralph, 02:20):
      "You might see 10 conversions in Meta, you might see 10 conversions in Google, and then you check your Shopify store and you may see 10 conversions. So you're not getting 20, you're actually getting 10. They're all claiming credit for it."
  • Goal: Find a system to triple ad spend, lower new customer acquisition cost (NCAC), and break out of attribution silos.

Test Structure and Methodology

• Scope:

  • Large-scale test; $40,000 shifted between PMAX feed-only and Standard Shopping “non-brand, new customers only” segments, isolating variables to achieve near-identical comparison.
  • Key Metrics: Top-line incremental conversion, cost per click (CPC), cost per acquisition (CPA), conversion rate, ability to scale at higher budgets.
    • Quote (John, 04:05): "I've isolated the data to be as one to one as possible...pushed $40,000 into PMAX, then the same $40,000 back into Standard Shopping."

• Segments Compared:

  1. Feed-only PMAX (non-brand, new customers)
  2. Standard Shopping (non-brand, new customers)

Results: Head-to-Head Performance

• Top-Line Results: Near-Identical By All Measures

  • Conversion delta is just 1.3% with identical spend—statistically insignificant.
    • Quote (John, 09:53): "Spend on different channels delivered a positive or negative contribution to the top line of 1.3%. ...Basically anything under 10% is kind of like no change."
  • Conversion rate difference: 2.0% (PMAX) vs. 1.9% (Standard Shopping)—no real difference.
  • CPA difference: Only 9%.

• CPC and Efficiency:

  • PMAX has lower CPC (due to cheaper display clicks typical of PMAX), but this does not translate into incremental conversions.
  • Standard Shopping processes slightly higher CPCs, but delivers the same result in new customer conversions.

The “Hidden Gem”: The True Limit of PMAX

• PMAX Hit a Scaling Ceiling
  • When trying to push PMAX spend, it plateaued and couldn't deliver more new customers at the same efficiency.
  • Standard Shopping could absorb much more spend instantly, bringing real incremental growth.
    • Quote (John, 23:44): "Standard shopping blew pass it by 40 grand in two days. ...Performance Max could not scale up. ...We're missing $25,000 in three days and it would not scale up. It couldn't get past that with the same 40% T row as go on both."
  • Reason: PMAX’s algorithm “protects” ROAS by spending a significant chunk targeting returning customers instead of finding new ones—thus throttling true prospecting scalability.
    • Quote (John, 21:44): "It's embedded into the algorithm. ...I can't scale because I can't count wrong. Standard shopping blew pass it by 40 grand in two days."

PMAX vs. Standard Shopping: Myths and Takeaways

• PMAX ROAS Can Be Deceptive
  • PMAX delivers what looks like higher ROAS, but this often comes from retargeting existing or returning customers, not new incremental buyers.
    • Quote (John, 18:48): "...PMAX, yes, is going to have better ROAS. Is it real? No. Are you selling something to the client that maybe you didn't do? Yes. Is it something you can scale? No."
• Real Difference: For new customer acquisition at scale, Standard Shopping remains more predictable and scalable than feed-only PMAX—especially when need is rapid ramp-up (e.g., increasing weekly spend by $40k+).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Attribution Problem

  • (Ralph, 02:20)
    "[...] you might see 10 conversions in Meta, you might see 10 conversions in Google, and then you check your Shopify store and you may see 10 conversions. So you're not getting 20, you're actually getting 10. They're all claiming credit for it."

• On Controlled Testing

  • (John, 04:05)
    "I've isolated the data to be as one to one as possible while being able to in a very short time period test swinging $40,000 in the PMAX and $40,000 into standard shopping..."

• On CPC Not Telling the Whole Story

  • (John, 14:52)
    "CPC did go up slightly. Yes, it did go up 14%. ...But it is not delivering any measurable results. Why? PMAX has display remarketing with the feedback and that's the PLAS. Those are 50 and 75 cent clicks. Have they made a difference in terms of conversion? No."

• PMAX’s Inability to Scale for Net-New Acquisition

  • (John, 23:44)
    "...The inability for performance Max to retain the cold approach from it to its prospecting is the downfall to its scaling to the point where we're missing $25,000 in three days and it would not scale up."

Timestamps for Core Segments

• [02:20] Attribution double-counting problem explained
• [04:05] Test methodology: $40,000 swing & campaign isolation
• [09:53] Primary result: 1.3% difference in top-line conversion
• [14:52] CPC/comparative efficiency breakdown
• [16:00] PMAX's performance reaffirmed (“not measurably better”)
• [17:28] Use case context: account selling supplements
• [18:48] Returning customers and PMAX's “better ROAS” myth explained
• [21:39] Why PMAX cannot scale: algorithmic limitation
• [23:44] Standard Shopping dramatically outscales PMAX at the same CPA

Actionable Takeaways

• If you want to scale new customer acquisition beyond ~$50k/mo, Standard Shopping remains the best option.
• PMAX is fine for maintaining performance at lower spend, but will plateau due to its reliance on retargeting and lack of incremental new customer reach.
• ROAS on PMAX is often inflated by existing-customer conversions.
• Rigorous data isolation (excluding branded and returning users) is essential for accurate channel assessment.

Final Thoughts & Tone

The hosts’ tone is candid and data-driven, occasionally self-deprecating and playfully skeptical of Google’s marketing narratives. Ralph and John emphasize the importance of iterative testing but also of ignoring hype in favor of business results that show up in actual sales—not just dashboards.

(John, 23:09):
"So what's better, Standard shopping and performance max for scaling to customer acquisition? Still Standard Shopping. Can performance max get there? No, it can get very close. But it has a built in fail point that it spends too much money on returning customers on the display channel. ...We've like isolated it. It's beautiful."

For more tactical walkthroughs and ongoing tests, listeners are invited to join the weekly Tier 11 Ad Lab show on YouTube or apply for direct help at Tier 11.

Resources:

• PerpetualTraffic.com
• Tier11.com/apply
• Tier11 YouTube/AdLab

Summary prepared for listeners who need the real-world data, with straight talk and takeaways—skip the ad platform hype and get actionable answers!