By Vicky Sidler | Published 2 January 2026 at 12:00 GMT+2

There is something oddly satisfying about watching two departments who have spent years ignoring each other suddenly realize they need to work together or die. SEO teams and paid advertising teams have historically operated like distant relatives at a wedding. Polite. Separate tables. Zero actual conversation.

Then Google released Performance Max and AI Max, and suddenly everyone needed to become friends very quickly.

According to NP Digital's VP of SEO Nikki Lam, the problem is simple. Your website is no longer just the place people land after clicking an ad. It is now the raw material Google's AI uses to build the ad itself. If your site is a disaster, your ads will be disasters too. And you will pay for every single one of them.

TL;DR:

• Google PMax and AI Max create ads by scraping your website content

• Bad website structure equals bad ads and wasted budget

• Technical fixes like page speed directly improve ad conversion rates

• Your SEO team can save your paid team thousands by optimizing the right things

• Collaboration between SEO and paid ads is no longer optional

👉 Need help getting your message right? Download the 5-Minute Marketing Fix.

Table of Contents:

What do Performance Max and AI Max actually do?

Performance Max runs AI-driven campaigns across Search, YouTube, Display, Gmail, and Maps. One campaign. The AI decides everything.

AI Max works inside standard Search campaigns and lets Google rewrite your ads and broaden your keyword matching. You keep your keywords, but the AI gets creative.

Both systems crawl your website, read your content, and check your images and page speed, then use all of that to generate ads and choose landing pages. A good website equals good ads. A messy website equals expensive nonsense nobody clicks.

The issue is not the AI. The issue is what you are feeding it.

The 8 Step Checklist That Stops Wasting Money:

Here is how to optimize your website so Google's AI creates ads that actually work.

Step 1: Fix Your Page Speed.

If your page takes longer than two seconds to load, people leave. When they leave, your conversion rate drops. When conversion rates drop, Google's Smart Bidding algorithm makes bad decisions with your money.

The mistake: Fixing only the obvious technical problems like broken links, then stopping.

What to do instead: Obsess over Core Web Vitals. Optimize for mobile. Aim for load times under two seconds using aggressive caching and optimization services.

Why it matters: A fast landing page improves conversion rates, which is the most important signal for Google's bidding algorithm. Better conversions mean better ad performance and lower costs.

Step 2: Upload Quality Images and Videos.

Performance Max runs ads on YouTube and Display. Without quality visuals, it auto-generates terrible videos that look like a school project finished ten minutes before the deadline.

The mistake: Using generic stock photos or skipping video entirely.

What to do instead: Upload high-resolution images in multiple aspect ratios and short vertical videos between 15 to 30 seconds.

Why it matters: Without quality visuals, your ads cannot run properly on YouTube or Display. You are cutting off entire channels because you did not upload a video.

Step 3: Enrich Your Product Feed.

If you sell physical products, your Merchant Center feed is the most important data Performance Max uses. Without it, Shopping Ads do not work.

The mistake: Writing product descriptions only for humans visiting your website.

What to do instead: Treat your product feed as a separate project. Add brand, color, size, material, GTIN, MPN, and custom labels. Fill out every field.

Why it matters: A rich feed dramatically improves ad relevance and eligibility. You show up for more searches with far more accurate ads.

Step 4: Write Copy the AI Can Use.

Your website copy is now ad copy. The AI pulls headlines and descriptions directly from your pages. If your site says "leading provider of innovative solutions," the AI generates equally vague ads nobody clicks.

The mistake: Writing title tags and headings only to rank in search engines.

What to do instead: Make your unique selling points obvious. Put clear benefits, pricing, and compelling reasons to choose you right at the top. Make it scannable and persuasive.

Why it matters: Good source material equals good ads. The AI rewrites ads in real time based on what people search for. Strong website copy gives it strong material to adapt.

Step 5: Add Structured Data.

Structured data, or schema markup, tells Google exactly what is on your page in a language machines understand. When you add it, your ads can show star ratings, prices, and direct answers to questions.

The mistake: Ignoring schema entirely or adding only basic site-wide markup.

What to do instead: Add specific schema to every key page. Product schema. Service schema. FAQ schema. Review schema.

Why it matters: The AI uses structured data to generate richer ad extensions like sitelinks, star ratings, and pricing. Richer ads get more clicks.

Step 6: Build Content Hubs, Not a Thousand Tiny Pages.

Google's AI does not need you to spell out every possible search term anymore. It needs one authoritative, comprehensive page that covers a topic in depth.

The mistake: Creating dozens of thin pages targeting hyper-specific long-tail keywords.

What to do instead: Build content pillars. One deep page for each core topic with clear sections, subheadings, and a table of contents. Cover everything in one place.

Why it matters: When the AI chooses landing pages, it needs to confidently pick the single best page for a search. If your site has 50 similar pages, the AI gets confused and picks poorly.

Step 7: Look Like Someone People Should Trust.

If your website looks thrown together, people will not convert. Add detailed author bios, credentials, customer reviews, testimonials, and easy-to-find contact information.

The mistake: Chasing backlinks and ignoring everything else.

What to do instead: Create robust About pages that explain who you are and why people should listen to you.

Why it matters: Trust signals improve conversions. Higher conversions improve how the AI bids. AI models also prioritize content from authoritative sources.

Step 8: Actually Talk to Each Other.

SEO teams and paid advertising teams need to meet monthly. Review PMax and AI Max search term reports together. Look at which landing pages perform well. Identify content gaps. Share insights.

The mistake: SEO teams focus only on organic rankings and never look at paid campaign data.

What to do instead: Collaborate regularly so the paid team can tell SEO which search queries are converting, and SEO can identify which search terms are wasting money.

Why it matters: When both teams work together, the entire marketing operation gets smarter, faster, and cheaper.

The Real Lesson Here:

The future of advertising is not about writing better ads. It is about building better websites. Google's AI is going to keep getting more control over how ads are created and where they send traffic. The only way to stay in control is to make sure your website is so well optimized that the AI has no choice but to create good ads.

This is the rare situation where doing good SEO work directly improves paid advertising performance. Every page you speed up, every schema tag you add, and every piece of clear copy you write makes your ads more effective and your budget go further.

Clarity in your messaging makes everything easier. If you want support getting your message simple and sharp so clients understand you instantly, download my free 5-Minute Marketing Fix and get one clear sentence that describes what your business does and why it matters.

Because when your message is clear, the AI has something useful to work with. And so do your customers.

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Related Articles:

1. OpenAI is losing $7.77 for every $1 it earns. Here's what small business owners should know

This checklist explains how to feed Google's AI, but this article explains the economic reality behind why platforms like Google are aggressively pushing AI automation in the first place.

2. Content marketing drives 3x more leads and slashes CAC. Here's how small businesses can turn content into a revenue machine

Step 6 argues that deep, authoritative content helps the AI pick the right landing pages. This post provides the financial proof that the work required to optimize for PMax also lowers your Customer Acquisition Cost organically.

3. Learn how to create content for every stage of the customer journey using the Marketing Hourglass framework

The checklist warns against creating a thousand tiny pages and suggests Content Hubs instead. This article gives you the actual framework to structure those hubs and map content to user intent.

4. Your logo isn't your brand. Learn how to define your voice so your business sounds consistent

Step 4 explains that vague website copy creates vague ads. This post solves that problem by teaching you how to define the distinct voice Google's AI needs to generate compelling, human-sounding headlines.

5. Most small businesses waste time on the wrong audience. An Ideal Client Profile fixes that

PMax uses AI to find customers, but it relies on Audience Signals you provide to start. If you haven't defined your Ideal Client Profile, you cannot give PMax the correct starting data.

Frequently Asked Questions About SEO and Google PMax Campaigns

1. What is the difference between Google Performance Max and AI Max?

Performance Max is a single AI-driven campaign that runs across all Google surfaces like Search, YouTube, Display, Gmail, and Maps. AI Max is an opt-in feature inside standard Search campaigns that lets Google rewrite your ads and broaden keyword matching while you retain your keyword structure.

2. Why does my website matter for Google ad performance?

Google's AI uses your website as the source material to create ads, choose landing pages, and determine relevance. If your website has poor content, slow load times, or unclear messaging, the AI generates low-quality ads that waste your budget.

3. How does page speed affect my ad campaigns?

Page speed directly impacts conversion rates. If your page takes longer than two seconds to load, visitors leave before converting. When conversion rates drop, Google's Smart Bidding algorithm makes poor decisions with your budget, driving up costs.

4. Do I really need to add videos for Performance Max?

Yes. Without quality videos, Google will auto-generate low-quality videos for YouTube and Display placements. These automated videos look unprofessional and limit your campaign reach. Upload short vertical videos between 15 to 30 seconds for best results.

5. What is structured data and why does it matter for ads?

Structured data, or schema markup, is code that tells Google exactly what is on your page in machine-readable language. It allows your ads to show enhanced features like star ratings, prices, and sitelinks, which significantly improve click-through rates.

6. Should I create separate pages for every keyword variation?

No. Google's AI is smart enough to understand intent without needing separate pages for every keyword. Instead, build comprehensive content hubs that cover entire topics in depth with clear sections and subheadings. One authoritative page beats ten thin pages.

7. What is a product feed and do I need one?

A product feed in Google Merchant Center is essential if you sell physical products. It contains detailed information about your products including brand, color, size, GTIN, and MPN. Without a rich, accurate feed, Shopping Ads will not work properly in Performance Max campaigns.

8. How often should SEO and paid advertising teams meet?

At least monthly. Regular collaboration allows paid teams to share which search queries are converting so SEO can build better landing pages, and SEO can identify irrelevant search terms that are wasting budget so paid teams can exclude them.

9. Can I still control where my ads send people with AI Max?

Yes. While Final URL Expansion allows the AI to choose landing pages automatically, you can limit which pages are eligible for AI Max campaigns. Most advertisers prefer to specify landing pages designed for conversions rather than giving the AI complete control.

10. What is the biggest mistake businesses make with PMax campaigns?

The biggest mistake is treating PMax like a traditional ad campaign and only adjusting budgets and bids. The most significant performance improvements come from optimizing your website so the AI has quality content, fast pages, and clear messaging to work with.