google-ads-pmax-scaling

name	google-ads-pmax-scaling
description	Use when scaling Google Ads Performance Max campaigns: budget scaling rules, pause triggers, location/audience/asset expansion. Loads PMax evaluation first.

Google Ads PMax — Scaling & Expansion

Rules for scaling PMax campaigns that have passed evaluation. Only load after confirming profitability via pmax-evaluation.

Scaling Prerequisites

ALL must be true before scaling:

• Campaign profitable for 14–30 consecutive days
• ROAS ≥ target (default 300% if not specified)
• CPA ≤ target
• Performance trends stable or improving WoW

---

Budget Scaling

Increase daily budget by 20–50% every 14–30 days.

Scenario	Action
Profitable 14+ days, trends stable	Increase 20–50%
Post-scaling CPA > 1.2× target	PAUSE scaling, optimize assets/negatives, reassess after 30 days
Post-scaling ROAS < 0.8× target	PAUSE scaling, optimize, reassess after 30 days
Consistently profitable 90+ days	Can exceed 2–3× initial budget cap

Hard cap: Do not exceed 2–3× initial monthly budget until 90+ days of consistent profitability.

Tool: google_ads_update_entity with entity_type: "campaign_budget", updates: { amount_micros: <new_amount> }.

---

Location Expansion

• Only after core locations profitable for 30+ days
• Expand to similar/adjacent markets
• Create separate asset groups for new locations if targeting differs
• Monitor new locations independently for 30 days before further expansion

---

Audience Expansion

• Start with Observation mode for new audience signals
• Monitor performance for 14+ days
• Switch to Targeting mode only if performance holds
• Do NOT force audience preferences without data

---

Asset Expansion

Based on BEST-performing assets from evaluation:

Asset Type	Expansion Rule
Images	Add 5–10 total, similar style to BEST. Different angles/contexts.
Headlines	Create variations of BEST. Same theme, different wording. Test different CTAs.
Descriptions	Variations of BEST. Same value props, different framing.
Videos	Test 30-second formats if shorter videos are BEST.
New asset groups	Create for high-performing audience segments identified in Insights. Use targeted messaging.

---

Prohibitions

• Never scale before 14 days of profitability
• Never increase budget > 50% in one step
• Never scale beyond 2–3× initial budget before 90 days profitable
• Never continue scaling if CPA > 1.2× target OR ROAS < 0.8× target
• Never remove BEST or GOOD performing assets
• Never force device/location exclusions without checking for technical issues first