Google Enhances Performance Max with Waze Ads and Channel Reporting

Google has introduced Waze ads to Performance Max campaigns for store goals in the United States and expanded channel performance reporting capabilities across all Performance Max campaigns, giving advertisers greater visibility and reach.

The update aims to help businesses capture on-the-go intent during customer journeys while providing clearer insights into campaign performance across different platforms, allowing for more strategic budget allocation and optimization.

New Waze Integration for Local Advertisers

Google's integration of Waze into Performance Max represents a significant expansion for advertisers focused on driving physical store traffic. The new feature allows ads to appear as Promoted Places within Waze navigation pins, targeting users who are actively traveling near business locations.

"Performance Max will use your existing assets and optimize toward Store Visits, Store Sales, or Local Actions such as Directions," Google stated in its announcement. This automation means advertisers won't need to create additional creative assets specifically for Waze placements.

The Waze integration functions as an extension of Google's Local Ads infrastructure, specifically designed to capture consumer intent during both last-minute trips and longer holiday journeys. This timing is particularly strategic as retailers prepare for the upcoming holiday shopping season.

For businesses with physical locations, this update offers a valuable opportunity to connect with consumers precisely when they're making travel decisions. The proximity-based targeting could significantly impact foot traffic by reaching potential customers who are already on the road and near store locations. This enhancement aligns perfectly with Google's comprehensive suite of business tools designed to help companies maximize their market presence.

How Waze Ads Work in Performance Max

When running Performance Max campaigns with store goals, Waze inventory automatically becomes available without requiring additional setup. The system leverages existing creative assets from the main campaign and optimizes them specifically for the Waze platform.

The ads appear as Promoted Places in navigation pins, providing high visibility to users who may be searching for relevant businesses or simply driving near a store location. This integration allows advertisers to:

• Reach consumers actively navigating near business locations
• Convert on-the-go intent into store visits
• Drive directions requests and in-store sales
• Capture last-minute shopping decisions

Business owners should monitor changes in direction requests, store visits, and offline sales metrics after Waze inventory becomes active in their campaigns to gauge effectiveness.

For optimal implementation, advertisers should ensure their business locations are accurately registered in Google Business Profile, as this information feeds directly into the Waze integration system. Additionally, setting appropriate location targeting parameters will help maximize the effectiveness of these ads.

Enhanced Performance Reporting Features

Alongside the Waze integration, Google is rolling out comprehensive channel performance reporting across all Performance Max campaigns. This reporting update addresses a long-standing concern among advertisers about limited visibility into which platforms their Performance Max ads appear on.

The new channel performance reporting provides granular insights into how campaigns perform across Google's various advertising surfaces. In the coming weeks, the reporting capabilities will expand further to include:

• Dedicated reporting for search partners
• Access to channel performance reports from manager accounts
• Bulk reporting and download options
• Segment results for deeper analysis

"Channel-level visibility makes it easier to evaluate how each surface contributes to outcomes, compare ROI across channels, and adjust budgets without guessing," according to Google's announcement.

For marketers managing multiple accounts, the upcoming manager account access feature will streamline cross-account reviews during peak seasons, making it easier to identify performance trends across entire client portfolios. Advertisers should integrate these insights with essential Google Analytics metrics to develop a comprehensive understanding of their marketing performance.

Practical Applications for Advertisers

The enhanced reporting provides several practical benefits for digital advertisers:

1. Better attribution understanding across Google's advertising ecosystem
2. More informed budget allocation based on channel performance
3. Ability to identify which channels drive the strongest ROI
4. Opportunity to optimize campaigns with greater precision

These insights allow marketers to move away from the "black box" perception of Performance Max by providing concrete data about where ads appear and how they perform on different platforms.

To maximize the value of these reporting features, advertisers should establish a regular cadence for reviewing channel performance data and adjusting campaign strategies accordingly. Creating customized reporting templates that highlight key performance indicators across channels will further streamline this process.

Future Expansions Planned

Google has outlined plans to expand these features in 2026. The Waze inventory integration is expected to roll out beyond the United States next year, potentially opening opportunities for international advertisers with local store goals.

For reporting capabilities, advertisers should watch for the upcoming search partner breakdown feature, which will provide visibility into performance on sites beyond Google's owned properties.

The manager account (MCC) access feature will be particularly valuable for agencies and businesses managing multiple accounts, as it will enable efficient cross-account analysis without requiring individual account access for reporting.

How Advertisers Can Leverage These Changes

To make the most of these new features, advertisers should consider the following approaches:

• For businesses with physical locations, ensure store goals are properly configured in Performance Max campaigns to leverage Waze inventory
• Monitor direction requests and store visit metrics to measure the impact of Waze placements
• Use the new channel performance reporting to identify which platforms deliver the strongest returns
• Adjust budget allocations based on channel-specific performance data
• Prepare for cross-account analysis capabilities by establishing baseline metrics

These updates reflect Google's continued evolution of Performance Max toward greater transparency while expanding its reach across the company's advertising ecosystem.

Impact on Local Marketing Strategies

The Waze integration creates new opportunities for location-based marketing strategies. Similar to how GPS devices revolutionized navigation in the early 2000s, Waze's social navigation approach now becomes a marketing channel for businesses.

For local businesses, this integration means potential customers can discover their locations precisely when they're most likely to make an immediate visit. Restaurant owners, retailers, and service businesses should pay particular attention to this feature as it directly targets consumers with high immediate purchase intent.

The updates to Performance Max continue Google's trend of automation-focused advertising solutions that reduce the need for manual optimization while expanding reach across multiple platforms. By providing more transparent reporting alongside these expanded capabilities, Google addresses advertiser concerns while further consolidating its advertising ecosystem. For businesses also selling on e-commerce platforms, these enhancements can complement effective Amazon ads management strategies to create a cohesive multi-platform advertising approach.

Implementation considerations for advertisers: When adopting these new Waze ad features, businesses should consider seasonal traffic patterns and adjust their campaigns accordingly. For instance, retailers might increase Waze ad investment during holiday shopping periods, while service businesses could focus on weekday commuting hours. Additionally, according to Google's own research on navigation app usage, approximately 66% of smartphone users consult navigation apps before visiting a new business location, making this integration particularly valuable for capturing high-intent customers.