What is the difference between Performance Max and Google Shopping, and which does UPLIFY manage?

UPLIFY is a Ukraine-based, remote-first AI-driven performance marketing agency, founded 2019. We manage Google Shopping + Performance Max for global B2B e-commerce — Merchant Center setup, feed optimization, tROAS bidding, weekly iterations. Google Partner since 2021. ROAS up to 24× on top cases. Three packages: $600 / $800 / $1,500 per month.

Google AdsGoogle ShoppingPerformance MaxPMaxMerchant CenterGA4feedROASHoroshop
← Home · Services · Google Shopping · PMax
ADVERTISING + AI ASSISTANTS CLIENT CABINET 24/7 ● GOOGLE PARTNER SINCE 2021

Google Shopping and
PMax — ads with AI assistants
and full control.

UPLIFY is a Ukraine-based, remote-first AI-driven performance marketing agency, founded 2019. We don't just "run campaigns" — we build a sales system: AI diagnoses your campaigns daily, audits the catalog, explains KPI dips in plain English. You see everything in real time in your own cabinet. No surprises in the end-of-month report.

2032%
return on ad spend · sports nutrition case
15+
automatic daily checks before 09:00 UTC
6
data sources + finance module in one cabinet
300+
campaigns launched · 7 years experience
/ tl;dr

Google Shopping in 6 lines.

google-shopping.json ● live
[01]service::Google Shopping + Performance Max for e-commerce · Merchant Center + GA4 + PMax QA · drill-down in the cabinet
[02]pricing::$600 / $800 / $1,500 per month · no commission on ad budget · Omni = Meta + Google in one cabinet
[03]unique::PMax QA — automatic daily checks: tracking · asset completeness · audience signals · catch-all detection
[04]ai::AI catalog analyst · RCA explanations of dips · AI Action Plan · Asset Quality Evaluator · Merchant fix drafts
[05]proof::ROAS 2032% sports nutrition · ROAS 12.25× CCTV (Horoshop) · ROAS 7.26× furniture, 26 months
[06]team::Google Partner since 2021 · 50+ stores launched · 300+ campaigns · 7 years experience · Horoshop Expert Partner
$_
/ 01 · what's different

we don't run ads —
we build a system.

7 ad channels under one KPI · proprietary system · 4 AI assistants with defined roles · key changes only after your approval. Here's how that differs from a typical agency.

What we compare
Typical agency
UPLIFY
Ad channels
1–2 channels in silos (PPC and SMM are different teams)
7 channels under one KPI — a single team
Reporting
PDF once a month or a Looker Studio dashboard
Personal cabinet with real-time data
AI in operations
ChatGPT for copywriting — that's it
PMax AI diagnostics, RCA explanations, Action Plan, Asset Quality, Merchant fix drafts
Account control
"We'll do the work, you'll see results at month-end"
Client cabinet 24/7 · key changes only after your approval
Catalog monitoring
Once a week by hand, if at all
AI checks products daily and flags disapprovals
Predictability
"Spend the budget, then we'll see"
KPI from month one · 300+ launches · 7 years of experience
Commission on ad spend
Often 10–20% of budget — interest can shift toward growing spend
Fixed price or hybrid rate — no conflict of interest
/ 02 · how we work with your account

three things we do differently.

01
SYSTEM

Our system — 6 data sources + finance

Not Google Sheets. Not Looker Studio. A proprietary platform that pulls daily data from Google Ads, GA4, Merchant Center, Search Console, Microsoft Clarity, Meta Ads + a finance module. 15+ automated syncs between 05:00 and 09:00 UTC.

  • 15+ daily syncs and checks before 09:00 UTC
  • Alerts with RCA explanations — not just "something broke", but the cause
  • Real-time data (not a Friday PDF)
  • Token health checks, Google Ads recommendations, catalog statuses
02
CABINET

Client cabinet — 7 sections with your data

One login, one platform for you. You don't depend on a manager to know your ROAS — you see everything yourself, any time of day or night. Access level depends on the package.

  • Dashboard: Google Ads KPIs, charts, top campaigns
  • Site analytics (GA4) · Search Console · Merchant
  • Behavior (Clarity) · Speed (Web Vitals) — in "Omni"
  • Reports: weekly and monthly with AI commentary
03
AI FEATURES

AI in real work · not decorative

Not "ChatGPT for copy". AI is wired to specific tasks tied to KPIs: PMax checks, dip explanations, action-plan drafts, ready-to-send client text. All proposals go through a manager or you for approval.

  • PMax QA: tracking · asset completeness · audience signals · catch-all detection
  • RCA: when ROAS jumps, you see "cause A in campaign B from date C"
  • Action Plan: AI drafts steps with priorities
  • Asset Quality Evaluator: length, duplicates, semantic coverage
/ 02.5 · client cabinet

your Google Ads — in your own cabinet, not in a PDF.

You see budget, ACoS, conversions and trends in real time. No waiting for the end-of-month report, no emails to a manager — everything under one login, in business language.

os.uplify.agency / client ● live
UPLIFY client cabinet — project dashboard: budget, order amount, ACoS, conversions, period trend
01 · KPI

Budget, ACoS, conversions — instantly

How much was spent, how much came back, where ROAS is dropping — on the first screen. No more switching between Google Ads, Merchant, and GA4.

02 · trend

Trend across periods — not snapshots

Spend, orders and conversions over 7 / 14 / 30 / 90 days. Seasonality, dips, and the effect of every change are visible.

03 · 6 sources

GA4 · Merchant · GSC · Clarity · Web Vitals

Not just Google Ads. Site analytics, Merchant product status, Clarity behavior data, and page speed — in the same tabs.

04 · attention

Issues bubble up to the top

The system surfaces "ACoS +30%", "50 products disapproved", "rage clicks at checkout". You don't dig — it's already on the dashboard.

/ 03 · packages

three packages by stage — not by size.

Not "small / medium / large store". What stage you're in right now: not yet launched, burning budget without a system, or already have economics and ready to scale. That defines the package — not revenue, not margin, not SKU count.

most popular · 80% of clients
02 · GROWTH

Growth

Shopping + PMax with AI control and strategy

$800/mo
baseline rate · custom rate for larger scope of work
situationAds are running, but ROAS is "jumping" or campaign structure is chaotic
budget$1,200 — $4,800/mo on ads
current resultsROAS between 3× and 8×, or unstable

The default package for online stores. We rebuild ads around your margin, connect search-query monitoring (Search Console — analytics, not SEO services) and site analytics (GA4), and run daily automated PMax diagnostics. You see everything in the cabinet in real time. A strategy session every 2 weeks — not "monthly PDF".

choose Growth →
AI features in this package (above Starter)
  • Daily AI PMax diagnostics: tracking, asset groups, audience signals, catch-all detection
  • AI explains alerts (RCA): cause of dip + campaign + change date
  • AI Action Plan drafts with prioritization
  • AI Merchant Center recommendations — for each disapproved product
  • Asset Quality Evaluator — title/description scoring
What's included (above Starter)
  • Multiple campaigns: Shopping + Performance Max
  • Account rebuild around your margin and categories
  • Catalog upgrade: GTIN, brands, custom labels
  • Customer segments for retargeting (Customer Match)
  • Site analytics (GA4) + Search Console in cabinet
  • Morning Telegram digest at 09:00 with AI commentary
  • Bi-weekly strategy sessions
  • Monthly AI report with action plan
/ 05 · not sure which package

3 questions — we'll tell you.

01

Is your Google Ads account active right now?

No / < 3 monthsStarter
Yes → go to question 02
02

Your stable ROAS?

< 3× / unknownStarter (data + reset)
3–8× or unstableGrowth
> 8× steady → go to question 03
03

Planning Meta Ads alongside Google?

Yes, want Meta + Google togetherOmni
Just Google for nowGrowth
Still unsure? Order a free AI audit — we'll recommend a package based on your account's actual state.
/ 06 · honest about boundaries

what's NOT included in the packages.

We don't try to bundle everything. Here are four things we deliberately don't include — and why.

Ad budget

You pay Google directly. We don't take commission on the ad budget — that's an honest model with no conflict of interest where the agency wins by "burning" more.

Creative production

Banners and simple static creatives we produce quickly via AI tools — saves time on routine. AI copywriter generates title and description variants for text campaigns. Complex production (video shoots, photography, custom design) — separate service.

Site redesign

We fix the feed and landing content within scope. Full UX redesign — separate service, billed additionally (we can arrange via our Horoshop partners or in-house).

Store development

Not included in Shopping packages. Separate service — Horoshop dev (Expert Partner · 4+ years).

/ 06.5 · where ads don't work miracles

what affects results — beyond settings.

Ads are an amplifier. If the business has a weak spot at the core, neither PMax nor Meta will fix it on their own. Honest about the tool's limits and what determines speed-to-KPI.

learning speed

What determines how fast the algorithm hits KPI

The learning phase and time-to-target ROAS depend on more than our work:

  • Niche — competition, seasonality, demand saturation
  • Site quality — speed, UX, landing page conversion rate
  • Offer and assortment — how clear the value prop and choice are
  • Account history — prior data, events, audiences
  • Feed and Merchant Center quality — without a clean feed, PMax "eats" budget
PMax / Shopping weak

Performance Max won't deliver the expected result if

  • the site is slow or has low conversion
  • very few products or narrow assortment (<30 SKUs)
  • not enough events to learn from — tags / GA4 not configured
  • low-quality feed or Merchant Center in a warning state
  • no clear price advantage vs marketplaces
Meta Ads weak

Meta Ads underperform if

  • landing or site is raw, low engagement
  • offer is unclear — hard to articulate "what for whom"
  • too narrow or complex niche without impulse demand
  • low overall demand in region / segment
  • no Pixel + CAPI, analytics not ready for scale
  • long decision cycle without warm flow (typical for B2B)
/ 06.6 · honest about the engagement

who we won't fit.

We work in long-term partnership with shared access to the data. If the expectation is different — better to say so up front so no one is surprised later.

expectations

If you want "just a cheap launch"

If the goal is the lowest price for "set up the ads" rather than building a sales system — we won't fit. Our work pays off when the target is long-term ROAS, not a one-time checkbox.

access

Without full account access

We need Google Ads, Meta Business, GA4, Merchant Center, and the site or GTM. Without that we can't run a real audit, attribute results, or make grounded recommendations. If you can't share access — we can't take the project.

readiness

If you're not ready to touch site, feed, or analytics

Ads are only part of the system. If the site has obvious conversion issues, the Merchant Center feed is broken, or tracking is missing — we'll say so and ask to fix it. If that's not on the table — ads will run at 30–50% of what's possible.

/ 07 · methodology

data → arch → AI-optim.

01
DATA · FOUNDATION

Data foundation

Before spending — we make sure the algorithm learns on the truth.

  • GA4 Ecommerce events: purchase + value (transaction ID validation)
  • Merchant Center: feed, attributes, missing category/GTIN
  • Conversion attribution alignment: GA4 ↔ Google Ads ↔ CRM
02
STRUCTURE

Account architecture

We split campaigns by category, margin, priority. AI catalog analyst checks structure.

  • Segmentation: category × price tier × margin
  • Asset groups with hints for Google AI + our text variants
  • Every change: AI proposes → manager approves
03
OPTIMIZATION

Continuous optimization

Daily — AI checks. Weekly — manual strategy. Monthly — growth plan.

  • Daily: AI checks the catalog and catches disapprovals
  • Weekly: manual creative re-evaluation, bidding-strategy tests
  • Monthly: results review + plan for the next period
/ 09 · glossary

terminology dictionary.

Definitions of the main terms used on this page. If something is unfamiliar — look here.

ROAS
Return on Ad Spend. ROAS 5× means "every $1 of ads returns $5 of revenue". The core profitability metric.
CPA
Cost per Acquisition — the cost of a single order. CPA $10 means "each order cost $10 of ad budget".
ACoS
Advertising Cost of Sale — share of revenue spent on ads. ACoS 10% means: "of every $100 in revenue, $10 went to ads". Inverse of ROAS as a percentage.
Merchant Center
Google's platform where the product catalog for Shopping ads is stored. Without Merchant Center, Shopping campaigns don't run.
PMax
Performance Max — a Google campaign type where one campaign serves on all surfaces (Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Gmail, Discovery) with AI optimization.
tROAS
target Return on Ad Spend — a Google Ads bidding strategy where you set a target ROAS and the algorithm optimizes serving to hit it.
GA4
Google Analytics 4 — analytics platform for tracking user behavior. Source of truth for conversion value.
Catch-all adset
A broad audience that absorbs most of the budget at below-average ROAS — a typical issue in Advantage+ Shopping.
/ 08 · frequently asked questions

AI-performance in detail.

01 How is your approach different from a typical agency?

Three things. (1) Instead of monthly PDF reports — your own cabinet with real-time data (6 sources + finance). (2) AI on specific tasks: PMax diagnostics, dip explanations (RCA), action-plan drafts, ready-to-send client text — not "ChatGPT for copywriting". (3) You see ROAS at any moment — no waiting for Friday or month-end.

02 What exactly does AI do every day?

Four core functions. (1) PMax QA — checks tracking (UTM/final URL suffix), asset-group completeness, presence of audience signals, detects "catch-all" groups absorbing budget. (2) Merchant check — finds disapproved products and proposes feed fixes. (3) RCA — when KPI drops, explains the cause: which campaign, since when, what changed. (4) Asset Quality — scores titles and descriptions on length, duplicates, semantic coverage. All AI suggestions go to a manager or you for approval first.

03 Do you take a percentage of the ad budget?

"Starter" — fixed price $600/mo, no percentage. "Growth" and "Omni" — hybrid: we take the greater of two — fixed rate OR percentage of your budget. That's fair: at small volumes you pay the minimum; at large ones we don't "save" on work. The classical "10–20% of all budget" model structurally ties agency revenue to growing your spend — which creates a conflict of interest. We chose a different model.

04 Why are prices higher than market ($150–$250/mo at some agencies)?

$150–$250/mo is the price for "set up the account + manual bid tweaks", at a freelancer level. Our $600/mo includes access to the system (6 data sources in one cabinet), AI features in real work (PMax QA, RCA, Action Plan), automatic daily checks, Telegram alerts. It's a performance system, not "set and forget".

05 How long does package launch take?

"Starter" — 5–10 business days (foundation from scratch, setup included in month one). "Growth" — 7–14 days (campaign rebuild + several active). "Omni" — 14–21 days (connecting all 6 data sources, Meta Ads to dashboard, finance module).

06 What happens to the account if we end the engagement?

It's all yours: Google Ads, Merchant Center, GA4 analytics, product catalog, dashboards, campaign history, audience lists. We hand over access and documentation reflecting the current state. Your client cabinet works in read-only mode for another 90 days — so you can export reports. No locks or hidden dependencies on us.

07 How does the "AI proposes — human approves" system work?

A simple example: AI sees that one creative has returned only 0.8× over 14 days — it proposes pausing it. The manager gets a notification. They approve, edit, or reject. The change is executed and stored in history — within 7 days you can roll back any time. No autonomous AI actions without a human.

08 Can I run PMax (not just Shopping) in Starter?

Yes. Starter is 1 campaign of choice. For e-com without existing data we usually recommend starting with Shopping (easier for the algorithm to learn), but PMax is a valid choice for niches with limited search volume.

09 What's the minimum ad budget?

Technical minimum — $3–$4/day, but it's hard to train the algorithm at that volume. Comfortable corridor — $8–$20/day. For fast PMax learning — $25+/day. Budget is paid directly to Google, not to us.

10 Do you integrate with external CRMs (SalesDrive / Bitrix / HubSpot)?

The cabinet doesn't have direct external CRM integrations right now. We work with conversion value via Google Ads Enhanced Conversions + GA4 Ecommerce. If deep CRM integration is critical — we discuss it individually under enterprise terms.

11 How long until the first sales?

Technical launch: 5–10 days. First stable purchases: 7–14 days. Reaching target ROAS/ACoS: 3–4 weeks of algorithm learning. The first 60 days are a reset phase; strategic conclusions come on a 60–90 day horizon.

12 What if ROAS doesn't grow in the first month?

Growth/Omni packages have a built-in pause-restart: weak campaigns are paused without penalty, budget is reallocated. The first 30 days are a reset phase (especially after a rebuild). Objective conclusions come at 60 days. If by day 90 ROAS doesn't reach the KPIs we agreed at the start — we add an extra month of management at no cost + a root-cause audit. Guarantee applies within previously agreed, realistic KPIs — not arbitrary expectations outside the contract.

13 Do you work with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, custom platforms?

Yes. We work with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Horoshop, Prom, custom-built stores, and headless commerce setups. The Merchant Center feed and GA4 events are platform-agnostic. Setup time depends on platform — Shopify and Horoshop are fastest (built-in Merchant integrations); custom builds take longer.

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