# The PMax audit checklist I run before quoting a single dollar

> Eleven things I check inside every Performance Max account before I'll talk pricing. Asset-group hygiene, audience-signal density, brand exclusion, search-term coverage, and the four feed mistakes that throttle the algorithm.

**By Murtaza Rangwala** · **Published:** May 04, 2026 · **Read time:** 9 min read · **Category:** Performance Max

Every prospect call starts the same way. They tell me Performance Max is "underperforming" or "going up and down" or "spending the budget but not converting." Before I quote a number, I open the account and run this list.

## 1. Conversion goal hierarchy

Open the account-level conversion settings before you do anything else. PMax bids against whichever conversions are marked Primary. If "Add to cart" is Primary alongside "Purchase," you're optimising toward carts.

## 2. Asset-group structure

One asset group per campaign is fine for a small catalogue. It's a problem the moment you have meaningfully different products or audiences.

!!!
The net of the audit: if an account fails 6+ of these eleven checks, the right move is rarely to "tweak" — it's to rebuild.

---

**Tags:** PMax, Audits, Feed, Audience signals

## About the author

Murtaza Rangwala is a senior independent Google Ads consultant. 8 years, 1,900+ campaigns shipped, $250M+ in client revenue generated. Independent practice capped at four concurrent clients.

- More posts: https://murtazarangwala.com/blog
- Book a 30-min call: https://calendly.com/murtaza_rangwala/30min
- Free Google Ads audit: https://murtazarangwala.com/#audit