Google Display Ads and Performance Max for Shopify
Your Ads Should Be Working While Your Customers Are Browsing
Most Shopify brands focus on search and leave a lot of revenue sitting on the table. Display and Performance Max campaigns put your brand in front of people while they are browsing, watching, and researching, before they even know to search for you.
We run display and Performance Max campaigns for Shopify brands across New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. We will tell you which campaign type is right for your store before we spend a dollar of your budget.
Free. 30 minutes. No obligation.
The Problem Is Usually the Setup, Not the Channel
Display advertising has a reputation for low click-through rates and wasted budget. That reputation is earned, but the channel is not broken. The setup is.
The most common problems we see:
- Ads running to cold audiences with no retargeting layer underneath
- Creative that blends into the page instead of stopping the scroll
- No message match between the ad and the landing page it sends traffic to
- Campaigns set up once and left to run with no ongoing optimisation
- Choosing display when Performance Max would deliver a better return, or the other way around
Before we run a single impression, we look at what your store actually needs. Sometimes that is display. Sometimes it is Performance Max. Often it is both, structured correctly. The audit is where that conversation starts.
Display Ads, Performance Max, or Both?
Google Display campaigns put your visual ads on specific sites, apps, and placements across the Google Display Network. You control the targeting: audiences, topics, placements, and demographics. It suits brands that want precise control over where their ads appear and who sees them.
Performance Max is Google’s AI-driven campaign type. It serves ads across Search, Display, Shopping, YouTube, Gmail, and Maps from a single campaign. It performs best when it has strong creative assets, a clear conversion objective, and enough data for the algorithm to optimise against.
For most Shopify stores, the answer is not one or the other. It is knowing how to use both in the right combination for your budget, your product, and your stage of growth. That is the conversation we have before recommending anything.
Free. 30 minutes. No obligation.
Great Display Ads Without the Ongoing Creative Bill
Display campaigns live or die on creative. Weak images get ignored. Strong images stop the scroll and drive clicks. The challenge is that producing ad creative consistently is expensive and slow.
That is why we offer the Ad Content Factory™: a one-time setup that gives you a complete Canva brand kit and a library of reusable ad templates built around proven formats.
Once it is set up, your team can produce new creative in minutes without briefing a designer every time. You control the output. We set up the system. It means you spend more of your budget on the campaigns themselves, and less on producing the assets.
For display campaigns that need regular creative refreshes to avoid ad fatigue, this matters more than most brands realise.
Best for: Shopify brands who want to keep creative production in-house without sacrificing quality or consistency.
Nail the Messaging Before You Run a Single Ad
The most expensive mistake in display advertising is running creative that does not have a clear hook, a consistent message, or a reason for the viewer to act.
Before we build any display campaign, we map the messaging strategy: who we are targeting, what they care about, what the hook is, and how the ad, the landing page, and the offer all connect.
For brands preparing a product launch, seasonal push, or promotional campaign, our Promotion Success Launchpad™ covers this in full. It is a focused planning project that maps the campaign strategy, develops the copy, and structures the creative direction so everything is ready to perform from day one.
The alternative is launching on gut feel and optimising after the budget has already gone. We would rather get it right upfront.
Display Is One Part of a Bigger System
Display and Performance Max campaigns work best when they sit inside a broader growth system. Search, shopping, retargeting, and display all work together. We manage all of it, or help you manage it yourself.
- Google Ads Management, search, shopping, display, and Performance Max managed as a complete system, built around your margins and growth targets
- Google Ads Training, learn to manage your own campaigns with hands-on guidance covering structure, targeting, creative, and optimisation
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Google Display Ads?
Google Display Ads are visual ads served across Google’s Display Network, which includes millions of websites, apps, and Google-owned platforms including Gmail and YouTube. They are used for brand awareness, retargeting, and reaching new audiences while they are browsing rather than actively searching.
What is Performance Max and how is it different from display?
Performance Max is a Google campaign type that serves ads across all of Google’s channels from one campaign: Search, Display, Shopping, YouTube, Gmail, and Maps. Google’s AI decides where to show your ads based on your goals and creative assets. Display campaigns give you more control over placements and targeting. The right choice depends on your store’s stage, budget, and objective. We recommend which one to use after the audit.
Do I need to provide my own creative?
You can bring your own ads, or we can help you build a creative system through our Ad Content Factory™ setup. This gives you the Canva templates and brand kit to produce display creative yourself, quickly and consistently, without briefing a designer every time.
How does display advertising help a Shopify store?
Display campaigns are most effective for retargeting people who have already visited your store, reaching new audiences who match your customer profile, and staying visible during longer consideration cycles for higher-ticket products. They work alongside search and shopping campaigns, not instead of them.
What is the Business Scalability Audit?
It is a free 30-minute call where we ask the right questions to find out where your biggest problem is. We look at your store, your campaigns, and your goals, then tell you what we would fix first and what that looks like in practice. It is the starting point for working together.
Listen up: here's the playbook we use to grow Shopify stores.
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This isn't theory. This is what's working for us RIGHT NOW to grow eCommerce brands. And today, we're handing you the roadmap we use to unlock scalable growth.
Not Sure If Display Ads Are Right for Your Store?
Not every Shopify brand needs display campaigns. Some need Performance Max. Some need both. A Business Scalability Audit is how we work out which is worth your budget. Thirty minutes. We ask the right questions. You get a clear answer on what to do next.
Book a Business Scalability Audit Or learn more about our google ads management and training services
Free. 30 minutes. No obligation.