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You can create a lead-generation Google Ads Performance Max campaign through a guided dashboard if you have a website hosted with the service and a Google Ads account connected to the dashboard. The flow collects the landing page, conversion page, locations, ad assets and daily budget, then lets you review and launch the campaign. It is a simplified setup for lead generation, not the full set of controls available in Google Ads.

What you need before creating the campaign

  • A Google Ads account connected in the dashboard.
  • A website hosted with the service. The documented integration supports websites created with it.
  • A meaningful conversion destination, such as a thank-you page shown after someone submits a lead form.
  • Google Ads billing set up. The service says advertising spend is billed directly through Google Ads, and incomplete billing must be finished before the campaign can run.

There are two related but distinct conversion setup details. The form asks for a conversion page path; Google’s broader Performance Max guidance calls for an active, verified primary conversion goal in the account. A page address alone is not necessarily the same as a configured conversion action. Choose a destination or event that represents an actual lead, and make sure the corresponding conversion measurement is configured in Google Ads. See Google’s Performance Max setup guidance.

How do I create a Performance Max campaign?

  1. Log in, open Google Ads, and select Start first campaign.
  2. Select the website you want the ad to send visitors to.
  3. Enter the conversion page, for example, the path of a thank-you page displayed after a successful form submission.
  4. Enter the locations you want to target. The service says you can use countries, cities, ZIP codes or regions.
  5. Continue to the ad-content step. You can have the dashboard generate text and images, or skip generation and enter assets manually.
  6. Review or edit the business name, headlines, descriptions, images and logo. The dashboard shows a live preview. The documented form allows up to 15 short headlines, five long headlines and five descriptions.
  7. Choose one of the displayed daily-spend options, which include estimated weekly leads, or enter a custom daily spend.
  8. Review the summary, including the landing page, average daily budget, audience language, locations and business name. Select Start campaign to submit it.

These are the steps documented by the service’s support article retrieved October 7, 2026. Dashboard labels can change, so follow the closest current in-product labels if they differ.

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Where do I set the conversion page?

Set it after choosing the website and before selecting locations. Enter the page path that corresponds to a completed lead action, such as a thank-you page after a form submission. A generic homepage or contact page may not reliably indicate that a lead was submitted.

Before launch, check that Google Ads is also recording the intended lead as an active, verified primary conversion goal. The page field identifies a destination in the guided flow; Google’s account-level conversion configuration determines what is measured as a conversion. The distinction matters because campaign optimization depends on the signal being tied to a real outcome, not simply on a URL being entered.

What ad assets should you prepare?

You can use generated creative or supply your own. If you choose manual setup, the content fields begin empty. Completing more of the available headline, description and image fields gives Google more combinations to test, but not every optional asset is mandatory in every setup.

Google’s general Performance Max asset guidance specifies up to 15 headlines (maximum 30 characters each, with at least one no longer than 15 characters), up to five long headlines (maximum 90 characters each), and up to five descriptions. Google recommends at least 11 headlines, two long headlines, four horizontal images, four square images and one square logo. Requirements can vary by asset type and campaign setup, and these specifications do not guarantee that every field appears in the integration. Check the current Google asset specifications before publishing.

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The guided form simplifies campaign creation; it does not expose every control in Google Ads. Google’s own flow covers broader choices such as goals, locations, languages and additional campaign settings. If you need finer control over campaign configuration than the form provides, use Google Ads’ campaign setup instead. See Google’s general setup instructions and its Performance Max campaign settings.

How do I choose locations and a daily budget?

Choose locations that match where you can serve leads

The location field accepts countries, cities, ZIP codes or regions. Select areas where your business can actually respond to and fulfill inquiries. Review the locations in the campaign summary before launch; the guided flow is not a substitute for reviewing the more detailed targeting controls available in Google Ads.

Set spend with Google Ads billing in mind

Select a daily-spend option or enter a custom amount in the dashboard. The weekly-lead figures displayed alongside preset options are estimates, not promised results. The service says the advertising charge is handled by Google Ads, not included as its ad-spend billing. If Google Ads billing is unfinished, complete that setup when prompted; otherwise the campaign may not run.

What happens after you select Start campaign?

Google reviews the submitted ad before it goes live. The service says this typically takes up to 24 hours, but that is an estimate rather than a guaranteed approval time. It also says Google AI may need up to four weeks to learn and optimize a new campaign. Separately, Google recommends running Performance Max for at least six weeks and avoiding frequent changes during the initial learning phase. These are guidance timeframes, not guarantees of a particular lead volume or result.

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Where can I see leads and cost per lead?

Once the campaign is live, open the Google Ads area in the dashboard. Its dashboard reports impressions, clicks, leads, average cost per lead and spend, with date-range filtering. The campaigns table lists campaign names, budgets, metrics and statuses; open a campaign from that table for its details.

Evaluate the campaign using the lead outcome you configured, and look at lead quality and cost alongside impressions and clicks. The dashboard reports campaign measures; it does not independently establish whether a lead is qualified or valuable to your business.

What should I check if the campaign is not serving or results are unexpected?

  • Billing: Confirm Google Ads billing is complete if the dashboard prompts you to finish setup.
  • Conversion measurement: Check that the intended lead goal is active and verified in Google Ads, and that the conversion page or event reflects a completed lead rather than an unrelated visit.
  • Assets: Review the quality and completeness of headlines, descriptions, images and logo against Google’s current asset specifications.
  • Targeting and settings: Recheck locations, language, budget and other campaign settings. Google identifies these, along with conversion tracking and asset quality, as areas to inspect when serving or performance is unexpected. Its broader controls may require working in Google Ads rather than the simplified flow; see Google’s setup guidance.
  • Business Profile location syncing: In the specific troubleshooting context Google documents for a recently linked Google Business Profile, syncing can take 24–48 hours. This is not a general campaign-launch estimate. See Google’s Performance Max troubleshooting guidance.

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