Google opens Conversion Lift to Search and Performance Max

Google Ads is expanding Conversion Lift based on users to Search and Performance Max campaigns, giving eligible advertisers self-serve access to incrementality measurement that previously required help from a Google representative.

What’s changing. Search and Performance Max now join Display, Video, Demand Gen and App campaigns among the supported campaign types for user-based Conversion Lift studies. Previously, advertisers using Search and PMax needed to work with a Google representative for access.

The requirements. Self-serve access comes with meaningful thresholds. Advertisers need at least 1,000 observed conversions, excluding conversions using supplementary data, and participating campaigns need a minimum budget of $5,000. Accounts must also track at least one conversion action compatible with Conversion Lift.

How it works. Conversion Lift creates a holdout group that isn’t exposed to the campaigns being measured and compares its behavior with users who can see the ads. The difference helps estimate incremental conversions rather than relying solely on attribution models. Google says higher holdouts can improve the sample but come with the opportunity cost of withholding ads from more users.

What advertisers can measure. Studies can evaluate actions including purchases, leads, website activity and other eligible conversions. Google recommends selecting conversion actions that occur frequently enough to produce statistically useful results.

Why we care. The expansion makes incrementality testing more accessible for two of Google’s biggest performance campaign types. For advertisers spending heavily on branded Search or PMax, it can help distinguish conversions the campaigns genuinely created from conversions that might have happened anyway.

Yes, but. Conversion Lift still isn’t available to every advertiser, and Google’s official documentation says account availability can vary. Alpha and beta campaign types may also still require assistance from a Google representative.

The bigger picture. Google is increasingly giving performance advertisers tools to measure causality rather than attribution alone. That’s especially important for Performance Max, where campaigns span multiple Google properties and traditional channel-by-channel measurement can struggle to show true incremental value.

The bottom line. Opening Conversion Lift to eligible Search and PMax advertisers gives marketers a stronger way to answer one of paid media’s most important questions: Did the ads create additional conversions, or simply take credit for them?