Google is narrowing the scope of its Performance Planner tool, signaling a shift toward conversion-focused campaign types and away from impression-based planning.
What’s happening. As of last month Performance Planner no longer supports planning for Display and Video campaigns, and removes access to plans using impression share, top impression share or absolute top impression share metrics.
Why we care. Google is deprioritizing impression-based planning, making it harder to forecast and optimize upper-funnel campaigns like Display and Video within native tools. This could mean a shift toward conversion-focused strategies and automation, meaning advertisers may need to rethink how they plan awareness campaigns and measure success outside of traditional impression share metrics.
The big picture. Google Ads is continuing to prioritize automation and performance-driven outcomes, aligning its planning tools more closely with campaign types like Search, Shopping, App, Demand Gen, Local and Performance Max.
How it works now. Advertisers can still use Performance Planner for supported campaign types, but any existing plans that include Display or Video campaigns — or rely on impression share metrics — can no longer be viewed or edited.
What to watch. How advertisers adapt their forecasting and planning for upper-funnel channels like Display and Video, which now lack native support in the tool.
Bottom line. Google is doubling down on performance-driven planning — and leaving impression-based strategies increasingly on the sidelines.
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Anu Adegbola has been Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.
In 2008, Anu started her career delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side. Outside editing Search Engine Land article she is the founder of PPC networking event – PPC Live and host of weekly podcast PPC Live The Podcast.
She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US, UK, Munich, Berlin), Friends of Search (Amsterdam, NL), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna, IT) and more.


