The most significant difference between Performance Max and other types of Google Ads campaigns is to do with automation.
With Performance Max, Google automates the creation of ads based on the assets you provide and serves the best-performing combination of creative assets to maximise campaign performance.
Google Search Ads are text ads that you see on Google search engine results pages (SERPs). Your search ads can appear either at the top above the organic search results or at the very bottom of the page.
Display ads are ads that are shown in the articles, videos, or websites that consumers browse. With Google Ads, you may serve your ads on the Google Display Network, a collection of over two million websites that reach over 90% of Internet users across the globe.
Google Shopping Ads are product-based ads. They’re displayed specifically for product searches on Google.
Google Video/YouTube Ads allow you to reach engaged audiences through video content. Ads can appear as in-stream ads (skippable ads that play before or during videos) or discovery ads (appearing in search results). The ads run on both YouTube and YouTube Shorts, which helps reach diverse audiences, enhance engagement, and drive more conversions by targeting long-form content viewers and mobile-first, short-form consumers.