Performance Max for a Multi-Country EU Store: Playbook

This is an illustrative scenario based on typical accounts, not a specific client. We built it to show, step by step, how we would launch Performance Max for a mid-size European e-commerce store that sells into several countries at once—and what realistic numbers look like along the way. Every figure below is a representative example, not a promise.

The setup: an online store selling home and kitchen products, based in the Netherlands, shipping to Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands itself. Average order value around €85, gross margin about 45%, roughly 1,200 orders a month from existing channels, and a Google Ads budget of €9,000 per month to launch. The owner’s goal is a blended return on ad spend (ROAS) of 4.0 or better within 60 days while opening Germany and France as real revenue markets.

Below is the 60-day playbook we would follow: how to structure Merchant Center and feeds per country, how many campaigns and asset groups to run, what targets to set in week one versus week six, and the illustrative performance curve you should expect. If you are new to the campaign type, start with our Performance Max asset groups guide and come back; this article assumes you know the basics.

Why multi-country Performance Max is different

Running Performance Max in one country is mostly a feed-and-budget exercise. Running it across four European markets adds three complications that decide whether the launch works:

• Feeds and languages. Shopping ads need a product feed in each target country’s language and currency, with country-specific shipping and tax settings. A German-language feed shown in France simply will not serve.
• Price and margin differences. CPCs and conversion rates differ by market. In our experience, Germany typically has higher Shopping CPCs than the Netherlands or Belgium, while France often converts at a lower rate for a new, unknown brand. One blended ROAS target hides this.
• Consent and measurement. Every EU market requires a GDPR-compliant consent banner connected to Consent Mode v2, and refusal rates vary by country. Without it, Google both under-reports conversions and loses the audience data PMax needs. Our Consent Mode v2 guide covers the implementation.

Phase 0 (days 1–7): foundations before spending a euro

1. Merchant Center per country. One Merchant Center account, four feeds: NL (Dutch, EUR), DE (German, EUR), FR (French, EUR), BE (Dutch and French, EUR). Each feed carries correct shipping, tax, and local link values pointing to the matching language storefront. Check google_product_category values and make titles front-loaded with brand, product type, and key attribute. Our feed optimization tips list the quick wins.
2. Policy pre-check. Before the first product goes live, verify return policy pages, contact details, and checkout security per country to avoid a suspension that would stall the entire launch. If it happens anyway, our Merchant Center suspension fix guide is the recovery path.
3. Conversion tracking. Purchase conversion with dynamic value and transaction ID imported from GA4 or set via the Google Ads tag, with enhanced conversions enabled. Primary conversion: Purchase only. Add-to-cart and begin-checkout set as secondary (observation).
4. Consent Mode v2 verification. Test the CMP in each language; confirm consent signals in Tag Assistant; confirm “Consent mode: active” in the Google Ads diagnostics.
5. Audience and asset prep. Export a Customer Match list (existing buyers), build GA4 audiences for site visitors and cart abandoners, and prepare 5 lifestyle images, 3 product collages, 2 short vertical videos (even simple slideshow videos), and 15 headlines plus 5 descriptions per language. Translation by a native speaker, not machine-only.

Phase 1 (days 8–30): launch structure and starting targets

We would launch three campaigns, not one. One campaign per language market keeps budgets and targets separate, which matters because Germany and France will behave very differently.

Campaign	Markets	Daily budget	Starting bid strategy	Asset groups
PMax – NL/BE-NL	Netherlands, Belgium (Dutch)	€120	Maximize conversion value, tROAS 350%	3: Cookware, Kitchen tools, Home textiles
PMax – DE	Germany	€110	Maximize conversion value, no tROAS for 2 weeks	3: same categories, German assets
PMax – FR/BE-FR	France, Belgium (French)	€70	Maximize conversion value, no tROAS for 2 weeks	2: Cookware, Kitchen tools

Total: €300 per day, €9,000 per month. The home market gets a ROAS target immediately because there is brand awareness and existing conversion history; the two new markets run without a target for two weeks so Google can gather data before we constrain it. Each asset group is built around a product category with its own listing group filter, audience signal (Customer Match plus site visitors for the home market; in-market audiences and the customer list for new markets), and language-specific text assets.

Two settings we would check twice: final URL expansion on with brand exclusions and the checkout, account, and blog URLs excluded; and brand terms added as campaign-level brand exclusions so PMax does not simply harvest people who already search for the store’s name.

Illustrative results, days 8–30

Campaign	Spend	Revenue	ROAS	Note
NL/BE-NL	€2,760	€11,300	4.1	Fast start thanks to brand familiarity and warm audiences
DE	€2,530	€6,100	2.4	Higher CPCs, slow conversion ramp; expected in a new market
FR/BE-FR	€1,610	€3,200	2.0	Lower conversion rate, some feed disapprovals in week 2
Total	€6,900	€20,600	3.0	Below the 4.0 goal, as expected at this stage

A blended 3.0 ROAS after three weeks is a normal place to be. The mistake we see most often is panicking here and cutting the DE and FR budgets in half, which resets learning and guarantees the new markets never mature.

Phase 2 (days 31–60): tighten, reallocate, scale

1. Introduce ROAS targets in new markets. With 30+ conversions in each campaign, set tROAS at roughly 80–85% of the achieved ROAS (DE at 200%, FR at 170%) and raise it 10–15% every 7–10 days. Setting it at the goal of 400% on day 31 would choke delivery.
2. Split winners into their own asset groups. Using the product-level report, cookware was driving most German revenue in the illustration, so it gets its own asset group with dedicated creative; low performers move to a “catch-all” group with a lower share of budget via listing group priorities.
3. Fix the feed, not the bids. FR disapprovals (missing EAN/GTIN, price mismatch) are resolved in Merchant Center; approved product coverage goes from 78% to 97%. Feed fixes typically move results more than any bid change in month two.
4. Add a Standard Shopping safety net. A low-priority Standard Shopping campaign with Manual CPC catches products PMax neglects. If you are weighing the two, our comparison of Google Shopping vs Performance Max explains when each wins.
5. Refresh creative. Replace assets rated “Low” in the asset report; add one user-generated-content-style video per language. Keep the strongest headlines untouched.
6. Reallocate budget by profit, not ROAS. At 45% gross margin, break-even ROAS is about 2.2. DE at 3.1 is profitable and under-funded; its budget rises from €110 to €150 per day, taken from NL where marginal returns are flattening.

Illustrative results, days 31–60

Campaign	Spend	Revenue	ROAS	Change vs phase 1
NL/BE-NL	€3,100	€14,600	4.7	Stable, slightly higher tROAS
DE	€4,200	€14,900	3.5	Budget up, ROAS up as learning matures
FR/BE-FR	€2,000	€6,400	3.2	Feed coverage fix and tROAS introduced
Total	€9,300	€35,900	3.9	Just under 4.0 target; DE now largest market after NL

In this illustration the store lands at 3.9 blended ROAS on a 30-day basis by day 60, with Germany growing from a cold start into a profitable second market. Whether a real account hits 3.5 or 4.5 depends on margin, brand strength, feed quality, and competition, so treat the curve as the shape to expect, not the numbers.

The checklist we would hand the store owner

• One Merchant Center, one feed per language market, local currency, local shipping and returns.
• Purchase as the only primary conversion, with value and enhanced conversions; Consent Mode v2 verified in every language.
• One PMax campaign per language market; 2–4 asset groups per campaign built around product categories.
• No tROAS in new markets for the first 2 weeks; then 80–85% of achieved ROAS, raised gradually.
• Brand exclusions on every campaign; final URL expansion with page exclusions.
• Weekly: product-level report, asset strength, Merchant Center diagnostics. Never cut a budget by more than 20% in a day.
• Decide budget shifts on margin-adjusted profit, not ROAS alone.

FAQ

Should I run one Performance Max campaign for all European countries?

Usually not. Separate campaigns per language or market let you set different budgets and ROAS targets, which matters because conversion rates and CPCs differ by country. A single campaign tends to over-invest in whichever market converts most easily—often the home market.

Do I need a separate Merchant Center account per country?

No. One account can hold multiple feeds and target multiple countries. You do need the language, currency, shipping, and tax settings to match each target country, and the landing page must be in the feed’s language.

How long does Performance Max take to stabilize in a new country?

Typically 3–6 weeks, provided the campaign receives at least 30 conversions a month and you avoid large budget or target changes. Smaller budgets take longer.

What ROAS target should I start with?

In a new market, none for the first two weeks. Then set roughly 80–85% of what the campaign has actually achieved and raise it gradually. Starting at your end goal almost always throttles delivery.

How does GDPR affect Performance Max results in Europe?

A share of visitors who refuse cookies are not tracked, so reported conversions are lower than real ones. Consent Mode v2 lets Google model part of that gap. Expect reported ROAS in Germany and France to understate reality by a noticeable margin compared with US accounts.

Need help with your campaigns?

Launching Performance Max across several European markets is mostly about feed quality, measurement, and patience in the first month. Our Performance Max Setup covers Merchant Center feeds, conversion tracking with Consent Mode v2, campaign structure, and asset groups per market; ongoing optimization like the phase-2 work above is part of Google Shopping Ads Management.

Already running PMax and not sure whether your structure fits a multi-country store? Request a free mini-audit or book a free 30-minute call and we will walk through your account with you.