Google Ads Conversion Lift Help Page Now Lists Search and PMax, With 1,000-Conversion and US$5,000 Minimums

Google has rewritten its Google Ads help page "Set up Conversion Lift based on users", and the new version lists Search and Performance Max among the supported campaign types next to Display, Video, Demand Gen and App. It also spells out three account thresholds: at least 1,000 observed conversions, a minimum study campaign budget of US$5,000 and at least one compatible conversion action. Trade press has described this as self-serve access for Search and PMax. The same page, however, still opens with Google's own warning that Conversion Lift "isn't available for all Google Ads accounts" and that advertisers should contact their Google account representative to use it. Both things are true at once, and that tension is the most useful thing to understand before you plan a study.

What changed on the Conversion Lift help page

The update was spotted by Hana Kobzova, who wrote it up on PPC News Feed on 7 October 2026, and Search Engine Roundtable covered it on 8 October 2026. Both point to the same primary document: the Google Ads Help article on setting up Conversion Lift based on users. Search Engine Roundtable noted that Google "totally rewrote" the page, and a comparison with an archived copy from 22 April 2026 confirms that the structure, the eligibility section and the reporting section are all different.

The clearest change is in the "Before you begin" section. The April 2026 version said advertisers could use Conversion Lift based on users for Video, Discovery and Demand Gen campaigns, and that anyone interested in Display, Search, Shopping or Performance Max should reach out to their Google account representative. The current version drops that sentence. It now lists the supported campaign types as Display, Search, Video, Demand Gen, App campaigns and Performance Max, and states that App campaigns targeting iOS and Travel Ads are not supported. For new campaign types in alpha or beta, the page still says to contact a Google representative for eligibility.

The table below sets out the before and after, using only what each version of the page says.

One detail is easy to miss. The US$5,000 and 1,000-conversion figures are not brand new. The April page already said that budgets above US$5,000 and 1,000 conversions would give access to directional results, and that a study could not be saved below US$5,000. What is new is that the figures now sit in a formal "Account threshold" block, and that conversions with supplementary data are explicitly excluded from the 1,000 count.

The availability banner Google did not remove

Read the top of the live page and you will find this sentence: "Conversion Lift isn't available for all Google Ads accounts. To use Conversion Lift, contact your Google account representative." It was there in April and it is still there now. PPC News Feed and Search Engine Roundtable both framed the update as Conversion Lift becoming self-serve for Search and PMax. That is a fair reading of the eligibility list, but it is the trade press interpretation. Google's own page does not use the word "self-serve" anywhere, and it does not say that every account meeting the thresholds will see the option.

So the honest summary is this: Google now documents Search and Performance Max as supported campaign types for user-based Conversion Lift, and documents the thresholds, while also warning that the product is not available to every account. Whether a given account sees Conversion Lift under its Experiments menu is something you can only confirm by checking that account. The help page does not give a rollout schedule, a list of countries or any statement about which accounts are excluded.

Who qualifies on paper

The page lists three account thresholds. All three have to be met.

• Observed conversions: at least 1,000. Conversions that come from supplementary data, which Google uses for modelled sources such as store sales, do not count toward this minimum.
• Budget: the study needs a minimum campaign budget of US$5,000.
• Conversion actions: the account must track at least one conversion action that is compatible with Conversion Lift.

There is also a study limit. A campaign can be part of only one study at a time, whether that study is Brand Lift, Search Lift or Conversion Lift. If a campaign is already in a Brand Lift study, it has to be removed before it can join a Conversion Lift study. In the setup flow, campaigns that cannot be selected usually show a "Needs attention" status, which the page says covers campaigns that are inactive, part of another study or incompatible with the chosen lift type.

The page does not state the time window over which the 1,000 observed conversions are counted. It also does not say whether the US$5,000 is a total across all study campaigns or a per-campaign figure beyond calling it "a minimum campaign budget" for the study. If either point matters for your plan, the setup screen's feasibility estimate is the place to test it.

How a user-based Conversion Lift study works

Conversion Lift based on users splits people into a group that can see your ads and a holdback group that does not. The difference in conversions between the two groups is the incremental effect. Google's page describes the result as the number of conversions, site visits and other actions "directly driven" by the ads, and it reports three headline outputs: incremental conversions, incremental cost per action (iCPA) and incremental return on ad spend (iROAS).

The setup steps in the current help page are:

1. Go to the Lift studies tab under Campaigns, then Experiments, and select the plus button.
2. Choose Conversion Lift, then choose "Based on users" as the way test groups are created.
3. Name the study and pick campaigns, either from a filtered list or by uploading campaign IDs in a CSV template.
4. Choose conversion goals or keep campaign defaults. Supplementary conversions can be added by selecting actions marked with a warning icon.
5. Choose whether the report focuses on conversions (incremental conversions and iCPA) or conversion value (incremental value and iROAS).
6. Set start and end dates, then set the holdback between 1% and 50%. If Brand Lift and Search Lift are running in the same study, the holdback must stay at 30%.
7. Review the study power estimate and select Create study.

Google allows studies as short as 7 days but recommends more than 14 days, especially for businesses with long conversion lag. The page gives one specific figure here: Google says it has found up to a 17% drop in absolute lift in studies with a long conversion lag that ran for less than 14 days.

Study power and certainty

Before you create the study, the tool shows a feasibility estimate, which Google also calls study power. It is shown as a range between 50% and 95% in 5% steps. Google recommends aiming for 90% certainty. Results between 50% and 90% can be used as directional. If the estimate is below 90%, the tool gives budget guidance to help reach 90%. Study power depends on the selected conversion actions, daily campaign budget, study duration, holdback percentage, account-level historical data (excluding manager-level data) and the estimated lift.

Data strength features Google recommends

The new page has a section on data strength. Google recommends implementing enhanced conversions for web and for leads, consent mode, advanced consent mode and Google tag gateway before launch. Automated diagnostics run during setup to check tracking readiness. You can still create and save a study when warnings appear, but Google strongly recommends fixing the gaps first. For accounts that rely on a patchy tag setup, this is the part of the page that deserves the most attention, because a lift study can only measure conversions the account actually records.

Supplementary conversions and cool-down

Two reporting changes are documented. First, Conversion Lift now uses statistical modelling to include conversion types that were previously unmeasurable, such as store sales and offline leads, under what Google calls Supplementary Conversion Reporting. Second, "Delayed Incremental Conversions", also called cool-down, projects conversions that arrive in a fixed period after a study ends. Google says this started on 14 April 2026 for eligible Demand Gen-only studies that began on or after 2 March 2026. The results view includes projected cool-down conversions by default, and you can see results without that modelling through the tooltip or the reporting dashboard.

Why Search and PMax advertisers should care

In our analysis, Search and Performance Max are where much of the attribution argument happens. Brand search in particular can capture people who were going to convert anyway, and PMax mixes inventory in ways that make last-click and even data-driven attribution hard to audit. A holdback test is one of the few ways to see what would have happened without the ads. Until this update, the documented route to running one for Search or PMax went through a Google representative. Now the help page lists both as supported types, so an advertiser who meets the thresholds has a documented path to try, while still facing the possibility that the option does not appear in their account.

The page also contains guidance that matters for how you read the results. Google recommends including all campaigns that share the same type, audience and targeting strategy. Measuring a subset tells you the extra value of those exact campaigns while the others keep running, and the page warns that this reduces the chance of detecting lift because holdback users may still see ads from unmeasured campaigns. Higher holdbacks, up to 50%, collect data faster but carry a higher opportunity cost because more people do not see your ads. Google notes that most advertisers run about one to two studies a year.

What this means for Thai marketers

Google's page says nothing specific about Thailand, so the points below are analysis, not something the source states. The thresholds are in US dollars and are the same as written on the English page; the page does not give local-currency equivalents, so check how the setup screen presents the minimum in a THB-billed account.

• Check eligibility in the account, not in the press. Open Campaigns, then Experiments, then Lift studies, and see whether Conversion Lift appears and which campaigns show as eligible. The banner on Google's page means a qualifying account may still need a representative.
• Count observed conversions honestly. If your account tracks form fills, LINE clicks and phone clicks as separate actions, add up only what is observed: only observed conversions count toward the 1,000 minimum, and supplementary data is excluded.
• Fix tracking first. Enhanced conversions, consent mode and Google tag gateway are on Google's own list. A study run on weak tracking will report weak results.
• Pick the question before the campaigns. "Is brand search incremental?" and "Is PMax adding sales beyond Search?" are different studies with different campaign selections.

Accounts that want help planning a lift study alongside day-to-day bidding can look at our Google Ads management service, and teams whose tag and consent setup is the weak point may want to start with a GA4 and tracking review.

What the source does not say

The help page does not give a date for when Search and PMax were added, does not mention Shopping in the new supported list (Shopping appeared in the April version only as a type that needed a representative), and does not say how Google decides which accounts get access. It does not use the term "self-serve". It does not give local-currency budget minimums. Anything beyond the text of the page, including claims that every qualifying account can now run a study without help, is interpretation.

Frequently asked questions

Can I run a Conversion Lift study on Search or Performance Max without a Google rep?

Possibly, but Google does not promise it. The live help page lists Search and Performance Max as supported campaign types, yet the same page still says Conversion Lift is not available for all accounts and tells advertisers to contact their Google account representative to use it. The only way to know is to check the Lift studies tab in your own account.

What are the minimum requirements for Conversion Lift based on users?

The account needs at least 1,000 observed conversions, a minimum study campaign budget of US$5,000 and at least one conversion action compatible with Conversion Lift. Conversions with supplementary data do not count toward the 1,000.

Which campaign types are not supported?

Google's page says App campaigns targeting iOS and Travel Ads are not supported. Campaign types in alpha or beta need a representative to confirm eligibility, and Shopping is not named in the current supported list.

How long should a Conversion Lift study run?

Google allows a minimum of 7 days but recommends more than 14 days, and longer for products with long conversion lag. The page says studies with long lag that ran under 14 days showed up to a 17% drop in absolute lift.

Is this rolling out in Thailand?

The source does not say. Google's help page gives no country list and no rollout timing, so check availability directly in the account.

The bottom line

Google's documentation now treats Search and Performance Max as normal campaign types for user-based Conversion Lift, with clear thresholds and a long list of data-strength recommendations. The banner at the top of the same page is a reminder that documentation and access are not the same thing. If your account clears the 1,000-conversion and US$5,000 bars, it is worth opening the Lift studies tab this week to see what it offers, and planning the question you want the study to answer before you pick a single campaign.