Inspiration

What’s Changing?

Shopee is gradually phasing out Product Manual Ads to place development priority on GMV Max, our intelligent solution designed to maximize GMV. All existing Product Manual Ads will be automatically upgraded to GMV Max. With this change, ad setup and optimisation will be streamlined from individual keyword bidding to being able to directly specify target ROAS to better drive desired results.

Best Practices for Success with GMV Max

1. What type of GMV Max should I choose: Auto Bidding or Custom ROAS?

The right bidding type depends on your business objective — whether you're focused on maximizing sales or controlling profitability.

If you're using GMV Max Auto Bidding:

If your goal is to drive traffic and to maximize order volume. With Auto Bidding, the system sets an estimated ROAS range based on your product's historical performance and potential buyer audience. It will optimize ad delivery within this range to provide the best possible GMV.

If you're using GMV Max Custom ROAS:

If you have a clear target ROAS and your goal is to balance ROI & total sales volume. This allows you to set your own ROAS target (e.g., 5x), and the system will endeavor to deliver your ads based on this. However, if your target ROAS is too high or your SKUs are insufficiently competitive, this may impact overall sales and ROAS performance.

2. GMV Max isn’t achieving my ROAS target – what should I do?

If you're using GMV Max Auto Bidding:

The system automatically sets an estimated ROAS range based on your SKU's performance. If the actual ROAS is either below this range or within but you’re dissatisfied with the results, you can:

1. Switch to GMV Max Custom ROAS to define your desired ROAS target manually.
2.  Prioritize using strong SKUs with consistent past performance.

If you're using GMV Max Custom ROAS:

Ads performance (low impressions, low spend, or actual ROAS below your target by >20%) - your target ROAS may potentially be too high for the selected SKUs, you can:

1. Decrease your target ROAS by 10% and allow up to 7 days or more for the system to calibrate. If ROAS improves, increase your target ROAS by 10% and allow up to 7 days for calibration and monitor the ads performance.
2. If ROAS does not improve, consider decreasing your target ROAS by another 10% and monitor the ads performance, allowing up to 7 days or more for the system to recalibrate.
3. Increase your daily budget by (10-20%) to allow the system more room to calibrate and optimize. Especially if it's observed that the ad isn't receiving impressions throughout the day.
4. Allow at least 7 days for the system to complete the learning phase before making ad settings adjustments.

3. Keyword Bidding is no longer available, how should I optimize my ads?

To ease the tedium of individual keyword bidding and optimisation, GMV Max is streamlined for you to optimise based on Target ROAS (Custom ROAS) or Estimated ROAS range (Auto Bidding) - allowing you to swiftly and directly determine the desired ROAS results.

4. Can I still target specific keywords now that Product Manual Ads are no longer available? Does this mean I can no longer obtain insight on buyer search queries?

Shop Ads - Manual Mode can be leveraged to achieve this. Via Shop Ads - Manual Mode, sellers can target specific keywords for shop level advertising. Additionally, its Seller Center Report would provide insight on buyer search queries.

5. How do I maintain ads ranking competitiveness without access to the Average Ranking metric? 

We encourage sellers to optimize and evaluate GMV Max performance based on ROAS. However if advertising objective is to maintain ads ranking competitiveness, the following factors can be readily leveraged:

1. Strong and relevant product titles
2. Competitive ROAS targets (Lower ROAS allows for aggressive buyer targeting & ad delivery)
3. Sufficient daily budget to support consistent ad delivery
4. High listing quality (image, price, rating, shipping, etc.)

6. GMV Max runs both Search and Discovery placements – can I choose only one?

Instead of manual placement targeting, it is now automated for you in GMV Max. The system is designed to intelligently allocate budget across both Search and Discovery placements to help you achieve the best possible results. Rather than a repetitive and manual process of choosing where your ads appear, GMV Max uses smart delivery to:

1. Selectively bid in placements with higher sales potential for your products.
2. Optimize performance across both placements by constantly learning from buyer behaviour.
3. Ensure your ads appear where they are most likely to convert, not just where visibility is high.

By leveraging both placements, you can benefit from an increased opportunity in converting traffic to actual sales via a broader reach.

7. How are keywords matched with the absence of Exact Match / Broad Match?

GMV Max will leverage and optimize between both match types to work towards the ROAS target (Custom ROAS) or Estimated ROAS range (Auto Bidding). 

Therefore, your Target ROAS plays a key role:

1. When you set a high ROAS target, GMV Max will cater your ads towards a niche buyer audience to filter for high-intent buyers, this can improve conversion efficiency but will limit reach.
2. Alternatively, when you set a lower ROAS target, GMV Max will expand delivery to a broader range of potential buyers, reaching and exposure to raise the conversion opportunity to drive a higher sales volume.

Overall, GMV Max removes the need to manually select match types which gets difficult over a large amount of ads. Instead, the system will optimize both reach and delivery based on your advertising goals.

8. Manual Bidding had ‘Enhanced Bid Price’ for campaign days – what about GMV Max?

Yes! GMV Max includes a built-in feature called Smart Shop Booster, which is being gradually rolled out to sellers. This feature automatically increases your budget, bid, and ROAS flexibility during campaign days to help boost GMV and sales performance!

9. Despite allocating a specific Daily Budget or setting it to Unlimited Budget, why are my ads not spending the given budget?

If your ads are not able to spend the provided budget, the causes can typically be related to ROAS settings or listing quality.

If you're using GMV Max Auto Bidding:

Auto Bidding is designed to give GMV Max more room for optimisation due to the Estimated ROAS range. However, if spending is slow, this can be indicative of:

1. Estimated ROAS may be too high. To counteract this: 

1. Switch the bidding method to Custom ROAS
2. Set a lower ROAS target to increase ad delivery (starting at 10% below current ROAS and monitoring for at least 7 days. Repeat this step as needed)

2. SKU listing insufficiently competitive (e.g. confusing title, low quality image, high price)

Improve the listing quality (title, image, price competitiveness, stock availability).

3. SKU has low or no historical conversions

Prioritize another SKU with historical sales history

* Remember to allow at least 7 days for GMV Max to learn & calibrate before more changes.

If you're using GMV Max Custom ROAS:

GMV Max optimizes ads delivery to cater to your target ROAS. Even with a budget available, it may hold back delivery if:

1. ROAS target is too high, causing the buyer targeting to be too narrow. To counteract this: 

Reduce the ROAS target to enable a broader buyer audience targeting (start at 10% below current ROAS target and monitor for at least 7 days. Repeat this step as needed)

2. SKU listing insufficiently competitive (e.g. confusing title, low quality image, high price)

Improve the listing quality (title, image, price competitiveness, stock availability)

3. SKU has low or no historical conversions

Prioritize another SKU with historical sales history

* Remember to allow at least 7 days for GMV Max to learn & calibrate before more changes.

10. Cost Per Click (CPC) is high – is this normal, and what should I do?

High CPC can be expected in some cases, but it’s important to remember that CPC alone doesn’t reflect the success of your ads. What matters more is whether your ads are generating profitable sales and achieving your ROAS target.

Additionally, high CPC may be a result of the system pushing for high ad ranking or competing for coveted placements in an attempt to cater to the estimated ROAS. CPCs may also be naturally higher in competitive categories (i.e. Beauty, Electronics, etc), you can:

1. Prioritize and define the ad’s success based on ROAS and order volume as an ad with a higher CPC can still profitable
2. Make sure your product listings are optimized to encourage conversions (e.g., clear and relevant product images, competitive pricing, consistent stock availability)
3. Adjust Bidding Method to ensure your ROAS objectives are met (refer to point 2)

11. Ads are spending too fast, but not converting orders – what should I do?

If your ads are spending but not converting, it often means your listings are getting buyer clicks but they do not necessarily complete the purchase.

If you're using GMV Max Auto Bidding:

In Auto Bidding, the system automatically adjusts bids to scale your GMV and orders. If spend is high but there are no conversions - the system is successfully driving traffic but your SKUs are unable to convert that traffic into sales. This could be due to product pages requiring optimisation, or uncompetitive pricing. You can:

1. Check if your SKUs have a positive sales history. If not, prioritize the ads spend on better-performing products 
2. Improve your listing quality, especially product title, image, price, reviews, and stock availability.
3. Allow up to at least 7–14 days for the system to learn before making changes.

If the issue persists, consider switching to Custom ROAS for more control.

* Remember to allow at least 7 days for GMV Max to learn & calibrate before more changes

FAQs

1. Why is Manual Bidding being upgraded to GMV Max?

Shopee is gradually phasing out Manual Ads to align with industry standards, moving towards streamlined automated ad solutions. This change helps simplify ad setup and improve performance outcomes for sellers, additionally allowing us to further prioritize the development of our intelligent capabilities within GMV Max.

2. What will happen to my current Manual Keyword Campaigns?

All existing Manual Keyword Campaigns will be automatically upgraded to GMV Max. You’ll receive a notification before the upgrade happens, along with clear guidance on the steps to follow.

Once upgraded:

1. Your ads will now be GMV Max ads (Auto Bidding, or Custom ROAS). Please ensure to review the new ads settings (Bidding Method, ROAS Target, Budget)
2. Previous manual settings (e.g. keyword match types, manual bids) will no longer apply
3. The system will optimize delivery based on your daily budget and ROAS settings

For more details on the upgrade process, refer to this guide: 

https://ads.shopee.com.my/learn/faq/505/2030

3. Can I switch back to Manual Keyword Bidding?

No. Once upgrade is complete, manual keyword bidding will no longer be supported. This change is part of Shopee’s move toward a more automated and performance-driven ad system to help sellers scale more efficiently. We encourage you to explore GMV Max features like Custom ROAS if you’re looking for more control over campaign performance.

4. Can I still select keywords in GMV Max?

No, keyword selection is no longer required in GMV Max. It uses an Auto Keyword strategy, where the system automatically matches your ads to the most relevant search terms. This matching is based on your product title and listing content, buyer search intent and historical ad performance and signals. The goal is to help you reach the right buyers while achieving your desired ROAS with minimal manual setup. If you're aiming for more reach, try a lower ROAS target; for more niche targeting, set a higher ROAS.

5. Can I bulk edit GMV Max ads?

Yes. You can mass select up to 30 products at once when creating or editing GMV Max campaigns via the Seller Center dashboard. This makes it easier to manage multiple SKUs efficiently and apply consistent settings.

1. For Auto Bidding, the system will assign a recommended ROAS range based on SKU signals. 
2. For Custom ROAS, sellers can manually input their own target ROAS. The daily budget is shared across all selected SKUs within the same campaign, regardless of bidding type.

6. Can I run multiple GMV Max ads for the same SKU?

No. Under GMV Max, a SKU can only be promoted in one GMV Max ad at a time. If you try to include a SKU that’s already being used in another GMV Max ad, the system will show a pop-up message informing you that an ad is already running. If you proceed, the existing ad will be automatically paused to allow the new one to run. This helps avoid internal competition and ensures better ad delivery optimisation.

7. Is GMV Max available for all sellers?

Yes. With the phasing out of Manual Ads, existing Manual Ads have been updated to either GMV Max Auto Bidding or GMV Max Custom ROAS.

8. What if I don’t upgrade my Manual ads by D-14?

If your Manual Ads are not upgraded by D-14, they can still remain active and be edited. However, starting from D-7 onwards, Manual Ads will no longer be editable and creation of new Manual Ads will no longer be supported. It’s highly recommended to upgrade your ads early, giving your ads time to acclimate to GMV Max before the auto upgrade on D0.

9. What if I still do nothing by D-7?

By D-7, Manual Ads will no longer be editable and creation of new Manual Ads will no longer be supported. Existing Manual ads will still continue to run, but this is the last window to upgrade manually.

We highly recommend you to upgrade during this period to determine the new ads settings before the auto upgrade.

10. What happens on D0 if I don't upgrade?

On D0, any active or scheduled Manual Ads will be automatically upgraded to GMV Max. You’ll be given a pop-up notification in Seller Center with a summary of all upgraded Manual Ads and their new GMV Max settings. Please ensure to review these settings and make the necessary adjustments to better align with your advertising goals.

11. Will my ads performance be impacted by the upgrade?

Please expect some performance fluctuations during the learning phase (7-14 days after ads are set up). Performance will begin to stabilise and gradually improve as the system learns to better optimize based on the desired ROAS target.

12. Can I still select keywords in GMV Max?

No, keyword selection is no longer required in GMV Max. It uses an Auto Keyword strategy, where the system automatically matches your ads to the most relevant search terms. This matching is based on your product title and listing content, buyer search intent and historical ad performance and signals. The goal is to help you reach the right buyers while achieving your desired ROAS with minimal manual setup. If you're aiming for more reach, try a lower ROAS target; for more niche targeting, set a higher ROAS.

13. How can I ensure my ads still reach the right audience?

Focus on your product title and listing quality. Relevant keyword usage in your product title helps the algorithm to better match your listing with relevant user search queries.

Additionally, ROAS targeting can be leveraged to adjust the buyer audience targeting:

1. When you set a high ROAS target, GMV Max will cater your ads towards a niche buyer audience to filter for high-intent buyers, this can improve conversion efficiency but will limit reach. 
2. Alternatively when you set a lower ROAS target, GMV Max will expand delivery to a broader range of potential buyers, reach and exposure to raise the conversion opportunity to drive a higher sales volume.

14. What is the “Diagnosis” section in GMV Max ads?

The Diagnosis section provides an at-a-glance assessment of your campaign’s current health. It evaluates four key areas: Bidding, Budget & Balance, Continuance and Competitiveness. Each section includes recommendations to help improve campaign performance.

15. Can I still run ads if my balance is low but not zero?

Yes, but delivery may slow down or stop at any moment. The system reduces spend when balance is low to prevent abrupt pauses. It’s best to top up early.

16. Can I run GMV Max and Shop Ads at the same time?

Yes, GMV Max is for Product Ads, while Shop Ads run separately to promote your overall store. However, ensure your total ads budget covers both to avoid premature delivery interruptions.

17. Can I run GMV Max campaigns without setting an end date?

Yes. GMV Max campaigns can run continuously as long as daily budget and balance are sufficient. You can pause or adjust anytime.

18. How can I monitor which SKUs are performing best in GMV Max?

Use the Seller Center Ads Dashboard to track performance by SKU. Focus on GMV, ROAS, and conversion rates to identify strong-performing products.