Google Ads has added Local Customer Optimization to Performance Max campaigns for store goals, giving businesses a new way to focus advertising on nearby customers who are more likely to take immediate action.

The feature is designed for businesses with physical locations. It helps Performance Max prioritize people who are close to a business or interested in its area and may be ready to visit a store, request directions, make contact, or complete another local action.

Google can use signals from people who are searching for locations, planning trips, or navigating nearby. Ads can reach these customers across Google Maps, Waze, and local formats within Google Search.

This can be especially useful for retailers, restaurants, service providers, and businesses with multiple locations. Instead of treating every potential customer in the same way, advertisers can focus more of their campaign budget on people showing stronger local intent.

Advertisers can enable Local Customer Optimization when creating a Performance Max campaign that focuses only on offline store goals. These goals can include store visits, store sales, directions, and certain contact actions.

The option is also available for eligible existing campaigns through the budget and bidding optimization settings. Once enabled, Performance Max can automatically adjust its ad delivery to prioritize customers with stronger local intent.

However, the feature has some important limitations. Local Customer Optimization does not work with online campaign goals. It is also not compatible with Performance Max campaigns that advertise products through a Merchant Center account. Businesses using product feeds may therefore need a separate Performance Max campaign for their store-focused advertising.

The update gives local advertisers more control over how Performance Max supports physical locations. It also shows Google’s continued focus on connecting digital advertising with real-world customer actions.

For marketers, the main opportunity is stronger local targeting without manually managing every placement or audience signal. Businesses can use Google’s automated campaign system while putting more emphasis on customers who are close to taking action.

For companies that depend on store visits, calls, directions, or local sales, Local Customer Optimization could make Performance Max campaigns more useful by directing advertising toward the moments when nearby customers are most likely to respond.