Control the Logo and Business Name Performance Max Uses Before Creative Goes Live

01

1. Build the campaign-level brand control sheet

The control sheet should make the authorized identity, Google-derived identity, and review state visible in one place. It is not a media-performance report. Its purpose is to stop an outdated, inconsistent, or inappropriate brand representation from passing unnoticed into launch.

Start with one row per Performance Max campaign, even when several campaigns use the same domain. Google’s current Performance Max structure consolidates business name and logo assets at campaign level rather than treating them as separate asset-group identities. A campaign-by-campaign record also exposes differences that can be hidden when a team stores only one general logo folder. Google’s campaign-level image-asset documentation is available in About image assets for Performance Max campaigns.

Record the final URL beside the proposed identity. Google can use that URL to pre-fill brand guidelines, and subsequent use of a URL may retrieve the most recently used brand profile. Capturing only the uploaded files would leave the team without evidence of what Google presented during setup.

Keep internal and platform states separate. “Brand approved” means an authorized person accepted the spelling and logo versions. “Google approved” means the platform review has accepted the submitted assets. One status cannot substitute for the other.

1. Google Ads account name and account ID
2. Exact Performance Max campaign name
3. Final URL Google may inspect
4. Storefront, product line, or brand represented by the campaign
5. Verified advertiser or legal name
6. Domain-supported brand name visible on the landing page
7. Exact proposed Performance Max business name
8. Business-name source: manually entered, Google-inferred, or previously saved profile
9. Approved square-logo file, version, and storage link
10. Approved horizontal-logo file, version, and storage link, when used
11. Google-inferred or website-derived name and logo candidates
12. Dynamic Business Logos status: enabled, disabled, or awaiting a decision
13. Landing-page identity check: pass, fail, or changes requested
14. Policy and specification check
15. Named brand approver
16. Internal approval date and evidence
17. Google review status
18. Launch status: blocked, conditional, or approved
19. Exception and remediation notes

02

2. Approve the business name exactly as it will be entered

Review the business name as a controlled field, not as informal campaign copy. A small difference in capitalization, spacing, legal suffixes, or sub-brand wording can create a visible inconsistency between the ad and storefront.

Google’s business-information requirements say the business name must match either the verified legal name or the advertiser’s domain name, and it must be clearly present on the landing page. The name is limited to 25 characters. These requirements are detailed in Google’s Business information requirements.

Do not convert the field into promotional copy. Google prohibits promotional language in a business name and identifies generic or location-based descriptions as unacceptable substitutes for the recognized advertiser name. Review the examples and restrictions in Google’s Business name requirements.

Sub-brands, licensed marks, and separate lines of business require extra attention. If the proposed identity differs from the verified advertiser name or domain-supported identity, do not assume an internal brand relationship is enough. Escalate it to whoever owns trademark or legal approval and check whether Google’s brand-verification route applies.

1. Confirm the name contains no more than 25 characters.
2. Compare it with the verified legal name and the advertiser’s domain name.
3. Find the same identity clearly displayed on the final landing page.
4. Check spelling, punctuation, spacing, capitalization, and legal suffixes.
5. Remove offer language such as “Buy” or “Sale.”
6. Reject generic labels or location descriptions used instead of the advertiser’s recognized name.
7. Escalate alternate names, sub-brands, and licensed marks for legal or trademark review.
8. Compare the approved entry with Google’s pre-filled or previously saved value.
9. Save a screenshot or other evidence of the value submitted.

03

3. Review every logo for both compliance and real-world legibility

A technically valid logo can still represent the brand badly when reduced, cropped, or placed against an unsuitable background. Review the files against Google’s specifications and then inspect how the mark behaves at small sizes.

For the square logo, Google specifies a 1:1 aspect ratio, recommends 1200 × 1200 pixels, and allows a minimum of 128 × 128 pixels. JPG and PNG files are supported, with a maximum file size of 5,120 KB. Important content should remain inside the central 80% safe area. Google’s complete requirements are in Business information requirements.

The square version should remain identifiable if it is presented as a circle. Inspect thin lettering, small taglines, registered-mark symbols, transparent areas, and edge-aligned details. Reject blurry, distorted, inverted, badly cropped, or excessively padded files. A predominantly white mark on transparency can also disappear in some treatments.

A horizontal logo is optional, but if supplied it should use a 4:1 aspect ratio. Google recommends 1200 × 300 pixels and permits a minimum of 512 × 128 pixels. The horizontal version does not eliminate the need for an approved square logo. Performance Max permits as many as five campaign-level logos, but each should be a legitimate treatment of the same advertised business rather than an assortment of unrelated product or parent-company marks.

1. Square logo uses a 1:1 aspect ratio.
2. Square file is preferably 1200 × 1200 pixels and never below 128 × 128 pixels.
3. File format is JPG or PNG and file size does not exceed 5,120 KB.
4. Essential content is within the center 80% safe area.
5. Mark remains legible when reduced and cropped into a circle.
6. Logo works on both light and dark treatments.
7. Transparent files do not contain a predominantly white mark that disappears against light surfaces.
8. File is not blurry, stretched, inverted, clipped, or surrounded by excessive empty space.
9. Logo represents the advertised business and appears clearly on the landing page.
10. Optional horizontal logo uses 4:1, preferably 1200 × 300 pixels and never below 512 × 128 pixels.
11. Every uploaded variation has a version name and a recorded approver.

04

4. Compare uploaded, website-derived, and dynamic brand information

Do not assume that manually uploading a logo gives the team exclusive control over every logo Google may show. Review Google’s inferred brand profile and the account-level Dynamic Business Logos setting as separate inputs.

Place six items side by side: the final landing page, Google’s pre-filled business name, Google’s pre-filled logos, the canonical brand-bible entry, the verified advertiser name, and any dynamic business logo visible in the account’s Assets area. Google explains that it can initially infer Performance Max brand elements from the final URL and can reuse recently saved inputs associated with that URL in About brand guidelines.

Account-level Dynamic Business Logos are compatible with Performance Max and can sometimes appear instead of a manually uploaded logo. If the wrong mark appears, Google advises checking that setting and considering whether it should be disabled. Its broader guidance also recommends consistent business information for a domain across campaigns and accounts. See About business information.

Treat final URL expansion and text customization as separate automation controls. They can affect text and image assets sourced from landing pages, but reviewing those settings does not replace the dedicated business-name, logo, and dynamic-business-information check. Google discusses those creative controls in Performance Max creative asset best practices.

1. Open the exact final URL and identify the name and logo a visitor sees.
2. Capture the name and logo Google pre-filled during campaign setup.
3. Compare both with the current approved brand files.
4. Check whether the page exposes an old logo in its header, footer, metadata, or shared storefront template.
5. Flag parent-company, reseller, product-line, or microsite identities that differ from the intended advertiser.
6. Inspect account-level dynamic business information and record the Dynamic Business Logos decision.
7. Investigate inconsistent names or logos across campaigns using the same domain.
8. Recheck dynamic settings if an unexpected logo appears after manual assets have been approved.

05

5. Assign approvers and use statuses that reveal the next action

A checklist without ownership can record a problem without resolving it. Assign specific people to prepare, approve, submit, and release the brand information.

The paid-media owner should enter the campaign values and capture whatever Google inferred. The brand owner should approve the name, capitalization, logo treatment, and landing-page match. A legal or trademark owner should review alternate identities, licensed marks, or sub-brands when needed. Finally, the launch owner should confirm platform review status and decide whether the campaign can go live.

Use statuses that describe both state and action. A generic “pending” label does not reveal whether the team is waiting for a designer, an internal approver, or Google’s review. Keep the platform review status distinct so a campaign cannot be mistaken for launch-ready merely because the internal brand owner approved it.

1. Not reviewed
2. Changes requested
3. Brand approved
4. Submitted to Google
5. Google review pending
6. Google approved
7. Google limited or disapproved
8. Approved with fallback risk
9. Launch blocked
10. Launched with approval evidence attached

06

6. Leave review time and decide how to handle fallback presentation

Submit the business information before the final publishing window. Google says uploaded Performance Max business assets can take up to two business days to review. During review, ads may run using the display URL and a placeholder globe icon instead of the submitted business identity.

Business information assets are not guaranteed to appear on every impression. Even approved assets may not render in every eligible format. Your control sheet can document what was authorized, what Google inferred, and what passed review, but it cannot force a particular logo or name to appear every time.

Make fallback acceptance an explicit launch decision. A brand with a strict presentation requirement may block launch until review is complete. Another team may accept the display-URL and globe treatment temporarily. Neither decision should happen accidentally. Google documents review timing, dynamic assets, and fallback behavior in About business information.

1. Business name has named internal approval.
2. Every selected logo has named internal approval.
3. Final landing page visibly supports the submitted identity.
4. Google-inferred candidates have been compared with approved values.
5. Dynamic Business Logos decision is recorded.
6. Advertiser-verification state has been checked.
7. Google’s asset-review status is recorded.
8. The launch owner has accepted or rejected possible display-URL and globe-icon fallback.
9. Screenshots, file versions, dates, and exception notes are attached.
10. Campaign is released only when its recorded launch status permits it.

07

7. Preserve the decision trail beyond the spreadsheet

The lasting value of this process is not just a checked box. It is a reusable record of which identity was authorized, why exceptions were accepted, which website-derived assets appeared, and what should be corrected before the next campaign.

A basic spreadsheet is enough to run this checklist. Keep stable links to the canonical logo files, a clear owner for each row, and dated evidence of both internal and Google review. When a logo changes, create a new version rather than silently replacing the file behind an old approval link.

ATIYO can organize the brand context, approved assets, creative briefs, iterations, review decisions, and reusable launch learnings connected to a campaign. It does not connect to Google Ads, inspect delivery, buy media, calculate ROAS, or automatically know campaign performance. Media performance remains in the ad platform; ATIYO preserves creative context and learnings.

If disconnected brand files, briefs, and review notes are creating repeat launch errors, start a card-confirmed seven-day ATIYO trial and build the approval trail around the assets your team already uses.

1. Store the canonical name and logo treatments in the brand context.
2. Link each campaign brief to the approved asset versions.
3. Record exceptions and the person who authorized them.
4. Preserve screenshots of inferred or unexpected Google assets.
5. Carry resolved issues into the next launch checklist.
6. Keep media results in Google Ads and manually record only the creative learnings the team needs to preserve.