If you see an error when launching a PMAX (Performance Max) campaign in OTTO PPC, use this article to identify the cause and get your campaign live. Most errors trace back to incomplete asset groups, invalid campaign settings, or a disconnected Google Ads account — all resolvable in a few minutes.
⚠️ Active rollout notice: The Search Atlas team is actively rolling out a fix for PMAX launch errors and the update is expected shortly. If you complete every step below and the error persists, the issue may resolve automatically once the update is fully deployed — no further action is needed on your end.
⚠️ What Causes a PMAX Launch Error in OTTO PPC
Performance Max campaigns have stricter requirements than standard Google Ads campaign types. An error at launch means one or more required fields are missing, invalid, or haven't synced correctly with your connected Google Ads account. Work through the steps below in order — most issues are resolved by Step 2 or Step 3.
🔍 Step 1: Check Your Asset Group for Missing Assets
Incomplete asset groups are the most common cause of PMAX launch errors. Each asset group must meet Google's minimum asset requirements before OTTO PPC can push the campaign live.
Confirm each asset group contains all of the following:
- Headlines — minimum 3, up to 15
- Long headlines — minimum 1, up to 5
- Descriptions — minimum 2, up to 5
- Marketing image — at least 1 landscape image
- Square image — at least 1 square image
- Logo — at least 1 square logo
- Final URL — a valid, reachable landing page URL
After completing all fields, click Save in the asset group editor. When the asset group meets Google's minimum requirements, the validation warning banner clears and the asset group is marked as ready to publish.
⚙️ Step 2: Verify Your Campaign-Level Settings
Missing or invalid campaign settings block launch even when the asset group is complete. Check each of the following:
- In OTTO PPC, go to Campaigns and open the PMAX campaign you are trying to launch.
- Confirm a daily budget is set to a value greater than $0.
- Confirm at least one conversion goal is selected. PMAX campaigns require conversion tracking to optimize delivery — without it, the campaign cannot launch.
- Verify the campaign start date is set to today or a future date. A past start date triggers a validation error.
- Click Save after making any corrections.
Once all settings pass validation, the Launch Campaign button becomes active and the inline error message clears.
🔗 Step 3: Confirm Your Google Ads Account Connection
OTTO PPC pushes PMAX campaigns directly to Google Ads. A broken or expired connection causes a backend error at the moment of launch.
- Go to Settings → Integrations → Google Ads in OTTO PPC.
- Check that your account shows a Connected status.
- If the status shows Disconnected or Error, click Reconnect and complete the Google OAuth authorization flow.
- Return to your PMAX campaign and attempt the launch again.
A successful reconnection displays a Connected badge next to your Google Ads account name.
📥 Step 4: Check for Manually-Added Ad Groups in Imported Campaigns
If you are working with an imported campaign and you manually added a new ad group through the Edit Setup flow, this can prevent ad generation and stop the ad group from being pushed to Google Ads.
A recent OTTO PPC release resolved ad generation for manually-added ad groups in imported campaigns. To clear this case:
- Confirm you are on the latest version of OTTO PPC.
- Open the imported campaign and review any ad groups you added manually in Edit Setup.
- Save the ad group again to trigger ad generation.
- Re-attempt the campaign launch.
▶️ Step 5: Retry the Campaign Launch
After resolving the issue identified above, retry the launch from the campaign detail page.
- Open your PMAX campaign in OTTO PPC → Campaigns.
- Click Launch Campaign.
- Confirm any preflight checklist prompts that appear.
If the launch succeeds, the campaign status changes to Active. Allow up to 24 hours for the campaign to begin serving impressions in Google Ads.
🔎 Advanced Checks if the Error Persists
If the error continues after completing all steps above, check the following less common causes:
- Google Ads account permissions: The connected Google account must have Standard or Admin access to the Google Ads account. Read-only access prevents campaign creation.
- Billing status: Confirm your Google Ads account has an active payment method. Campaigns cannot launch to accounts with suspended or missing billing.
- Asset policy violations: Images or ad copy flagged for a Google Ads policy violation block asset group approval. Check the Policy Status column in the asset group editor for any flagged items and replace them.
- Browser cache: Clear your browser cache, reload OTTO PPC, then attempt the launch again.
🆘 Still Seeing the Error?
If you have completed every step above and the campaign still fails to launch, contact the Search Atlas support team. Some PMAX launch errors are platform-side and may clear automatically as the active rollout completes.
When contacting support, include the following so the team can reproduce and resolve the issue quickly:
- Your Google Ads account ID
- The campaign name
- A screenshot of the error message (or the exact error text and any error code shown)
Also reach out if the campaign status is stuck in Pending or Processing for more than 30 minutes after a launch attempt.
🎯 You now know how to identify and fix the most common PMAX campaign launch errors in OTTO PPC. For help building out your asset groups from scratch, see the Creating a PMAX Campaign in OTTO PPC article.