Key Features of GMV Max on TikTok Every New Advertiser Should Know

If you’re planning to start advertising on TikTok—especially with GMV Max—to boost your product sales, it’s important to first understand the key features of GMV Max Ads.

Personally, I’ve previously worked with TikTok Ads focused on TikTok Shop (such as VSA and PSA formats). But with TikTok now pushing GMV Max more aggressively, I’ve switched over and tested it for a while. The results have been quite positive, which is why I want to share these insights. This article will focus only on GMV Max in standard TikTok ads, not GMV Max Live (we’ll cover that in a future post).

GMV Max Delivers Ads via Both Product Cards and Shoppable Videos

One of the main strengths of TikTok’s GMV Max ads is their ability to deliver your product promotions across multiple channels, including:

– **Product Cards in TikTok Shop**: These appear in both search results and the Discovery section of TikTok Shop. This is also known as PSA format, and you don’t need to enter keywords.

– **Shoppable Videos**: These are videos with your product’s shopping cart attached—whether from your own TikTok account or from creators doing affiliate marketing. As long as they allow ad usage (often referred to as ‘red cart’), their content can be promoted. The system rotates these videos based on performance.

From our campaign experience, most purchases still tend to come from Product Card ads, followed closely by videos (depending on product type). TikTok’s algorithm tends to prioritize videos with strong performance metrics like impressions and click-through rates, especially those proven to drive sales.

ROI ≠ ROAS: GMV Max Calculates ROI Across All Channels

With GMV Max, TikTok uses ROI instead of ROAS as the main performance metric. ROI includes total GMV revenue from all selected products—covering organic, paid, and affiliate sales, but excluding live sales—divided by your GMV Max ad spend.

This differs significantly from ROAS, which only measures revenue directly generated from ads. So if you’re used to looking at ROAS from PSA or VSA campaigns, keep in mind that GMV Max uses ROI instead.

Normally, your ROI from GMV Max should be higher than the ROAS you previously achieved—since it includes multiple revenue sources. If you find that ROI is lower than past ROAS, it might be time to reassess your setup.

You Can Still Choose Your Own Ad Videos

Even though GMV Max automates many things, you still have control over which videos are used in your ads. There are two main ways to manage this:

**1. Automatic video selection (with manual additions allowed):**

This method is highly recommended. TikTok automatically selects all eligible videos with your product cart for advertising. You can also add your own videos during campaign creation by going to GMV Max > Manage Creatives > Customized Posts > Select Product > Choose Video.

**2. Manual video selection:**

If you only want to use specific videos or creator content, you can manually pick each one. Go to GMV Max > Manage Creatives > Switch to Manual > Customized Posts > Select Product > Choose Video. This gives you full control over which creatives are used.

Boost High-Performing Videos Individually

Once your GMV Max campaign is live, you’ll likely notice some videos perform better than others. However, increasing the overall campaign budget doesn’t always funnel more spend into those top videos.

TikTok allows you to boost specific video creatives directly with their own daily budget. This ensures that your best-performing content gets the exposure it deserves.

**How to boost individual videos:**

1. Go to your GMV Max campaign > Click ‘View Details’

2. Under the Product tab, choose the product > Click ‘View Details’

3. Scroll to the video you want to boost > Click ‘Creative Boost’ > Set Up

4. Enter the daily budget and optional end date

Keep in mind: Boosted video budgets are separate from your main campaign budget. For example, if your campaign budget is 500 THB/day and you boost two videos at 100 THB/day each, your actual spend will be 700 THB/day.

Simple to Use: Available in TikTok Seller Center or Ad Manager

Setting up GMV Max is straightforward. You just create a campaign, select the products, assign a daily budget and Target ROI, choose videos (auto or manual), and publish.

You can set up GMV Max either via TikTok Seller Center or TikTok Ad Manager. If you work with a digital marketing agency (like Digital Break Time), you can give them access through TikTok Business Manager instead of sharing your Seller Center login.

Business Manager access also lets agencies manage multiple stores and consolidate billing. Plus, you can link your TikTok account for full access to all video creatives. Overall, it’s a flexible and secure setup.

Summary: Why GMV Max Stands Out on TikTok

GMV Max is becoming a major trend in TikTok advertising. It’s different from traditional PSA or VSA campaigns and offers multiple revenue streams—including a separate GMV Max Live format.

If you’re still undecided about running GMV Max campaigns or are just getting started, these highlights can help you make the most of it—boosting your ROI and sales on TikTok Shop.

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Originally in Thai. Translated to English with the help of ChatGPT.