Yandex Direct Unified Performance Campaign (UPC) Management

Ad types in a Unified Performance Campaign

The campaign uses four core ad types, and different types can sit together in the same ad group. This flexibility means you can show both product and brand messages to the same audience. The system decides which type leads in which placement; we keep at least two types together in each group and track the differences between types in reporting.

• Product ads: Generated automatically for each product or service from a feed or site data.
• Catalog page ads: Automatic ads for category and listing pages; they work well on broad queries.
• Combined ads: Many banner variations generated from multiple headlines, texts, images and videos.
• Image ads: A single-image banner whose design stays under our control.

UPC bidding strategies: which one and when?

Yandex offers four strategies: Maximum clicks, Maximum clicks with manual bids (available on Search only), Maximum conversions, and the Package strategy, which manages several campaigns on a shared budget. On new accounts where the Metrica goal has not yet built up conversions, we collect data with Maximum clicks first. Once the goal starts getting regular conversions, we switch to the Maximum conversions strategy. For clearly defined goals such as purchases or forms, we also weigh the option of paying per conversion.

Two platform-specific details affect setup. First, negative keywords apply to both Search and the Advertising Network; a keyword you add to block an irrelevant search query also narrows targeting in network placements. Second, budget cannot be split at ad group level. When we need to run Search and the network on different budgets, we open separate campaigns.

Should Russian- and Turkish-speaking audiences share a campaign?

No. In Türkiye, most Yandex campaigns address two different audiences: Russian-speaking users who are planning a trip to Türkiye or are already in the country, and local users searching in Turkish. Because language, message, landing page and conversion value differ, we set them up in separate campaigns. This way the Maximum conversions strategy does not mix data from the two audiences, and the report clearly shows which language brings cheaper demand. For tourism accounts, we plan the start of the season with seasonal behavior analysis and put the campaign into learning weeks before the booking period.

Retargeting with product ads and measuring contribution

To show the same product again to users who viewed it on the site without buying (offer retargeting), the campaign must include product or catalog page ads. This works much like the Yandex equivalent of Meta catalog ads. To make the feed suitable for Yandex, we check that product IDs in Metrica's e-commerce events match the IDs in the feed. We read the campaign's real contribution by source in GA4 as well as Metrica. We compare costs with Google Performance Max campaigns built on the same logic.

Unified Performance Campaign: when do we recommend it?

How we manage Unified Performance Campaign

1. Metrica goalsWe set up purchase, form, phone and WhatsApp goals in Metrica and define their values.
2. Language and placement splitWe separate Russian- and Turkish-speaking audiences, and Search and network if needed, into different campaigns.
3. Ad type mixWe decide which of product, catalog, combined and image ads each group will contain.
4. Negative listWe build the list carefully, knowing that negatives also affect network placements.
5. Strategy switchWe move from Maximum clicks to Maximum conversions once the goal builds up regular conversions.

Unified Performance Campaign: metrics and requirements

The Brand Move Yandex Team

To learn more about Unified Performance Campaign or other Yandex ad formats, contact The Brand Move Yandex team today.

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