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placement exclusions are your main lever. go to account-level placement exclusions (not campaign level — pmax doesn’t have that) and build a list of low-quality placements you want to block. you can also submit a request through your google rep for a placement exclusion list if you’re spending at scale, though that’s hit or miss
the other thing that helps is tightening your asset groups. if your assets are too generic, pmax interprets your audience too broadly and serves everywhere. more specific headlines, descriptions, and images that clearly signal who you’re for tends to improve placement relevance over time
audience signals help but they’re suggestions not restrictions — pmax will still go outside them if it thinks it can find conversions
honest answer though: pmax placement control is genuinely limited by design. if placement quality is critical for your business (brand safety, specific verticals etc), standard shopping + search gives you way more control. pmax is a volume play, not a precision play
