Harness The Power of Audience Targeting in Google Ads

When it comes to your advertising reach with Google Ads there's an array of different audience targeting methods you can capitalize on to refine your approach. You can use these methods to optimize your campaigns as well as segment your performance data for proper analyzation. One of the most common audience targeting methods is ' remarketing audiences', which targets users who have been on your website before. In addition, there are also a good amount of less well known audience targeting methods which we will outline below. When implemented correctly, every single kind of Google Ad campaign you are running whether that be search, display, shopping, or even YouTube can benefit.

Unfortunately, reports show that a significant percent of advertisers budget is wasted on serving ads to people who are unlikely to convert. By planning and implementing a diverse audience targeting strategy you can be sure every dollar invested is being maximized. Below we will outline the most useful audience targeting methods you can apply to your Google Ads campaigns TODAY to get better results.

Demographic audience targeting is an essential for every business. There are a number of different targeting options with demographics with the most common being:

• Age
  
• Gender
  
• Household Income

Targeting users that have already been on your site is pretty much the lowest hanging fruit when it comes to digital marketing audience targeting. You can go about remarketing in a number of different ways. One of those includes adding them to your existing campaigns with a positive bid adjustment. On the other hand, you may opt to build a an entirely separate campaign targeted directly towards people who are on your remarketing list. Depending on what your goals are, you should choose the method that makes the most sense for the specific business model you are in.

For example, if you have a longer sales cycle and want to entice users to revisit your ads and site, it makes sense to go with the bid adjustment method. However, if you have a shorter more competitive sales cycle you may opt to run a promotion campaign targeting your remarketing audience. In todays world customers have so many different touch points and interactions with businesses. By running remarketing campaigns you are able to capitalize on every micro moment and be in the right place at the right time.

Similar audiences are another powerful and extremely under utilized audience targeting method within Google Ads. Similar audiences let you choose a data set and reach users who match similar characteristics, such as 'Similar To Remarketing audience'. What this does is it allows you to embrace machine learning and let Google show your ads to users who are similar to that data set you have selected.

For example, if you run an e-commerce store selling dog toys and you create a 'Similar To Converters', Google will then add users who show similar behavior to people who have previously bought a dog toy on your site. That allows you to expand your advertising reach while still remaining as targeted as possible to drive the most conversions. Google collects information on every user to record specific types of behavior and purchasing patterns. It uses this information to let advertisers reach their target market. This is how companies like Google & Facebook make the bulk of their revenue and is the reason they are able to offer their services for "free".

Custom Intent and In Market audiences are another extremely powerful targeting method which can be applied to your Google Ads. One powerful benefit of 'Custom' and 'In Market' audiences is that they provide a layer of flexibility you can use to target your users based on your products and services. One way to accomplish building a targeted custom intent audience is to use your competitors URLs combined with a selection of your top keywords.

As for 'In Market Audiences', there are a variety of different options to chose from which can be selected using the new Google Ads platform. An 'In Market' audience is just as it sounds. It helps you reach new users that are likely in the same market of the product or service you sell. Many advertisers are seeing great results applying targeted audience groups to their Google Ad campaigns and we encourage you to do the same!

If you have any questions about audience targeting or need help with your Google Ads please feel free to schedule a free consultation here.