Digital marketing is all about getting the right message in front of the right person, at the right time. There are many audiences targeting methods in Google ads, which helps you find your ideal customers online.
Audience targeting is one of the most important parts of any successful marketing campaign. Based on your campaign goals, you need to select your targeting methods. Before that, you need to find out who is your target audience, what they do, how they search online, where they hang out and what they look for. With Google ads, there are many ways you can reach your new, existing or similar potential customers.
Google Ads offers different ways with different combinations of targeting methods.
Demographics Targeting Method:
What is Demographics Target Methods?
Demographic targeting is one of the most used and powerful targeting methods. Which help advertisers to narrow your targeting based on the locations, age, gender, device parental status and household income and your ads will be shown to only those targeted audience, it will improve your reach and also reduce wasted on the ad spend which are not your target audiences.
How does it work?
Google collect demographics information & activities from google account users from their Google account settings.
Target Options:
- Locations: You need to select which specific location you want to target.
- Ages: “18-24,” “25-34,” “35-44,” “45-54,” “55-64,” “65 or more,” and “Unknown”
- Gender: “Female,” “Male,” and “Unknown”
- Parental status: “Parent,” “Not a parent,” and “Unknown”
- Device Type: Desktop, Mobile, tablet
Affinity
What is Affinity Target Methods?
Based on the google account users browsing and search history, Google predefined buckets of general interests. They are broad and widely generalized groups. In Google Ads, with very efficient price as compared to TV ads, you can reach your broad target audience at large scare. It will be very powerful for brand promotions, brand building and products and solutions announcements.
Target Categories:
(In Google Ads system, you will find more subcategories)
Target Options:
- /Banking & Finance
- /Beauty & Wellness
- /Food & Dining
- /Home & Garden
- /Lifestyles & Hobbies
- /Media & Entertainment
- /News & Politics
- /Shoppers
- /Sports & Fitness
- /Technology
- /Travel
- /Vehicles & Transportation
In-market
What is In-Market Target Methods?
In-Market target method uses machine learning technology to analyze the trillions of search queries and let you bet on your target prospecting audiences that are likely in the process of buying something you sell. These users who have shown interest to compare or purchase a specific category of products, these in-market audience purposes is temporary and does not paint an overall picture of a user.
Target Broad Categories:
(In Google Ads system, you will find more subcategories)
- /Apparel & Accessories
- /Autos & Vehicles
- /Baby & Children’s Products
- /Business Services
- /Computers & Peripherals
- /Consumer Electronics
- /Dating Services
- /Education
- /Employment
- /Event Tickets
- /Financial Services
- /Gifts & Occasions
- /Home & Garden
- /Real Estate
- /Software
- /Sports & Fitness
- /Telecom
- /Travel
Custom Intent
Custom intent are similar to custom affinity, here Google Algorithms uses browsing history of the user to allow you to target users who are actively researching or browsing pages related to the terms and websites inserted by you. In Custom intent targeting method will be most useful for a client who focused more on driving conversations, Google’s algorithms predict the likelihood of conversion based on the users search history or browsing pattern.
Similar Audiences
Google is getting more dynamic with different audience targeting method. Similar audience targeting is more powerful and expected to drive more qualified traffic to your website than your just random new visitors.
With Similar audience for search campaigns, you will be able to find new similar search behavior users as those are in your remarketing list which are already visited your website, but this target methods you will find audiences that have not visited your site. Google uses website tags and rules-based remarketing lists with at least 1,000 cookies with enough similarity in search behavior patterns to generate similar audience list.
Google Ads Remarketing
Remarketing is a type of google ads and this will help you to reconnect with people who previously interacted with your website or mobile app. Remarketing uses a special tracking code to place cookies on the browser of the people visiting your website or mobile app. It allows you to strategically position your remarketing ads in the form of text, images, video formats as your visitors browse Google or other Google partner websites or apps.
Types of remarketing options:
- Standard Remarketing Ads: This allows you to show your static images ads through display network for those who have previously visited your website or mobile app.
- Dynamic Remarketing Ads: This more advanced and personalized remarketing type. Depend on what visitors looking on the website or mobile apps based on that Google will dynamically create ads for that specific products or page with image, price, custom text you can add tailored to your audience.
- Remarketing List for search ads: This allows you to customize your Search Network campaigns to reach people who have previously visited your website
- Video Remarketing: You can retarget your audience those who viewed your youtube video and also you can use youtube video for remarketing purpose for those who visited your website or app.
- Email List Remarketing: You can use upload your customer or prospects list on Google ads, once they login into your Gmail, Google Search or YouTube you can reach them with Image, Text remarketing ads.
- Contextual targeting: Depend on your target keywords, topic, location, Google analyses & search most relevant content of other Google partner websites to display your text ad.
- Display expansion for search Targeting: With this, you can reach both your search and display audience. You can get more extra coverage for capturing your target audience attention. When your ads appear on the search term on google search and also on the search partners sites that match your keyword and relevant page content.
There are different audience targeting methods available in Google Ads and each has their own benefits, you need to understand how each one works and depends on your marketing campaign goals and objectives you need to use them and also you use to apply more than one target methods at a time to improve accuracy. Keep testing these methods and see what works best for your target audience.
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Am a data-driven Digital Marketing Consultant & Trainer. I have been actively involved in the marketing industry for over 15 years. Digital marketing is my passion because it is a giant puzzle whose rules are constantly changing. I talk about Digital marketing, Lead Generation, Demand Generation and MarTech. Certified in Google Ads, Google Analytics and Inbound Marketing.
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