Google Ads Targeting: How To Get It Right

Ravi Davda Rockstar Marketing CEO

Written by Ravi

Jul 27, 2022

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As a business owner, you’ve probably experienced the frustrating feeling of launching out creative and spot-on Google ads only to see no interactions. We’re talking about one of the biggest, if not the biggest, advertising platforms on the Internet here.

Any mishap with your Google Ads can lead to you losing access to a lot of potential customers. One common mistake that marketers commit is wrong targeting.

For a successful advertising campaign, targeting ads becomes essential. Having all the perfect elements of an ad is irrelevant when you’re not showing it to the right people at the right time. If not, you’ll just end up wasting both time and money.

So how do you know you’re reaching the right people? We’ve listed below the different types of Google Ads targeting and ways to help you improve and optimise your results and campaigns. But first…

How does Google ads targeting work?

Google Ads use several tools to determine who exactly can see your campaigns. You can select your audience based on their location, their interests, and many other factors.

And the best part about all of this is that Google Ads presents you with a variety of targeting options to choose from. You can even layer several targeting options at the campaign level.

However, you’re going to be limited depending on the type of campaign you’re going with. For instance, when advertising on the Google Display Network, you’re offered multiple targeting options that vary from location to keyword to topic, etc.

On the other hand, when advertising on the Google Search Network, you’re offered other targeting options such as remarketing lists and in-market audiences.

To conclude, Google Ads is the best when it comes to narrowing your targeting. To avoid reaching the wrong people, Google Ads offers different filtering parameters. Here are some of them.

Demographics targeting

To match up with people who have a similar customer persona, Google ads have provided us with demographic filters. These demographics include the following:

  • Gender
  • Age
  • Income
  • Parental status

Topic Google ads targeting

Topic targeting helps place your display ads, ensuring that they only appear next to material that is relevant to your target demographic. You can choose websites, applications, and videos that coincide with issues that resonate with your audience or pertain to your brand using this form of contextual targeting.

Placement targeting

You can get even more exact about where your display advertising appears with placement targeting. You may choose which web videos, apps, and pages your adverts will appear on.

Keyword targeting

Keyword targeting is available in both search and display advertising, but the two networks handle it differently. You can use phrases relating to your brand, products, and services in display campaigns to help Google Ads discover appropriate sites to run your ads on. To come up with keyword ideas, use Google Keyword Planner.

Keyword targeting isn’t required for display advertisements, but it is required for search campaigns. The keywords you select inform Google Ads which search phrases to bid on and when your winning ad should appear on the search engine results page. To optimise each ad group, utilise the appropriate keyword match types and a list of negative keywords.

Audience Google ads targeting

Audience Google Ads Targeting

Would it be more effective to target users based on their preferences and actions? Google Ads also provides audiences, which are pre-built and custom-built user groupings.

Advertisers can select from roughly 90 pre-built audience segments that target people based on their interests. You can target users who are interested in what your company offers or who have hobbies that match your customer persona. Users can fine-tune these interests for more accuracy by altering their Google Ads settings.

In-market audiences

Use in-market audiences to reach users who are actively looking for what you have to offer. These are behaviour-based audiences of people looking for the items and services your company offers.

Custom audiences

As an advertiser, you’re not confined to pre-built Google Ads audiences. Instead, you can construct unique affinity audiences that provide a better fit or more specific targeting.

Enter a keyword, website, or app as the source to build a custom intent audience. Then Google Ads can create a group of people who have similar interests or purchasing intentions.

Additionally, you can create a unique audience based on those who have used Google to search for specific terms. This means you may use search retargeting into display advertising that appears on Google properties such as YouTube.

Remarketing audiences

Why aim to reach new audiences when you can profit from existing ones?

You may use Google Advertisements to establish remarketing lists to target people who have previously visited your site or app, interacted with your ads, or subscribed to your list. You can also use these categories to locate similar audiences who are interested in your product or service.

In your Google Ads account, go to Tools & Settings and then Audience Manager to set up remarketing lists. Then, based on website visits, app users, or YouTube viewers, establish a new audience. As a seed audience, you can also use your existing customer database.

Remarketing audiences from Google Analytics can also be added. Connect your Google Ads account to Google Analytics and choose which lists to include.

Optimised targeting

Optimised Targeting

Google Ads optimises targeting and recommends changes based on your landing pages and creative assets to drive more conversions. You can disable this additional targeting once you’ve added any of the manual options listed above. However, if you want Google to automatically improve your targeting, It’s better if you leave it on.

How to put your Google ads targeting skills to use?

Whether you choose to target certain individuals, contexts, or search keywords, Google Ads offers a solution for you. Your campaigns can target practically any type of user with so many data segments and customised combinations at your disposal.

Once you’ve grasped Google Advertisements targeting, you’ll be able to concentrate on other parts of display and search ads. Learn how Google Ads functions so you can create and manage more successful campaigns.

Using audience targeting in campaigns is no longer an option; it should be part of your whole campaign strategy. So here are four tips that will help you achieve an effective marketing campaign:

1. Set your objectives and define the market

What outcomes do you hope to achieve? Without a mistake, this is the first question you should ask yourself, and it is critical to do a thorough analysis and understand your goals.

For instance, If you want to boost the effectiveness of your content strategy, you can use Google Ads by adding keywords linked to information searches. If you want to increase conversions, on the other hand, your keywords should revolve around the point of purchase.

2. Select the appropriate keywords for your adverts

Without a doubt, the exposure and future performance of your campaigns are directly related to the keywords you choose. Keywords are really important, especially when we consider these three variables 

  • Price per click (PPC): We need to know what our budget is and whether we can compete in terms of advertising effect
  • Does it produce a high amount of searches as a result of its notoriety?
  • User needs: Each keyword has an intention; it could be related to a search for information or a purchase necessity. It’s critical to connect these users’ search queries to the campaign’s goal

3. Google ads targeting: Choose the sort of campaign that best fits your objectives

  • Shopping campaigns: Display your products in the world’s largest online marketplace. You’ll only be charged when buyers click to visit your website or browse local inventory
  • Video campaigns: Use YouTube to reach out to potential clients. You’ll only be charged if someone views one of your ads for at least 30 seconds, sees it in its entirety, or interacts with it, such as by clicking on a call to action, a card, or a promotional banner
  • Search campaigns: ideal for introducing your items or services to possible customers. You must set an objective for this type of ad (direct traffic to your website, increase sales, or produce sales chances), and you’ll only be charged if there is an engagement (PPC – Pay per click)
  • Display campaigns: Increase your visibility on the Google news section, blogs, and sites such as Gmail or YouTube by advertising on the Google Display Network

4. Make ads that have an impact

If you want your Google Ads efforts to be successful, you must build ads that generate attention, attract people, and correctly describe your value offer.

Placing oneself in the shoes of the customer and what they hope to find in their search and connecting them with the answers you offer with your brand to encourage them to buy, fill out a form, or achieve the goal that you have initially set for yourself.

It’s necessary that you are familiar with the large range of formats that Google provides.

Do you want to take your business to the next level with Google Ads?

Well, it’s your lucky day, because we’re here to help!

Contact us today, and one of our experts will show you how our agency can get your business off the ground with Google Ads.


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