{"id":9843,"date":"2023-06-09T14:48:26","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T14:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences\/"},"modified":"2023-06-09T14:48:26","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T14:48:26","slug":"how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences\/","title":{"rendered":"How to maintain targeting capabilities even without Google Ads similar audiences"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-ads-similar-audience-segments-transition-393725\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Similar audiences<\/a> have been a valuable tool for expanding prospecting efforts and improving the scale and quality of Google Ads campaigns \u2013 and it\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-is-getting-rid-of-similar-audiences-segments-389234\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">going away<\/a> starting Aug. 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that the impact will likely be surmountable.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here are alternatives and new strategies to maintain your <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/guide\/what-is-paid-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PPC<\/a> targeting capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences\/#Google-recommended_strategies_to_keep_your_audience_targeting_effective\" >Google-recommended strategies to keep your audience targeting effective<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences\/#For_search_shopping_campaigns\" >For search + shopping campaigns<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences\/#For_display_discovery_and_video_campaigns_Google_Ads_Display_and_Video_360\" >For display, discovery and video campaigns (Google Ads + Display and Video 360)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences\/#For_video_campaigns_reach_or_consideration\" >For video campaigns (reach or consideration)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences\/#What_else_can_I_do_outside_of_what_Google_recommends\" >What else can I do outside of what Google recommends?\u00a0<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences\/#Adding_and_testing_custom_segments_in_your_accounts\" >Adding and testing custom segments in your accounts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences\/#Smart_bidding_and_its_machine_learning_capabilities\" >Smart bidding and its machine learning capabilities\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences\/#Providing_high-quality_signals_to_Google\" >Providing high-quality signals to Google<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Google-recommended_strategies_to_keep_your_audience_targeting_effective\"><\/span>Google-recommended strategies to keep your audience targeting effective<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Providing high-quality data and signals to Google Ads is key to maintaining effective audience targeting even without similar audiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This ensures that the various automation, machine learning, and algorithmic processes at play have enough of the <strong>right<\/strong> information to steer in the direction you want.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"For_search_shopping_campaigns\"><\/span>For search + shopping campaigns<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Level up how you leverage smart bidding by providing high-quality first-party data.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You can do this through customer match lists, which can be uploaded directly to Google Ads in the audience manager.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Smart bidding strategies will automatically utilize this first-party data to proactively seek valuable customers and would-be customers using Google\u2019s automation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"For_display_discovery_and_video_campaigns_Google_Ads_Display_and_Video_360\"><\/span>For display, discovery and video campaigns (Google Ads + Display and Video 360)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Suppose you have similar audiences applied to these campaign types as of Aug. 1. In that case, you will be automatically opted into using optimized targeting, which makes it no surprise that Google\u2019s rec is to roll with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Optimized targeting is a broader strategy than similar audiences. Rather than building personas off of advertiser-provided seed lists, it uses real-time conversion data to construct personas of people deemed more likely to convert.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Optimized targeting will use your data (content targeting, selected audience segments, etc.) as a jumping-off point. It will also expand its search for qualified users beyond these boundaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Advertisers using optimized targeting across their display and Video 360 campaigns see a 55% improvement toward their specified campaign objectives when using first-party data and a 25% improvement when using Google audiences, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.google\/products\/marketingplatform\/360\/new-audience-solutions-in-display-video-360\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"For_video_campaigns_reach_or_consideration\"><\/span>For video campaigns (reach or consideration)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>On Aug. 1, any video campaigns that fall into this bucket will automatically opt into audience expansion. This strategy probably resembles similar audiences the most in how it works.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Google will take the selected audience segments you apply and will expand your targeting to include segments across various types (e.g., custom segments, in-market segments) that look like the ones you\u2019ve specifically chosen.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Think similar audiences that don\u2019t use first-party data as the seed list.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<div class=\"nl-inline-form border py-2 px-1 my-2\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 col-xl-4 pe-md-0 pb-2 pb-lg-0\">\n<p class=\"inline-form-text text-center mb-0\">Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-7 col-xl-6  pe-lg-0\">\n<div class=\"form-nl-inline\">\n<div class=\"row g-0\">\n<div class=\"form-group col-12 col-lg-8 mb-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4 col-xl-4 mb-0\">\n<div class=\"d-none\">\n<p>Processing\u2026Please wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-dark inlineButton w-100 rounded-0 font-weight-bold\">SUBSCRIBE<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-2 col-xl-2 ps-1\">\n<p class=\"text-center mb-0\"><a class=\"nl-terms\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/termsofuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">See terms.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_else_can_I_do_outside_of_what_Google_recommends\"><\/span>What else can I do outside of what Google recommends?\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Beyond Google\u2019s recommendations, here are strategies you can test to ensure you&#8217;re not missing out on any traffic volume or targeting opportunity come Aug. 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Adding_and_testing_custom_segments_in_your_accounts\"><\/span>Adding and testing custom segments in your accounts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>I\u2019ve seen this strategy used in a couple of different ways that could be useful in this situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Option 1: <\/strong>Create keyword-based custom segment targeting containing your account\u2019s top-performing search queries: one for brand and separate for relevant non-brand categories.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Gather this data by:<\/p>\n<p>Performing a search query analysis across your existing search campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>Compiling keyword lists of the terms with the:<\/p>\n<p>Highest conversion volume.<\/p>\n<p>Most efficient cost per acquisition.<\/p>\n<p>Highest conversion value.<\/p>\n<p>And\/or any other key performance indicator that\u2019s important to you.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Once these lists are created, you can apply them across your campaign types to capture users who:<\/p>\n<p>Search the included terms and similar terms.<\/p>\n<p>Show interest or purchase intent related to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Option 2: <\/strong>Create URL-based custom segment targeting using your competitors&#8217; websites.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Collaborate with your client, internal team, etc., to identify your closest competitors and create a custom segment using the \u201cpeople who browse websites similar to\u201d option.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This will tell Google that you want to reach people like those browsing your competitors&#8217; sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Talk about feeding two birds with one scone. You get pseudo-similar audience targeting <strong>and<\/strong> visibility to your competitors&#8217; potential customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Smart_bidding_and_its_machine_learning_capabilities\"><\/span>Smart bidding and its machine learning capabilities\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>These can be extremely powerful tools when used strategically.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve seen success here primarily through adding conversion values and using offline conversion importing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Adding conversion values to the existing conversion actions in your Google Ads accounts can assist in expanding targeting to include higher-value users.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When you add values to your conversion actions, you effectively tell the smart bidding automation, \u201cThis is the priority I place on each of these types of actions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When you add these values and use a \u201cMaximize conversion value\u201d smart bidding strategy, the automation will use real-time conversion data to seek new users who are most likely to convert on your highest value (highest priority) conversion actions.<\/p>\n<p>Basically, it uses the same logic that similar audiences are, which is \u201cfind me more people who exhibit behavior similar to these traits.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But in this case, the defined traits are conversion actions rather than advertiser-defined first-party seed lists.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Testing <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/offline-conversion-import-salesforce-google-ads-395716\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">offfline conversion importing<\/a> is a worthwhile strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Offline conversion importing, simply put, is taking the data the business gets after a PPC conversion action and sharing it back into Google Ads via some feedback loop.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This allows advertisers deeper visibility into which targeting tactics are actually driving bottom-line performance rather than just top-line conversions.<\/p>\n<p>It has the added benefit of providing the highest-quality signal to the smart bidding algorithm\/machine learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To make the most of offline conversion importing as it relates to the sunsetting of similar audiences, you should employ it alongside smart bidding strategies as a primary conversion action.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This will train the system to seek and optimize for these high-quality offline conversion actions, ultimately finding new users who exhibit behavior most like your existing customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Providing_high-quality_signals_to_Google\"><\/span>Providing high-quality signals to Google<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Google\u2019s move to sunset similar audiences is consistent with its goal to focus more on user privacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Will it change the way we can seek new users? Yes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Can we still provide high-quality signals and targeting guidance to Google Ads to maintain and continue to improve results for our businesses and clients? Absolutely.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While we\u2019re seeing plenty of Google Ads features go, that doesn\u2019t mean we are out of tools. It just means we need to find new or different ways to use the ones we\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/how-to-maintain-targeting-capabilities-even-without-google-ads-similar-audiences-428038\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to maintain targeting capabilities even without Google Ads similar audiences<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Similar audiences have been a valuable tool for expanding prospecting efforts and improving the scale and quality of Google Ads campaigns \u2013 and it\u2019s going away starting Aug. 1.\u00a0 The good news is that the impact will likely be surmountable.\u00a0 Here are alternatives and new strategies to maintain your PPC targeting capabilities.\u00a0 Google-recommended strategies to keep your audience targeting effective Providing high-quality data and signals to Google Ads is key to maintaining effective audience targeting even without similar audiences.\u00a0 This ensures that the various automation, machine [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9843\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}