The data-driven power of today’s marketing and advertising is still trying to find its way to most businesses, both large and small. Many business owners are not used to having access to “big data.” But Google and other platforms are making it easier than ever to create our own data mines. Take for instance Google Trends. Anyone can use this tool to research topics and search terms that are currently “trending.” Many platforms including Google have also given advertisers the ability to pick their audiences.
At Google Marketing Live 2019, YouTube Ads Custom Audiences was announced as a new targeting method for the Google Ads video campaigns. YouTube Ads allows the Google Ads platform to manage your video ad campaigns on YouTube, as well as, other Display Network partnering websites. When visiting YouTube to start a campaign, it redirects you to Google Ads.
This new targeting strategy is a combination of two previous targeting methods. Nicky Rettke, Director of Product Management for YouTube Ads said they are “merging custom affinity with custom intent audiences into one powerfully simple solution.”
How Do Custom Audiences Work?
As Ms. Rettke explains in the video clip below, say an advertiser wants to connect with people that like hiking. When an advertiser goes to create a custom audience, they can just start entering in the information about the audience they are trying to reach. Google will then help them along the way by suggesting relevant keywords, websites, apps and more.
As the image illustrates below, once the advertiser enters “Hiking enthusiasts” into Audience Name certain suggested search terms come up. This allows the advertiser to select which ones are most relevant to their hiking campaign. Also, if you look to the right the advertiser is provided Audience Insights such as Gender, Age, and Topics that are relevant to the selected search terms.
As the custom audience is built, Google actively shares data with the advertiser such as audience insights and impression forecasting. This means advertisers have a better understanding of their audience’s composition and reach before the campaign even launches. After completing the custom audience, advertisers have the ability to use it across their Gmail, YouTube, Google Discovery and Display Network campaigns.
The Audience Expansion Tool
In addition to Custom Audiences, Google introduced an audience expansion tool. As an advertiser moves the slider, they will see estimates that will make it easier to understand the impact on their reach.
Custom Audiences Campaign Effectiveness
In early tests, advertisers have seen up to 50% more conversions for the same investment. Watch the full announcement below:
Use Custom Audiences for Your Business
Go ahead. Experiment with all the audience targeting methods mentioned in the link above. Then, optimize each one of your campaigns based on the data collected during your experimentation.
Feeling overwhelmed? Not sure how to interpret your big data? We can help! Contact us today to schedule a strategy session with one of our Google Ads specialists.