January 20266 min read

Audience Targeting

Reach the right users with custom audiences, remarketing, and advanced targeting strategies.

Audience Segments Overview

Google Ads offers multiple ways to target users beyond keywords. In 2025, Google updated terminology:

"Remarketing" is now "Your Data"
"Audience types" are now "Audience Segments"

Audience Segment Types

| Segment Type | Source | Intent Level | Best For | |--------------|--------|--------------|----------| | Your Data | First-party (website, app, CRM) | Highest | Remarketing, retention | | Custom Segments | Keywords, URLs, apps | High | Prospecting with control | | Similar Audiences | ML-based on your data | Medium-High | Scaling your best audiences | | In-Market | Google's behavioral data | High | Active researchers | | Affinity | Google's interest data | Low-Medium | Awareness, reach | | Demographics | Age, gender, income, etc. | Varies | Audience refinement |

Custom Segments

Custom Segments let you build audiences based on keywords, URLs, and apps—essentially creating your own targeting criteria.

Custom Segment Options

Keywords: Target people who have searched for these terms on Google.

code

Example: B2B SaaS Company
Keywords to include:
- "CRM software"
- "sales automation tools"
- "best CRM for small business"
- "HubSpot alternatives"

URLs: Target people who browse websites similar to these URLs.

code

Example: Competitor Targeting
URLs to include:
- competitor1.com
- competitor2.com
- industrypublication.com
- relevantblog.com

Apps: Target people who use apps similar to these.

Custom Segment Best Practices

Use 10-15 keywords per segment (focused theme)
Include competitor domains for conquesting
Combine with other targeting for precision
Test keyword-based vs URL-based segments

Tip: Custom Segments based on competitor URLs are one of the most effective ways to reach users actively comparing solutions in your space.

Your Data (Remarketing)

Your Data segments re-engage people who have previously interacted with your business. These are typically your highest-value audiences.

Remarketing List Types

| List Type | Source | Use Case | |-----------|--------|----------| | Website Visitors | Google Tag | General remarketing | | Specific Page Visitors | URL rules | High-intent remarketing | | App Users | Firebase | Mobile engagement | | Customer Match | CRM upload | Existing customer targeting | | YouTube Viewers | YouTube channel | Video remarketing |

Segmentation Strategies

code

## Remarketing Segments by Intent

High Intent (Short duration, aggressive bidding):
- Visited pricing page (last 7 days)
- Added to cart but didn't purchase (last 14 days)
- Started checkout but abandoned (last 7 days)

Medium Intent (Medium duration):
- Visited product pages (last 30 days)
- Spent 2+ minutes on site (last 30 days)
- Viewed 3+ pages (last 30 days)

Low Intent (Longer duration):
- All visitors (last 90 days)
- Blog readers (last 60 days)

Remarketing Best Practices

Exclude converters from prospecting campaigns
Segment by recency—recent visitors convert at higher rates
Use sequential messaging—different ads for different stages
Set frequency caps—3-5 impressions per day per user
Create exclusion lists for non-qualified traffic

Similar Audiences

Similar Audiences (lookalikes) use machine learning to find new users who share characteristics with your existing audiences.

How It Works

code

Your Seed Audience (e.g., Converters)
         ↓
Google's ML Analysis
- Demographics
- Interests
- Browsing behavior
- Purchase patterns
         ↓
Similar Users Identified
(New prospecting audience)

Similar Audience Best Practices

Base on your best-performing audiences (converters, high-value customers)
Minimum seed audience: 1,000 users (more is better)
Use for prospecting, not remarketing
Expect slightly lower performance than source audience

In-Market Audiences

In-Market audiences target people actively researching or planning to purchase products/services in specific categories.

Popular In-Market Categories

| Category | Example Segments | |----------|------------------| | Business Services | SEO & SEM Services, CRM Software | | Financial Services | Credit Cards, Investment Services | | Technology | Computer Monitors, Smartphones | | Travel | Flights, Hotels, Car Rentals | | Real Estate | Residential Properties, Commercial |

When to Use In-Market

code

✓ Good for In-Market:
- B2B software purchases
- High-consideration purchases
- Users comparing options
- Near bottom of funnel

✗ Less effective for:
- Impulse purchases
- Brand awareness goals
- Very niche products (may not have segment)

Affinity Audiences

Affinity audiences target people based on their long-term interests and lifestyles, not immediate purchase intent.

Affinity vs In-Market

| Factor | Affinity | In-Market | |--------|----------|-----------| | Signal | Long-term interests | Recent behavior | | Intent | Low | High | | Funnel Stage | Top (awareness) | Bottom (consideration) | | Example | "Sports Fans" | "Buying Running Shoes" |

Affinity Best Practices

Use for brand awareness and reach campaigns
Combine with other targeting for better precision
Expect lower CTR but broader reach
Good for Display and Video campaigns

Combined Segments

Combined Segments layer multiple targeting criteria for precise audience definition.

Combination Strategies

AND Logic (Narrow targeting):

code

In-Market: Business Software
AND
Affinity: Technophiles
AND
Demographics: Business Decision Makers

Result: Tech-savvy decision makers actively researching business software

OR Logic (Broader reach):

code

Remarketing: Site Visitors (30 days)
OR
Similar Audience: Based on converters
OR
Custom Segment: Competitor keywords

Result: Warm audiences plus qualified prospects

Layering Best Practices

Start broad, then add layers to refine
Use Observation mode first to gather data
Apply Targeting mode once you identify top performers
Monitor audience overlap to avoid wasted spend

Optimized Targeting

Optimized Targeting allows Google to expand beyond your selected audiences to find additional converters.

How It Works

When enabled, Google uses your:

Conversion data
Landing page content
Ad creative
Selected audiences (as signals)

To find users likely to convert, even outside your targeting.

When to Use

| Scenario | Recommendation | |----------|----------------| | Prospecting campaigns | ON (helps find new users) | | Remarketing campaigns | OFF (want specific users only) | | Testing new audiences | ON (with monitoring) | | Brand safety concerns | OFF (less control) |

Warning: Optimized Targeting can reach users outside your selected audiences. Turn OFF for remarketing campaigns where you only want to reach people who already know your brand.

First-Party Data Strategy

With increasing privacy restrictions, first-party data is more valuable than ever in 2025.

Building First-Party Data

code

## Data Collection Touchpoints

Website:
□ Newsletter signups
□ Account creation
□ Contact form submissions
□ Resource downloads
□ Purchase transactions

Offline:
□ CRM records
□ Point-of-sale data
□ Call tracking
□ Event attendees

Customer Match

Upload your customer data (hashed) to create audiences in Google Ads:

Accepted Data:

Email addresses (most common)
Phone numbers
Physical addresses
Mobile device IDs

Match Rates:

Email: 30-60% typical match rate
Combined data: Higher match rates
Use SHA256 hashing for privacy

Privacy Compliance

Obtain proper consent for data collection
Comply with GDPR, CCPA, and local regulations
Use clear privacy policies
Honor opt-out requests promptly
Work with legal team on compliance

January 20266 min read

Audience Targeting

Reach the right users with custom audiences, remarketing, and advanced targeting strategies.

Audience Segments Overview

Google Ads offers multiple ways to target users beyond keywords. In 2025, Google updated terminology:

"Remarketing" is now "Your Data"
"Audience types" are now "Audience Segments"

Audience Segment Types

Custom Segments

Custom Segments let you build audiences based on keywords, URLs, and apps—essentially creating your own targeting criteria.

Custom Segment Options

Keywords: Target people who have searched for these terms on Google.

code

Example: B2B SaaS Company
Keywords to include:
- "CRM software"
- "sales automation tools"
- "best CRM for small business"
- "HubSpot alternatives"

URLs: Target people who browse websites similar to these URLs.

code

Example: Competitor Targeting
URLs to include:
- competitor1.com
- competitor2.com
- industrypublication.com
- relevantblog.com

Apps: Target people who use apps similar to these.

Custom Segment Best Practices

Use 10-15 keywords per segment (focused theme)
Include competitor domains for conquesting
Combine with other targeting for precision
Test keyword-based vs URL-based segments

Tip: Custom Segments based on competitor URLs are one of the most effective ways to reach users actively comparing solutions in your space.

Your Data (Remarketing)

Your Data segments re-engage people who have previously interacted with your business. These are typically your highest-value audiences.

Remarketing List Types

Segmentation Strategies

code

## Remarketing Segments by Intent

High Intent (Short duration, aggressive bidding):
- Visited pricing page (last 7 days)
- Added to cart but didn't purchase (last 14 days)
- Started checkout but abandoned (last 7 days)

Medium Intent (Medium duration):
- Visited product pages (last 30 days)
- Spent 2+ minutes on site (last 30 days)
- Viewed 3+ pages (last 30 days)

Low Intent (Longer duration):
- All visitors (last 90 days)
- Blog readers (last 60 days)

Remarketing Best Practices

Exclude converters from prospecting campaigns
Segment by recency—recent visitors convert at higher rates
Use sequential messaging—different ads for different stages
Set frequency caps—3-5 impressions per day per user
Create exclusion lists for non-qualified traffic

Similar Audiences

Similar Audiences (lookalikes) use machine learning to find new users who share characteristics with your existing audiences.

How It Works

code

Your Seed Audience (e.g., Converters)
         ↓
Google's ML Analysis
- Demographics
- Interests
- Browsing behavior
- Purchase patterns
         ↓
Similar Users Identified
(New prospecting audience)

Similar Audience Best Practices

Base on your best-performing audiences (converters, high-value customers)
Minimum seed audience: 1,000 users (more is better)
Use for prospecting, not remarketing
Expect slightly lower performance than source audience

In-Market Audiences

In-Market audiences target people actively researching or planning to purchase products/services in specific categories.

Popular In-Market Categories

When to Use In-Market

code

✓ Good for In-Market:
- B2B software purchases
- High-consideration purchases
- Users comparing options
- Near bottom of funnel

✗ Less effective for:
- Impulse purchases
- Brand awareness goals
- Very niche products (may not have segment)

Affinity Audiences

Affinity audiences target people based on their long-term interests and lifestyles, not immediate purchase intent.

Affinity vs In-Market

Affinity Best Practices

Use for brand awareness and reach campaigns
Combine with other targeting for better precision
Expect lower CTR but broader reach
Good for Display and Video campaigns

Combined Segments

Combined Segments layer multiple targeting criteria for precise audience definition.

Combination Strategies

AND Logic (Narrow targeting):

code

In-Market: Business Software
AND
Affinity: Technophiles
AND
Demographics: Business Decision Makers

Result: Tech-savvy decision makers actively researching business software

OR Logic (Broader reach):

code

Remarketing: Site Visitors (30 days)
OR
Similar Audience: Based on converters
OR
Custom Segment: Competitor keywords

Result: Warm audiences plus qualified prospects

Layering Best Practices

Start broad, then add layers to refine
Use Observation mode first to gather data
Apply Targeting mode once you identify top performers
Monitor audience overlap to avoid wasted spend

Optimized Targeting

Optimized Targeting allows Google to expand beyond your selected audiences to find additional converters.

How It Works

When enabled, Google uses your:

Conversion data
Landing page content
Ad creative
Selected audiences (as signals)

To find users likely to convert, even outside your targeting.

When to Use

Warning: Optimized Targeting can reach users outside your selected audiences. Turn OFF for remarketing campaigns where you only want to reach people who already know your brand.

First-Party Data Strategy

With increasing privacy restrictions, first-party data is more valuable than ever in 2025.

Building First-Party Data

code

## Data Collection Touchpoints

Website:
□ Newsletter signups
□ Account creation
□ Contact form submissions
□ Resource downloads
□ Purchase transactions

Offline:
□ CRM records
□ Point-of-sale data
□ Call tracking
□ Event attendees

Customer Match

Upload your customer data (hashed) to create audiences in Google Ads:

Accepted Data:

Email addresses (most common)
Phone numbers
Physical addresses
Mobile device IDs

Match Rates:

Email: 30-60% typical match rate
Combined data: Higher match rates
Use SHA256 hashing for privacy

Privacy Compliance

Obtain proper consent for data collection
Comply with GDPR, CCPA, and local regulations
Use clear privacy policies
Honor opt-out requests promptly
Work with legal team on compliance