Google’s New Audience Targeting Options Ahead of the Holidays

For those within the internet marketing sphere, particularly within specific fields like SEO and PPC, keeping an eye on new tools and features rolled out by Google and other search engines is a vital task. Identifying and understanding changes quickly, plus implementing the needed changes to your efforts, goes a long way when it comes to the overall visibility and success of your branding efforts.

At SEO Werkz, we’re proud to offer a variety of private label SEO services, ranging from web design and other basics to in-depth capturing of back-end metrics and regular updates on new Google tools. One such tool that was announced in October and has been rolling out in the weeks since: Two new audience targeting options, known as “affinity audiences” and “in-market seasonal audiences.” Let’s look at what each of these terms is referring to, plus the benefits these new tools offer you for improving your ad targeting and specificity.

Affinity Audiences

Affinity audiences are a form of interest audience, one that’s technically been around for several years within the Google Display Network and Video campaigns – but now is being rolled out in a more general format. The crux of this tool is utilizing individual browsing behavior to build up audiences with a given set of interests, with features allowing advertisers to dig into a variety of areas, from Food & Dining to Do-It-Yourself areas and many others.

As an advertiser, you can use this tool to narrow in on extremely specific audience subsets. You can target them like you would normal Google Ad audience, or you can simply track their metrics as a group to see how they perform within your normal range of campaigns, then decide based on these results whether you want to involve specific targeting.

In-Market Audiences

Another tool that’s technically not new, but making a broader re-appearance into the conversation, is the in-market seasonal event segment audience tool. This was a tool that was brought to Search back in 2017, one that utilizes a variety of query types to pinpoint what are called “buyer intent signals.” It’s essentially a way of using browsing behavior and other factors to predict the kinds of things seasonal audiences are interested in.

This tool is being added to both Search and YouTube campaigns ahead of the upcoming holiday season. This is on top of a number of new in-market categories that were added by Google back in May – between these two advances, you can target holiday shoppers with far more direct specificity than before.

Campaign Benefits

Before these tools rolled out, advertisers would have to utilize keyword targeting and basic query intent signals for specific audience reach. With them, however, you can reach audiences using search and browsing signals as well, helping with both higher-funnel and low-funnel audience reach.

For more on the new tools Google is rolling out, or to learn about any of our search engine optimization, web design or other services, speak to the staff at SEO Werkz today.