to continue targeting even without Google Ads Similar Audiences //

Similar Audiences has been a useful tool to expand prospecting efforts, improve the scale and quality and of Google Ads campaigns. is going away on Aug. 1.

The impact of the hurricane is likely to be manageable.

You can use these new and alternative strategies to keep your PPC target capabilities.

Google’s recommended strategies for effective audience targeting

Google Ads needs high-quality signals and data to maintain effective audience targeting, even when there are no similar audiences.

It is important to ensure that all the processes involved in automation, machine-learning, and algorithmic processing have the correct data they need to guide you in the right direction.

Search + Shopping Campaigns

By providing first-party, high-quality data, you can improve your smart bidding.

This can be done by uploading customer match lists directly into Google Ads’ audience manager.

Google’s automated bidding system will use this data to automatically create smart bid strategies that actively seek out valuable customers.

Display, discovery, and video campaigns using Google Ads + Display 360 and Video 360

Assume you’ve applied similar audiences to these campaign types since Aug. 1. If you are in this situation, Google will recommend that you use optimized targeting.

The strategy of optimized targeting is more expansive than that of similar audiences. It uses real-time data on conversions to create personas based on the seed lists provided by advertisers.

Your data will be used for targeted optimization (content targeting, audience segments selected, etc.). As a starting point. It will also extend its search for qualified users outside of these boundaries.

Google reports that advertisers who use optimized targeting in their Video 360 and Display campaigns achieve 55% more of their campaign goals when they use first-party data, and 25% more when they use Google audiences.

Video campaigns (reach, consideration or concern)

Any video campaigns that fall under this category will be automatically opted into audience expansion on August 1. This strategy is the one that most closely resembles audiences with similar tastes.

Google will use the audience segments that you have selected and expand your targeting by including segments of various types (custom segments, in-market segment) that are similar to the ones you’ve chosen.

Consider similar audiences without using first-party data for the seed list.

What other options are there besides what Google suggests?

Here are some strategies that you can use to make sure you don’t miss out on traffic or target opportunities come August 1.

Add and test custom segments to your accounts

This strategy has been used in different ways and could be helpful in this situation.

Option 1 Create keyword-based segment targeting by combining your account’s most popular search queries. One for brands and another for non-brand categories.

Please collect this information by:

• Perform a search campaign analysis.
• Keyword lists for the following terms:
  • Highest conversion volume.
  • Most efficient cost per acquisition.
  • Highest conversion value.
  • You can also use any other important key performance indicators.

You can use these lists to target users based on:

• Find terms that are similar to the ones you’ve selected.
• Show an interest in or a purchase intention related to the product.

Option 2: Create URL-based custom segment targeting using your competitors’ websites.

Create a segment using “people who visit websites similar to”. This can be done in collaboration with your client or internal team.

You can tell Google you’re interested in reaching people who visit your competitors’ websites.

You can feed two birds with just one scone. You can target a pseudo-similar audience with , and you will have visibility for your competitors.

Smart Bidding and its Machine Learning Capabilities

When used strategically, these tools can be very powerful.

I’ve had success with this primarily by adding conversion values and importing offline conversions.

Add conversion values to your existing conversion actions within Google Ads to expand targeting to higher-value users.

By adding values to conversion actions, the automated smart bidding system will know that you are prioritizing each type of action.

If you use the “Maximize Conversion Value” smart bidding strategies, and add these values to your bids, then the automation will use conversion data in real time to find new users most likely to convert to your highest-value (highest priority conversion actions).

It uses the same logic as similar audiences, which is to “find me more people with similar traits.”

In this case, however, the traits defined are the conversion actions and not the first-party seed list.

It is worth your time to test offline conversion and import.

Simply put, offline conversion importing is the process of transferring the data that a business receives after a PPC action to Google Ads through a feedback loop.

It gives advertisers a better understanding of which targeting techniques are driving the bottom line performance, rather than only top-line conversions.

The smart bidding algorithm/machine-learning can benefit from the best quality signal.

You should use smart bidding as your primary conversion strategy to make the most out of offline conversion import in relation to the sunsetting similar audiences.

This will teach the system to search and optimize for high-quality offline conversions, ultimately finding users who behave most like your current customers.

Google will appreciate high-quality signals.

Google’s decision to discontinue similar audiences is in line with its desire to focus on user privacy.

Does it affect the way we find new users? Yes.

Can we continue to provide Google Ads with high-quality signals, targeting guidance and other information to help them maintain and improve the results of our clients and businesses? Absolutely.

We don’t have to stop using Google Ads. We just need to find different or new ways to use what we have.

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