Strategy is key for every aspect of digital marketing, to ensure that you are targeting the right people and communicating the relevant messages. In paid search via Google, having an effective audience strategy is vital.
What is a Paid Search Audience Strategy?
With paid search advertising you are targeting those who are actively looking for answers to their questions or a solution to their problems. Paid search advertising with Google Ads has traditionally focused exclusively on the keywords used by people searching the web, but more recently Google has added new features to help advertisers get more from their strategy, by using audience targeting. A paid search audience strategy allows advertisers to target specific users, not just keywords that could have come from any type of audience. Audiences can be created based on various demographic details, including age, interests, income and behaviours – whatever matches your buyer persona.
How do I define who my target audience is?
There are two ways to find out who to target with your Google Ads. The first is to look at your Google Analytics Audience Report, which will show data such as who has visited your website, which pages they have visited and how long they have spent there. The second way is to look at your past and existing customers and ask them for information via a survey, including their interests, income and buying behaviours.
Why do I need a Paid Search Audience Strategy?
Through using targeted bidding and messaging you can highlight your business to potential buyers on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as via Google Ads. Your adverts are then seen by the people that you hope to convert into customers based on your carefully chosen audience strategy.
Can I use keyword targeting and audience targeting at the same time?
Whilst keyword targeting and audience targeting each have their strong points, using both strategies at the same time means you can effectively devise a killer overarching paid search strategy. Keywords signal the intent of a user – but don’t necessarily mean the people searching are the correct audience for your product/offering. Targeting a specific audience, on the other hand, enables you to deliver ads to the types of people who have purchased from you before or who have shown interest in your product.
How to set up a new audience targeting campaign:
Google has added “Audiences” as a targeting option for paid search campaigns. You can select demographics for your audience, what they are actively researching or planning, and how they have interacted with your business. To add audience targeting to an existing campaign click on the “Audiences” tab in the left-hand sidebar of your Google Ads account.