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In-Market Audiences for Google Search – Reach More Relevant Consumers, More Often

No one said SEM was easy, and sometimes online advertising can feel like a shot in the dark. Sure, you can tailor your messaging to speak to different audiences, but historically it’s more like trial and error until you hit that bulls-eye with the right customer, at the right time, in the right place. Good news! It seems those days may be over thanks to Google’s new “in-market audiences” feature.

In-Market Audiences for Google Search

This new targeting feature allows advertisers to reach further down the sales funnel, better customize their messaging and, in turn, increase the overall effectiveness and ROI of their efforts.

How In-Market Audiences Work

In-market Audience targeting isn’t actually a new concept as Google has had this available for Display advertising since 2013, albeit under a different name. This is, however, the first time that Google has made this tactic available for Search.

As a refresher, this is essentially a targeting tool that draws from Google’s massive pool of search data to analyze behavioural signals from users. In-market audience targeting options then allow advertisers to target web users who Google believes are researching related products and therefore are actively considering buying a similar product or service to those that you offer.

In typical fashion, Google hasn’t spelled out the full methodology it uses to determine “in-market” consumers. What we do know is it looks for “behavioural signals” that let you “reach potential customers while they’re actively browsing, researching or comparing the types of products you sell.” Many industry experts think Google is leveraging a mix of advertising and search data to pinpoint the consumer behaviour including:

• A user’s clicks and/or conversions on related ads
• The content of websites they’ve recently visited
• How recently and frequently they accessed those sites

So a user who has recently clicked on ads for other baby products, looked at reviews, or browsed sites featuring new moms and/or baby product content is likely to be added to Google’s “Baby & Children’s Products” in-market audience. If you’re selling baby products, then you can tap into this highly relevant audience for your ads! And, as we know, the more relevant the ad is to the user, the more likely they are to click and convert.

Sounds Good, But Will It Be Effective for My Business?

We’re really exciting to see how they perform over time, but our experience so far has been that they do perform well with conversions rates significantly exceeding regular search campaigns. However, we have also found that some in-market audience segments get low levels of traffic which can constrain your campaign, so they should be used in concert with a number of other tactics. But the bottom line is that search, already considered a top intent driven channel, can be amped up even further by layering on in-market audience targeting.

Here’s a list of audience targets that you can put to work for your business right now:

  • Apparel and Accessories Autos & Vehicles
  • Baby & Children’s Products
  • Beauty Products & Services
  • Business Services
  • Computers & Peripherals
  • Consumer Electronics
  • Consumer Software
  • Dating Services
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Financial Services
  • Gifts & Occasions
  • Home & Garden
  • Real Estate
  • Sports & Fitness
  • Telecom
  • Travel

There are also dozens of subcategories under each of these, which opens a world of possibilities. The more you can drill down your target (and the more you tailor your messaging to that segment), the better your results will likely be.

Reach More Viable Customers, More Often

These are exciting times! In-market audiences can help you connect with better, more viable customers who have demonstrated that they’re in the market for your products.
Have you started using in-market audiences yet? Share your experiences below!