Google AdWords Rolls Out Similar Audiences For Search Ads

A new update by Google lets advertisers target consumers who are searching for similar things as their best customers.

The change sees Google roll out similar audiences for Search and Shopping, to help marketers connect with more people “who want what you have to offer”.

It does this by helping you find people who share similar interests with your best customers, when they are searching for products and services that are similar to yours.

As Google explains in a blog post, the new update works like this: “Imagine you’re marketing a hotel in Hawaii using RLSA, and you want to connect with summer travelers. The people in your “Recent Converters” list might be searching for things like ‘flights to Maui,’ ‘scuba classes,’ and ‘flip-flop sandals.’

“Powered by Google’s machine learning, similar audiences uses these search trends to help you find people who are looking for the same things as your existing customers, even if they’re not on your remarketing lists.”

By adding these “similar audiences” to your campaign or ad group targeting, advertisers can show their ads to people whose search behaviour is similar to that of their site’s visitors, who are therefore more likely to be potential customers.

Google’s system will identify which of your remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) qualify for similar audiences based on a number of factors, including the number of visitors on the original list, how recently these people joined the original list, and the similarity of these visitors’ search behaviour.

In addition to this, a similar audiences list will only be created from a remarking list that has at least 1,000 cookies “with enough similarity in search behavior to create a corresponding similar audience.”

Read more about the new similar audiences update here.