The continued focus on consumer privacy has led to another update to Google Ads, which has impacted similar audience targeting.
This week, Google Ads Coordinator Jenny Marvin confirmed that Google will phase out similar audience targeting in 2023.
Read on to understand the impact and how to prepare for this change.
No new similar audiences available as of May 2023
If you’re currently using Similar Audiences in your campaigns and ad groups, they won’t change.
While you can still use existing similar audiences through August 2023, you cannot add the new Similar audiences for campaigns and groups.
Similar audiences will be removed completely in August 2023
The second phase of stopping similar audiences will occur in August 2023.
Google will remove any existing similar audiences from all ad groups and campaigns.
Don’t panic – advertisers can still access past reports for these segments if needed.
Why the change?
Google states that this change in audience is a result of:
- development Internet Marketing Curriculum
- Maintain privacy Develop alternatives
This is a change from Google’s original position in 2021.
After initially announcing that they would not offer an alternative to third-party cookies, firm feedback from advertisers helped change the landscape.
Google has recognized that some form of user targeting is necessary for advertisers to market products and services effectively.
Without an alternative, advertisers would have likely moved away from Google, greatly affecting Google’s ad revenue.
Speaking of similar audiences specifically, the change will move similar audiences to a more automated targeting solution.
Ginny Marvin gave more context for a similar audience transition in this Twitter thread:
1/4 Today, we’re announcing an update to Lookalike Audiences and the transition to more sustainable audience solutions. Here’s why we’re making a change and looking at the timeline (starting in 6 months):
– AdsLiaison (adsliaison) November 1, 2022
With this change, Google has provided advertisers with a setup guide based on campaign type:
Regular search and shopping campaigns
Image credit: Support.google.com, November 2022View, Discover, and Video campaigns
Image credit: Support.google.com, November 2022.Video awareness campaigns
Image credit: Support.google.com, November 2022.How does this affect advertisers?
While it may seem like masses of likes disappear completely, this is not entirely the case.
Our fellow PPCers on Twitter were quick to get involved, asking for more clarity on how (and if) Google will combine lookalike audiences with other targeting options:
Screenshot: Twitter.com, November 2022So, while similar audience targeting may not be available as a standalone option, other more automated targeting and bidding solutions use similar signals, eliminating the need for the similar audience feature.
Marvin confirmed that Smart Bidding does indeed consider these signals:
- Current added audience lists
- Signals from first-party customer matching lists to reach new and existing customers
summary
Will this similar mass movement have a significant impact on current campaigns?
As of now, most likely not. But it’s good for advertisers to understand what’s changing and why and what the next alternatives are.
This Google Support guide is a great way to better understand the intricacies of each campaign type and how to prepare different campaign types for this transition in 2023.
Source: The Google
Featured image: Jirsak/Shutterstock
