Targeting

Targeting is a marketing mechanism that allows you to find a target audience on the Internet by given criteria, to create ads that are relevant to each segment and thereby increase the conversion rate of ads.

Targeting objectives

Increase conversion rate. If you show ads to everyone, the conversion will be low. For example, it makes no sense to offer children’s products to those who do not have children: people will see the ad, perhaps even click on it, but they still will not buy the product.

Regardless of the goals of the ad campaign – engagement, sales, account subscriptions or other actions – targeting will help improve results. Only the people most likely to interact with the brand will see the ads.

Reduce promotional costs. Low conversions lead to high advertising costs. With pay-per-click rates, you have to pay for the ads being seen by non-targeted users. If you charge by click, non-target users reduce clickability (CTR), and the lower CTR, the more expensive clicks.

First of all, you need to know who you’re selling to, and then choose the most relevant strategies and techniques for each segment.

Targeting helps to narrow your audience, identify the mechanisms that work – and thereby optimize your budget.

Attract new customers. Targeting helps you expand your audience and reach new customers. You can tell people about your brand or product who don’t know you yet, but match the portrait of your target customer.

For example, almost all major advertising networks offer look-alike audiences. This technology looks for people who are similar to your customers in behavior, but who have not yet interacted with your brand.

Increase brand awareness. Through targeted advertising, you can build a system of multiple touches with potential customers. When these people need your product or service, they are more likely to think of you than a competitor.

Personalize your customer communications. You can show ads that play to the needs and pains of even very narrow audience segments.

Types of targeting

Socio-demographic

Targeting by age and gender, relationship status, job title, education level or income. Knowing your demographics helps not only narrow your audience, but also helps drive sales if a certain product sells poorly. For example, if men willingly buy mattresses and women don’t, the problem can be solved by running ads aimed specifically at women.

Geographic

Targeting by the location of the target audience. You can specify the appropriate countries or cities, or you can choose a specific location – for example, to attract people who live nearby to the cafe.

Behavioral

Together with interest-based targeting, it allows you to reach a niche audience that has already shown interest in your product or related topics. These preferences are determined by who people interact with online, their buying habits, what posts they like, what pages they visit, and their purchase history.

For example, if a person likes the posts of psychologists, they could potentially be interested in a remote psychological help service.

Contextual

Targeting with keywords that people use in search engines. This can be the name of a product or service, the name of your brand, as well as targeting through the name or site of competitors.

Thematic

Displaying ads on sites with a specific theme. For example, an electric scooter rental service might place ads on youth-themed sites to attract a targeted audience.

Targeting by device

Targeting by device allows you to select the operating system or gadget your target audience is using. If your product is an iPhone app, you can target ads only to owners of Apple devices. If the site has no mobile version – only those who use computers.

Retargeting

Showing ads to people who have already interacted with the brand: liked the posts, bought goods or services, visited the site.