Google is Getting Rid of ‘Similar Audiences’ Segments

Everything You Need to Know in Less Than 50 Words

Advertisers get ready to bid farewell to “Similar Audience” segments. This feature will soon be unavailable in your Google Ad account. Google has announced that it is discontinuing this feature in 2023 as part of its efforts to ensure consumer privacy. 

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Are you an advertiser who uses Google’s Similar Audiences to create marketing campaigns? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you will soon have to say goodbye to a beloved feature. 

Google has recently announced that it is getting rid of its “Similar Audiences” targeting segment. This feature allows businesses to target audiences with similar search characteristics to customers in your existing lists and market to them. 

These changes are part of Google’s ongoing pledge to protect user data. As a result, Google is prioritizing user data protection over these extra marketing features at this time. 

This change is just one of many recent changes Google Ads has made in the past year. For this reason, Google has abandoned many Ad features to protect consumer privacy.

So what does the phase-out mean for marketing campaigns currently using Similar Audiences? Fortunately, the phase-out will be gradual, allowing users time to transition. 

Starting in May 2023, Similar Audience segments will stop generating, and adding existing segments to campaigns or Ad Groups on Google Ads and Display & Video 360 will no longer be available. 

The phase-out process will complete in August 2023, when Google will remove all Similar Audience segments from all Ad Groups and Campaigns. 

New Features

While this new announcement may be upsetting, it’s not all doom and gloom. Google has also announced that they will add two brand-new features that will replace Similar Audiences: Optimized Targeting and Audience Expansion. 

Google says these new features will be more powerful than Similar Audiences and help improve automation. So while the Similar Audience feature may be gone, its users will be satisfied.

Optimized Targeting

Google’s optimized targeting lets you maximize your campaign’s efficiency with fantastic flexibility. For example, you can input keywords or audience segments as targets, and Google’s optimizations use these signals to find the best-performing elements for your ads. 

With this precision and accuracy, you can be sure that your ads reach the users who are most likely to convert within your goals. Optimized targeting is the perfect way to ensure your ads have the most significant impact!

Audience Expansion

Google’s audience expansion technology makes it easier than ever to reach more people who may be interested in your business. In addition, enabling audience expansion opens up a range of additional inventory, allowing you to target and optimize for various audience types across different networks. 

It’s a great way to get the most out of your Google Ads campaigns, allowing you to expand your reach and increase awareness and consideration of your product or brand.

Source: Search Engine Land