There have been a lot of changes in the last few months for Gmail advertising. These changes involve the way Google targets their ads to users. Previously, Google's free Gmail service would scan a user’s email content to serve targeted ads, but they have recently moved away from this targeting method. Google stated that, "this decision brings Gmail ads in line with how they personalize ads for other Google products. Ads shown based on a user's settings."
Although some targeting options are no longer available, I’m excited about the new targeting features Google has rolled out. This blog post will outline all of the new features available in the Adwords interface.
Targeting Option 1: Household Income Targeting
Now, we have the option to target users by household income levels. According to Google, you can reach customers in the US, JP, AU, or NZ across the following income buckets:
- Top 10% Household Income
- 11-20% Household Income
- 21-30% Household Income
- 31-40% Household Income
- 41-50% Household Income
- Lower 50% Household Income
Targeting Option 2: In-Market Audiences & Life Events
In-Market Audiences
You can now target ads to users in the market for or actively researching services in the following categories:
- Apparel & Accessories
- Autos & Vehicles
- Baby & Children's Products
- Beauty Products & Services
- Business Services
- Computers & Peripherals
- Consumer Electronics
- Dating Services
- Education
- Employment
- Event Tickets
- Financial Services
- Gifts & Occasions
- Home & Garden
- Real Estate
- Software
- Sports & Fitness
- Telecom
- Travel
Life Events
Targeting by life events allows you to reach users who are in the midst of or have recently completed a significant milestone in their lives. So far, Google has rolled out three life events advertisers can use to target users:
- College Graduation
- Moving
- Marriage
Google's life event targeting offers its users benefits in terms of data collection and targeting accuracy. Through machine learning, Google is able to identify and bucket users into life event categories regardless of differences in cultures and searches. Life event targeting offers the following:
Targeting Options 3: Affinity Audiences
Affinity audiences target users based on their long-term interests or consumer patterns.
Use this targeting option in your Gmail ads to target users who frequently shop, dine or visit businesses in any of the following categories:
- Banking & Finance
- Beauty & Wellness
- Food & Dining
- Home & Garden
- Lifestyles & Hobbies
- Media & Entertainment
- News & Politics
- Shoppers
- Sports & Fitness
- Technology
- Travel
- Vehicles & Transportation
Targeting Options 4: Remarketing*
Just like remarketing in search campaigns, you're able to remarket to users who recently visited your website through remarketing in Gmail ads. This targeting option has its obvious benefits—target users who have previously displayed interest in your service or product.
*According To Google - Remarketing in Gmail will be available by the end of Q4 2017·
Which one of these new Gmail ad targeting features are you most excited about?
