PPC campaign managers have had tight control over their account management, data insights, and optimization tactics for nearly two decades. But everything is changing.
Query data is already sparse, keyword match types are being combined into a broad match amalgam, and signal loss continues to impact performance data and audience management.
With campaign types like peak performance and lack of performance visibility, PPC managers need to use all the targeting and optimization tools available in their arsenal.
Dedicated audience strategies can provide additional control and targeted targeting that delivers results. In my previous article, we reviewed the benefits of a well-defined audience strategy.
Now, let’s review your options for creating and managing privacy-focused audiences for PPC campaigns.
Adjusted timeline for the cookie apocalypse
It’s worth noting that your timeline for the cookie apocalypse has been extended. The Google Chrome/Privacy Sandbox team previously stated that third-party cookies would be phased out sometime in the third quarter of 2023. Now, they’ve extended that deadline to 2024. According to the announcement from Chrome:
“In the third quarter of 2023, we expect the Privacy Testbox APIs to be available and generally available in Chrome. As developers adopt these APIs, we now intend to begin removing third-party cookies in Chrome during the second half of 2024”.
Google needed more time to properly prepare for the removal of cookies. They are still working on the framework for a post-cookie world. Also, with theirs stock price fluctuationsI believe that Alphabet (Google’s parent company) did not want to negatively affect the product (Google Ads), which generates about 80% of its operating income.
Whatever the reason, the result remains the same: you have more time to plan for the post-cookie world. However, that doesn’t mean you should stop building your audience and measurement frameworks, because that will happen eventually.
PPC audience building options
There are a few ways to build your audience data on Google and Microsoft.
PPC Platform Third Party Pixels
The most direct way to generate audience data is through each platform’s tracking pixel. Currently, third-party cookies have a lifetime of about two years. I encourage you to start creating a new privacy-focused framework. But for now, if you want to rely on tracking pixels, you can, but the clock is ticking.
Google recently released a new version of Google Tag. The new version of the universal tag will serve as the core implementation pixel for all Google marketing properties, including Google Ads, Google Analytics and SA360. Currently, you can use Google Ads and Google Analytics to set up your Google tag.
Microsoft Ads also offers its own Universal event tracking (UET). This universal tag provides website analytics data such as conversions, sales, and revenue. Additionally, you can use the UET tag to create audiences on the Microsoft Ads platform.
Direct loading of audience data
Both Microsoft Ads and Google Ads support direct upload of audience data to their platforms. On both advertising platforms, advertisers can upload a CSV file containing their own customer data.
Many advertisers still don’t use this method to build PPC audiences. They are still creating audience segments and remarketing lists based on their website pixels.
As I mentioned, this strategy will work for the next 18-24 months or so. But advertisers need to start building an audience framework that’s durable when cookies aren’t available.
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Own audience segmentation
Once you have the audience data that’s being propagated to your ad platforms, you’ll need to create audience segments to target your ads to the right people.
Customer segmentation in Google and Microsoft
Uploading a CSV with your customer data is just the first step in creating an audience strategy.
PPC platforms use your customer profile data to discover user accounts created within these ecosystems.
Google Analytics 4 audiences
I’m focusing on Google Analytics 4 (GA4) because Universal Analytics (UA) will be retired on July 1, 2023. Historical analytics data will not be transferred to your new GA4 account from UA.
Even if UA remains your source of truth for a little while longer, you should start building a track record of performance in GA4 right now.
Audience segments can also be created in GA4. Advertisers can create audiences based on website user behavior tracked in GA4. These audience segments can be brought to Google Ads when the two platforms are connected.
Audience expansion tactics
Once your customer data is populated into PPC platforms and you’ve created audience segments based on that data, you’re ready to expand on that foundation.
Similar audiences
Both major PPC platforms provide “lookalike audience” segments. Using your existing customer segments, Google and Microsoft will find users with similar browsing habits and histories to your target audience. Seconds Google:
“Google Ads analyzes the recent search activity of visitors to your remarketing list to help you aggregate the search behavior of visitors to your list. Based on this information, the system automatically finds new leads on whose search behavior is similar to the people on your remarketing list.”
Lookalike audience is a third-party audience as it is based on profile data from PPC platforms. However, these audiences should be relatively durable even after the cookies are removed.
Profiles are based on numerous data points based on search history, account profile data and browsing history that should be retained after 2024.
Like-minded audiences and the market
Both of these audience types are also based on data from PPC platforms. These segments:
They don’t need to be based on their own audiences. They are built from using Google and Bing on the platform and should be moderately durable.
In-market audiences refer to the people who are currently in the market for a product or service. These are usually need-based or short-term interests that could align with your brand. Often, these people are actively searching for your product or service, but may not have discovered your brand yet.
On the other hand, like-minded audiences are usually based on someone’s long-standing passion, interest, and involvement with specific topics.
These two types of audience segments are similar, but they perform differently. If these audience types aren’t part of your strategy, you should test each to see which one works for your campaign.
GA4 Predictive Audiences
GA4 has some unique capabilities around audiences. One of the interesting features is predictive audiences. These segments combine your on-site audience data with predictive algorithms within GA4 to determine potential actions that users might take.
Here is the current list of predictive audiences available in GA4.
7 day likely buyers. 7 day likely users. 7 day likely buyers. Probably 7 day first time buyers. 28-day forecast of who spends more.
The Themes API and the future of privacy first
Themes API it’s a whole new way to curate and build audience segments. This feature is still being tested in beta within the Privacy Sandbox. There have been some cookie-less tactics proposed by Google, but I think this has a good chance of making it to the general public.
There are two parts to how the Topics API works:
Based on your browsing history, Chrome determines the topics/interests that represent you and your interests. Themes are kept for only three weeks and old themes are deleted. Brands can target specific topics to deliver ads to relevant audiences.
According to Google, the Topics API is privacy safe:
“And by providing websites with your topics of interest, online businesses have an option that doesn’t involve covert tracking techniques, such as browser fingerprinting, to continue serving relevant ads.”
Hopefully, the algorithms that determine an individual’s topics of interest have improved. Google Ads offered an earlier version of topic/interest targeting on the Display Network, and these campaigns typically performed much lower than other audience-based targeting options.
Start building your own PPC audience framework
Advertisers have received an extension to their pixel-based audience strategies. That doesn’t mean you should be complacent when it comes to building your first-party audience framework.
Keep moving towards a framework that doesn’t rely solely on third-party pixels. PPC managers always want more control over their campaigns and a structured and thoughtful audience framework is the backbone of successful PPC accounts.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
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About the author
Joseph Kerschbaum is Senior Vice President of Search & Growth Labs at 3Q Digital. In his 20 years of experience in digital marketing, Joseph has worked with businesses of all sizes, from SMBs to enterprise scale. Joseph has been a regular speaker at digital marketing conferences for over a decade. Joseph is the co-author of the Wiley/Sybex book, “Pay-Per-Click SEM: One Hour a Day,” which was published in 2010. For the past four years, Joseph hosted a podcast, 3Q Digital Download, where he discussed digital marketing strategies with industry leaders.
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