Audience Targeting vs Content Targeting in Video Ads

What's the secret to running a successful video campaign in Google Ads? Understanding who sees your ads and where they see them is crucial. Unfortunately, Google doesn't make this as clear as it could. By the end of this blog post, you'll be an expert on audience targeting versus content targeting within Google Ads.

Audience Targeting: It's All About Who

Audience targeting zeroes in on the demographics, interests, and specific characteristics of your target market. This doesn't concern itself with the specific video content being watched. Instead, it's about the type of person you want to reach. For example, if you target people interested in plumbing, your ads could appear over music videos but still reach your intended audience effectively.

Content Targeting: It's All About Where

In contrast, content targeting is about the context. It prioritizes where your ads appear in terms of topics, keywords, or specific YouTube channels and videos. Content targeting ensures that your ads align closely with the video's subject matter. This means your plumbing service ad shows up specifically on videos about plumbing.

Setting Up a Google Ads Video Campaign

Step 1: Selecting the Campaign Subtype

Kickstart your campaign by creating a video ad within Google Ads. Here, you have multiple subtypes to choose from. A popular choice is "video views," which opens up access to audience and content targeting methods. Here's where most people lose their footing—mistaking the methods or their impact.

Step 2: Define Audience Targeting

Navigate to the campaign settings. In the audience targeting section, explore various demographics like age, gender, and parental status. You can even target based on household income, interests, or detailed segments such as SEO and SEM services.

Step 3: Dive into Content Targeting

Once you've nailed down your audience, focus on content targeting by specifying keywords, topics, or custom placements. For instance, by selecting "plumbing" as a keyword, your ads will specifically appear on plumbing-related videos or plumbing-related channels.

Content Targeting Tips

• Keyword Relevance: Ensure your selected keywords resonate well with your business

• Content Research: Research trending topics to align your ads accordingly.

• Flexible Placements: Use specific placements for tighter control and better results.

Combining Both Targeting Methods

What happens when you set both audience targeting and content targeting in a single campaign? Instead of expanding broadly, your campaign focuses. You reach users who are interested and engaged with relevant content. This overlap creates a more concentrated, synergistic effect.

While setting up your campaign, keep an eye on available impressions on the right side of the screen. Even though your audience might be broad (in billions), and your content reach might be in the millions, the overlap (the intersection) will be much smaller and more targeted.

Summary

Using both audience and content targeting lets you laser-focus your Google Ad campaign. You are setting yourself up for success with your YouTube Ads—helping you engage with the right audience in the right context.

Key Takeaways

• Understand Your Options: Get familiar with different targeting options.

• Consider Specific Combinations: Use intersecting interests and content for precision targeting.

• Measure and Adapt: Continuously measure campaign outcomes and refine strategies. 

💡 Pro Tip: Keep experimenting with different audience and content settings to find what truly works for your business. Keep in mind you can still add location targeting to these campaigns as well.