How to target potential customers with Google Ads

When running a successful campaign on Google Ads, the key to getting the most out of your budget is precise customer targeting. Google Ads gives advertisers the ability to deliver highly relevant ads to users actively searching for products or services, using a combination of keywords, match types, and audience targeting.

In this article, we’ll break down how Google Ads targets potential customers and explain the different methods of doing so—keeping things simple but accurate.

Keywords: The Foundation of Targeting in Google Ads

What Are Keywords in Google Ads?

In Google Ads, keywords are the words or phrases advertisers select to match user search queries. These keywords help Google determine when to show your ads to potential customers. By choosing the right keywords, you can ensure your ads reach users who are actively searching for the products or services you offer.

For example, if you’re selling “green bathroom towels,” you would choose keywords that reflect this product to target people searching for it or related items.

Google Ads Keyword Match Types

Broad Match

Broad Match allows your ads to appear for a wide range of search queries related to your keywords, including synonyms, variations, and contextually similar searches. Recent changes have made Broad Match more intelligent by using Google’s machine learning to better understand user intent. This means it can now bring in relevant traffic that might have been missed before, while still reaching a wider audience. However, in the past, there was a higher risk of irrelevant clicks and wasted ad spend.

When combined with automated bidding strategies like Target CPA or Maximise Conversions, Broad Match becomes more powerful. These strategies adjust bids in real-time based on the likelihood of a conversion, ensuring your ads are shown to people more likely to take valuable actions. Google’s system uses signals such as user behaviour and search intent to refine targeting, reducing waste and driving higher-quality traffic. Broad Match now provides a way to attract new, relevant customers, optimised for conversions while minimising inefficiencies.

Phrase Match

Phrase Match allows your ad to appear when searches include your keyword in the same order, or with slight variations that retain the same meaning. For example, if your keyword is “green bathroom towels,” your ad might trigger for “affordable green bathroom towels” or “bath towels in green.” Phrase Match provides a balance between reach and precision, ensuring your ads appear for searches that closely match the intent of your selected keywords without being too broad.

This matching type is useful when you want to expand your audience beyond exact matches but still maintain control over relevance. By capturing variations in phrasing or word order, Phrase Match helps ensure your ads are shown to people who are looking for products or services that align with your offerings, reducing the likelihood of irrelevant clicks while still reaching a broad enough audience.

Exact Match

Exact Match  is the most restrictive match type, ensuring your ad only appears when a user’s search closely matches your keyword or close variants with the same intent. For example, if your keyword is “green bathroom towels,” your ad might show for searches like “buy green bathroom towels” or “purchase green bath towels.” Google’s recent changes allow Exact Match to also capture searches that are paraphrased or implied, improving the ability to reach relevant queries.

While Exact Match provides highly relevant traffic, it naturally reaches a smaller audience. However, by focusing on intent, this match type ensures that your ads are shown to users who are more likely to convert. This level of precision is ideal for maximising the efficiency of your ad spend and driving high-quality leads.

Google has its own detailed guide on keyword targeting here.

Audience Targeting in Google Ads

Why Audiences Matter in Google Ads

In Google Ads, audience targeting is used to refine your ad delivery based on specific characteristics of users. Instead of only relying on keywords, audience targeting allows you to reach people based on their behaviours, interests, and demographics. This makes your ads more relevant, helping you to reach users who are more likely to convert into customers.

By combining audience targeting with keyword match types, you can narrow down exactly who sees your ads, ensuring they reach the right people at the right time.

Types of Audiences in Google Ads

Affinity Audiences

Affinity Audiences are created based on users’ long-term interests and habits. Google Ads tracks the content users engage with and categorises them into affinity groups like “Home Décor Enthusiasts” or “Health and Fitness Buffs.” These groups allow you to target people who have shown a sustained interest in certain topics, making it useful for businesses looking to engage a specific audience that aligns with their products or services. For example, if you sell bathroom towels, you might target an affinity audience interested in home improvement.

In-Market Audiences

In-Market Audiences are made up of users who are actively researching or comparing products and services. These users are often close to making a purchase decision, making them more likely to convert. In-market audiences are ideal for businesses targeting users ready to buy, such as people looking for “bathroom accessories” or “luxury towels.” By focusing your ads on these users, you increase your chances of driving immediate sales.

Custom Audiences

Custom Audiences allow advertisers to build their own audience segments based on detailed criteria like specific websites people visit, apps they use, or the types of content they consume. You can also target users based on keywords they’ve recently searched for, which makes custom audiences a powerful tool for delivering tailored ads to a highly relevant group.

Remarketing Audiences

Remarketing Audiences target users who have previously interacted with your website or business but haven’t yet completed a desired action, like making a purchase. By showing ads to these users, you can remind them of your products or services and encourage them to return. Remarketing is an effective strategy for boosting conversions, as it focuses on users who are already familiar with your brand.

Detailed Demographics

With Detailed Demographic Targeting, you can target audiences based on specific characteristics like age, gender, parental status, or household income. For example, if your product appeals to young professionals or high-income households, you can customise your ads to reach these demographics specifically. This level of targeting ensures that your ads are shown to users who are more likely to be interested in what you offer.

Combining Keywords and Audiences for Effective Targeting

Combining keyword match types with audience targeting in Google Ads gives you the best of both worlds. You can ensure that your ads are triggered by relevant searches while also fine-tuning who sees them.

For example, let’s say you’re using Phrase Match for the keyword “luxury bathroom towels.” If you combine this with an In-Market Audience of people actively searching for bathroom accessories, you ensure that your ads are reaching users who are both interested in your product and ready to make a purchase.

Advanced Targeting Techniques in Google Ads

Dynamic Keyword Targeting

With Dynamic Keyword Targeting, your ad content can automatically adjust based on the user’s search query. This allows for highly relevant, dynamic ad delivery. For instance, if someone searches for “eco-friendly towels,” your ad can dynamically update to highlight that feature, even if your main keyword is “green bathroom towels.”

Advanced Keyword Expression Targeting

Advanced Keyword Expression Targeting allows for more complex targeting by using combinations of keywords and expressions. For example, you can target users searching for both “luxury” AND “bathroom towels,” ensuring your ads appear only to those looking for premium products.

Conclusion: How Google Ads Targeting Improves Your Campaigns

Effective targeting in Google Ads requires a strategic combination of keyword match types and audience targeting. By understanding how each match type works and leveraging audience data, you can reach the right users, improve ad relevance, and maximise your return on investment.

Take a moment to review your current Google Ads campaigns—are you using the right match types for your keywords? Are your ads being shown to the most relevant audiences? If not, it might be time to fine-tune your targeting strategy for better results.