How Google Ads Target The Right Audiences

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As it is known, Google ads targets and categorizes us to target us with our e-mail and browser cookies. There are nearly 400 target audience details on our profiles for marketing strategies. While presenting our data categorized to advertisers who want to reach new users in particular, it offers advertisers the chance to show without allocating data for remarketing targeting. Of course, if we consider the customizations of the advertisers, Google will of course offer much more targeting details.

For example: the advertiser can narrow down by engaging both the topic and the retargeting audience.

How does Google target us? How does Google show us ads?

In a nutshell, Google targets people using factors like:

Demographics targeting
Topic targeting
Placement targeting
Keyword targeting
Audience targeting
Affinity audiences
In-market audiences
Custom audiences
Remarketing audiences
Optimized targeting

Mobile devices make up 90% of the time we spend online today. Among mobile devices, Android is used much more than IOS devices. This is especially common in European and Asian countries. In America, we can say that Android and IOS have 50% usage rate.

Usage rate of mobile operating type in 2022:

Europe: 69.32% Android, 30% iOS

North America and Oceania: 45% Android, 54% iOS

Asia: Android 81%, iOS 18%

South America: Android 90%, iOS 10%

Africa: Android 84%, iOS 14%

So what will this information do for us?

Everyone is aware that on Android devices, we cannot use the device without logging in, especially with Google. So our Android devices pull data from Google logins. Although we log in with iCloud on iOS devices, if our browser usage is Google Chrome, there are of course those who are logged in with Google (Gmail). Here, I must say that your targeting is turned on in all your accounts or assets that you have a connection with Google on your mobile devices.

Types of Ads Targeting

With email account-based targeting
With browser cookies-based targeting
As the email lists collected in accordance with the Internet policies are uploaded to the advertisement panels as a customer list as per GDPR requirements

Google Email account-based targeting

In addition to these criteria, another component that participates is the age range:

The only criterion by which Google can track users with target ads as age is the date of birth entered in your generated personal gmail email. If the generated email is entered as a different age, Google will think you are the age you entered for account based marketing. Advertisers usually call “Unknown” or guests to those who use unsigned browsers. These age ranges are categorized in Google as follows.

Considered as children:

0-13 years (except 13) > We recommend Google Family Link:

The most important criterion for parents is that your child has entered their birth date correctly in their Google email. In this way, Google’s ad targeting will be determined correctly according to age criteria. If adult advertisements continue to appear on your child, check your email settings thoroughly.

You can find the details of creating a Google account for your child under 13 here:

With digital permission (Young people):

13-18 years old (except 18)

Let’s talk about the more up-to-date targeting details that Google released back in August 2022.

First of all, it disables the ad personalization settings in the profile for this age range.

It will also no longer allow the serving of sensitive advertisement categories.
You can find the details of which policies for young people will be regulated here

Adults: Ages 18-65
Another feature with the Beta feature coming to Adults is to request less viewing of content in certain categories on YouTube.

Unknown: Browsing with an unsigned browser

With Google Browser cookies-based targeting

Cookies are logically accepted browsing records that are actually in our browser. These data collections are usually saved every time we access a website. Or, if we do not limit it for the web side, the ads we encounter, including within the mobile apps, are also targeted with these cookies.

If a banner with the inscription “Accept cookies” appears when you enter a website and you have approved this banner, it means that you have accepted all cookie settings of the website you are logging into and become a target account.

However, if you are continuing with a session logged in with the same device, same browser and same gmail, the cookie policy banner will not be presented to you when you visit this website for the second time. Because your browser ID is now registered on the website you log in to. This website can now present visual/text ads to you on Google’s ad network on other web/apps with their products or services.

For example; The shoe that you have reviewed keeps appearing to you on another website.

Let’s take a look at how Google explains their ad targeting with cookies;

“Google uses cookies in various ways. For example, remarketing and Google Analytics both use cookies to help do things like run your ads and free product listings or track your success.

The conversion tracking feature of Google Ads also uses cookies. To help you track sales and other conversions from your ads and free listings, it adds a cookie to a person’s computer when the person clicks an ad or a listing.”

With e-mail lists collected per GDPR requirements

An e-commerce site or a market mobile application usually does not accept transactions without membership. This subscription usually includes your email addresses.

If a site asks you for membership to create a user profile, its registration name as an event is also referred to as sign-up. We are all familiar with the terms sign-up and sign-in. But we always look for the continue without membership button 🙂

When we order products without being a member, we also enter an email address to which the invoice will be sent. Then, GDPR asks us to approve phrases such as distance sales contract. We cannot order the product we want without confirmation. As we approve these options, this brand obtains permission from us to do the following to our email address:

Email marketing
SMS sendings
Customer list creation (easy to do with Google and Facebook)
Send push notifications by matching cookies with our email

Discounts, opportunity notifications, emails, and SMS that we receive are sent this way. In addition to these, advertisers create a customer list on the Google Ads advertising platform and target us in browsers where our emails are open. It includes visual and text-based ads that we come across while browsing other websites. It also targets us in search and YouTube ads.

For Example:

DigiPeak For Google Ads Services

You can ask what you want to ask under this Linkedin post, and you can contact us at DigiPeak for more info related to remarketing targeting. You can also visit our Google Ads page.