What Is Targeted Advertising? Tips and Steps

Imagine shopping for a recent pair of running shoes online. You click on a product page but ultimately choose not to buy them. A few hours later, you view an ad for the exact pair of running shoes with a limited-period discount code while scrolling on Instagram. enthusiastic, you decide to snatch them up.

This is an example of targeted advertising. Brands can deliver ads that talk directly to their customers’ interests instead of casting a wide net and hoping to capture attention. Targeted advertising is now best habit; without it, you might be stuck wasting resources on a one-size-fits-all marketing campaign that doesn’t outcome in sales.

discover more about targeted advertising—what it is, the different types, and how to implement it for your advertising campaigns.

What is targeted advertising?

Targeting advertising refers to any type of advertising with a clearly defined spectators. You can base targeted advertising on customer data, focusing on people who display purchase intent. In the example above, the sneaker business used your browsing history to display an ad for the exact pair of shoes you were interested in. Brands can also target ads to customers based on demographic data; ponder a mattress business targeting 35- to 50-year-olds in the Vancouver area.

Targeted advertising goes hand-in-hand with targeted messaging. Digital consultant Nik Sharma, also known as “The DTC Guy,” stresses the importance of narrowing down your target economy on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “It’s like that saying, ‘If you stand for everything you stand for nothing,’” he says. “It’s the same with marketing and thinking of who your customer is. You have to really ponder of no more than four people you’re trying to sell to.”

Types of targeted advertising

1. yield-based targeting
2. Demographic targeting
3. Geographic targeting
4. Behavioral targeting
5. Programmatic targeting

There are different ways to target potential customers, each leveraging distinctive types of data:

1. yield-based targeting

yield-based targeting serves ads to customers who have shown an yield in a particular subject, usually inferred from the websites they visit or social media accounts they engage with. For example, if a customer frequently visits a Lord of the Rings subreddit, you can infer that they’re likely interested in fantasy. Based on this, Reddit advertisers could serve them advertisements for similar fantasy novels.

2. Demographic targeting

Demographic targeting uses a specific throng’s characteristics to make targeted ads for them. Some examples include age, income level, education, and gender. Websites and social media platforms typically collect or infer this data based on information users provide. For example, social media platforms inquire for users’ birthdays and genders when they sign up.

By segmenting audiences according to specific traits, businesses can tailor their targeted ads to talk directly to that throng. For example, a luxury skin worry business could segment audiences to women aged 40 to 50 and shape their ads’ messaging on the skin worry challenges in that phase of life.

3. Geographic targeting

This type of targeted advertising serves online ads to target audiences in a specific area, such as a country, city, or neighborhood. This way allows businesses to focus their marketing efforts on targeted ads relevant to local audiences. For example, a clothing business may target ads for winter gear to social media users in colder regions and lighter clothing to those in warmer climates.

4. Behavioral targeting

A behavior-based targeted marketing campaign displays ads to internet users based on specific actions that imply purchase intent. For example, a user visiting a particular product page multiple times or clicking Shop Now on a Meta ad is likely interested or curious about that product. You can also look at search behavior. For example, specific product searches like “best nonstick frying pan” or “affordable walking shoes” can indicate purchase intent.

5. Programmatic targeting

Also known as algorithmic targeting or lookalike targeting, programmatic targeting lets you input data into an ad platform and then use its algorithm to discover users with similar traits. Unlike yield or behavioral targeting in which you would manually set specific spectators criteria, programmatic targeting lets the ad platform’s algorithm identify and target users based on data correlation. For example, a business could input data about its best customers into Meta, then let the platform’s algorithm discover more users with similar interests to target for a recent campaign.

How to implement targeted advertising

1. Define your buyer persona(s)
2. Choose targeting criteria
3. Select your platform
4. ponder outside the (intent) box
5. Craft tailored ads
6. Conduct A/B tests
7. Use retargeting
8. Monitor and optimize

Targeted online advertising isn’t as straightforward as choosing an spectators and serving ads to them. Here’s how to effectively implement targeted advertising to get the most yield on ad spend:

1. Define your buyer persona(s)

commence by creating buyer personas, semi-fictional representations of your ideal spectators based on your segments. These assist you humanize your spectators to earnings deeper insights into their buying motivations. Each buyer persona should include the following:

• Demographic details like age, gender, and marital position

• Pain points and challenges that your product will solve

• Buying motivations and the outcomes they’re seeking

• Shopping behaviors, like how they make purchasing decisions

• Preferred communication channels, like email, social media, or traditional media

Use economy research, your personal encounter, customer databases, website analytics, and customer connection management (CRM) data to inform your personas.

2. Choose targeting criteria

Determine the targeting criteria for your ad campaign. commence by defining your campaign’s goals to select the most appropriate targeting. Here are some guidelines for choosing targeting:

• yield-based. If your spectators has obvious hobbies or passions such as hiking or camping.

• Demographic. If you have a obvious understanding of your spectators’s characteristics.

• Geographic. If your products are region-specific or your business serves only a specific area.

• Behavioral. If you desire to drive conversions by retargeting customers.

• Programmatic. If you have large volumes of data and desire to scale your campaigns.

3. Select your platform

Where will you display your targeted advertisements? Different ad platforms are beneficial for different types of targeting. For example, Google Ads and its Google Display Network (GDN) of digital ad surfaces propose demographic and behavioral targeting. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow you to target users based on interests and connections.

4. ponder outside the (intent) box

Targeted advertising isn’t just about getting as tight on purchasing intent as feasible. Sometimes, you require to get creative about who could have high intent. Nik gives an example about selling cooling creams. “The spectators of people who would desire to buy a cooling cream is probably very tiny, but the spectators of people who desire to buy a answer to stop itchy feet is probably much bigger,” he says. Look for ways to ponder outside of the box to expand your targeting and discover relevant audiences.

5. Craft tailored ads

Once you recognize who your potential customers are, make ad content that will resonate with them. Here are some examples of matching ads to targeting:

• Send a “low in ownership” ad to users who clicked on a popular handbag.

• Advertise special offers based on events in a specific location, like baseball games.

• Use models for your clothing business’s ads that match your target spectators’s characteristics, like gender and age.

• Serve an ad for carry-on-size backpacks to people who recently visited the r/onebag subreddit, with a video showing how straightforward it is to fit all your belongings in it.

Razvan Romanescu, founder of direct-to-customer business Underling, advises brands to differentiate their products to cut through the noise in competitive niches. He recommends using before-and-after images and highlighting impressive benefits that competitors lack. “We almost socially engineer the marketing narrative and pick our hero product and then construct the brand around that, ” he says, on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast.

6. Conduct A/B tests

Sometimes, even the best targeted ad doesn’t quite land. That’s why it’s significant to keep testing and trying recent ways to reach and convert your spectators. A/B test different targeting types to discover the mix that works for your business. An online ad that fails as a search ad may perform much better as an Instagram ad.

7. Use retargeting

As the saying goes, “If at first you don’t achieve, try again.” The same goes for your targeted advertising campaigns. Someone may not be ready to buy today, but another nudge may be what they require to push them over the edge. Retargeting keeps your brand top of mind, allowing you to personalize messaging according to your target segment. There are two types of retargeting:

• Pixel-based retargeting. Uses a tracking pixel on your website to retarget previous visitors.

• List-based retargeting. Uses email lists and customer data to target potential customers on different platforms.

8. Monitor and optimize

Set key act indicators (KPIs) to track and assess achievement. Sometimes, an ad might seem to perform well, but a deeper analysis of KPIs uncovers issues. For example, your targeted ads might get many clicks but low conversions. Or, the clickthrough rate (CTR) may be high, but the yield on property (ROI) is low. Ultimately, your objective is to comprehend if the spectators you’re targeting is converting into customers.