On November 1, 2022, Google announced the gradual discontinuation of similar audiences in Google Ads. Ginny Martin, who serves as the liaison between Google Ads product teams and the community, explained via a Twitter thread that Google would be "transitioning to more durable audience solutions."
Why are similar audiences being discontinued?
As a reminder, similar audiences, or lookalike audiences, allow you to reach users that Google considers similar to another audience, such as a customer list or website visitors. In practice, the algorithm analyzes a wide range of signals, including interests and user behaviors, meaning it relies primarily on third-party data. That data is being phased out as a result of new privacy and data usage regulations, as illustrated by the iOS 14.5 update.
When will similar audiences be discontinued?
With the goal of developing new privacy-preserving alternatives, Google will gradually phase out similar audiences in favor of more automated solutions, starting in May 2023. Here is the timeline Google announced:
Now:
Similar audiences can still be created and used without restriction.
May 2023:
The creation of new similar audience segments will be suspended. Existing similar audience segments cannot be added to new campaigns. Similar audience segments already added to campaigns will continue to function.
August 2023:
All similar audience segments will be removed from campaigns. The data associated with the removed audience segments will be retained and will remain accessible.
How do you replace similar audiences?
Google intends to fill the gap left by the discontinuation of similar audiences with more automated solutions. Depending on the channel, Google has announced that different options could replace similar audience segments:
- For Discovery, Display, and video action campaigns in Google Ads and Display & Video 360, the replacement is Optimized Targeting. This option is automatically enabled on each campaign and expands targeting to audience segments that Google deems relevant based on keyword analysis of the landing page or assets.
- For video campaigns with the "Brand awareness and reach" and "Consideration" objectives, Audience Expansion is the option Google recommends to offset the removal of similar audiences. Audience Expansion increases a campaign's reach by targeting more users who are similar to the audience in use. If the difference between Optimized Targeting and Audience Expansion is unclear, feel free to check the support page on the topic.
- Finally, for Search and Shopping campaigns, Google recommends taking full advantage of the automation capabilities offered by machine learning through the use of Smart Bidding strategies.
In summary:
In response to data privacy and protection concerns, similar audiences will be fully discontinued in August 2023. To offset this change, Google recommends:
- Optimized Targeting for Discovery, Display, and video action campaigns in Google Ads and Display & Video 360,
- Audience Expansion for video campaigns with "Brand awareness and reach" and "Consideration" objectives,
- Smart Bidding strategies for Search and Shopping campaigns.
Would you like guidance on your digital marketing strategy? Feel free to reach out!
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