As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, it’s important to stay on top of changes to ensure your ads remain effective. In this blog post, I’ll be sharing tips on how to optimize your YouTube ads targeting strategy for 2023, including changes to the platform’s targeting options and the types of targeting methods that are still effective.
Changes to YouTube’s Targeting Options
One of the biggest changes to YouTube’s targeting options is that Google has removed or greatly limited the ability to target specific YouTube channels, topics, and keywords. While you can still use these types of targeting, you can’t put them in a campaign where you’re optimizing for a goal. This means you can’t tap into machine learning to optimize for specific conversion actions. However, if you’re looking for impressions and views, these targeting methods can still be useful.
Effective Targeting Methods
While some targeting options have been removed or limited, there are still effective methods that can be used to target your ideal audience on YouTube. Here are some of our favorites:
- Remarketing: If you have a large YouTube channel or a lot of website visitors, starting with a remarketing campaign is a great way to show your videos to people who have already engaged with your brand. These are people who already know, like, and trust you, making them a highly relevant audience.
- In-market audiences: These are people who are in the market for your industry. By targeting these audiences, you can reach people who are actively searching for solutions related to your business.
- Custom intent keywords: This method targets people who are searching for specific keywords on Google. By showing your ad to people who are actively looking for solutions related to your business, you can increase the likelihood that they’ll engage with your brand.
- Life events: This method targets people who are going through significant life events, such as getting married or having a baby. Depending on your industry, this can be an effective way to reach people who are likely to need your product or service.
Leveraging Machine Learning to Scale Your Ads
Once you’ve dialed in your targeting, it’s important to leverage Google’s machine learning to scale the number of customers, leads, and sales you get from your ads. Here are some tips on how to do this:
- Use conversion tracking: By tracking conversions, you can give Google’s machine learning algorithm the data it needs to optimize your ads for specific conversion actions.
- Optimize for your most valuable actions: Rather than optimizing for clicks or views, focus on optimizing for actions that are most valuable to your business, such as purchases or sign-ups.
- Test different ad formats: Experiment with different ad formats, such as TrueView for Action or Bumper ads, to see which ones work best for your business.
Conclusion
While changes to YouTube’s targeting options may seem daunting, there are still effective targeting methods that can be used to reach your ideal audience. By leveraging machine learning and optimizing for specific conversion actions, you can scale the number of customers, leads, and sales you get from your ads. Keep these tips in mind as you develop your YouTube ads targeting strategy for 2023.
If YouTube ads is something you or your business are interested in but not sure where to take that initial first steps then you will want to check out our 2023 YouTube Incubator program.
We spend 3 days taking you from writing your video ad script, shooting your video ad, researching your perfect audience to launching your YouTube campaign.
