Observation

On Search, you usually want everyone searching your keywords, not only people in a list. Observation keeps the reach and still shows how past visitors, customers or in-market groups perform.

It also gives Smart Bidding an extra signal, and on manual bidding lets you adjust bids for an audience.

1. Open a campaign or ad group, then Audiences.
2. Add segments and choose Observation in the targeting setting.
3. Add Audience segment columns to compare results by audience.
4. Switch to Targeting only when you want to reach that audience alone.

A furniture shop adds its past visitors and an in-market for furniture segment to Search in observation. Past visitors convert at three times the rate of others, which helps decide on a separate remarketing campaign.

• Using Targeting on Search by mistake, which shrinks reach to the list.
• Adding no audiences at all, so nothing can be compared.
• Expecting observation to change who sees the ad.

The audit checks Oppy runs on this, each with its own page.

• No audience list on any campaign
• Google widening the audience past the one you chose

• Remarketing: Showing ads to people who visited your site or used your app before.
• Audience signal: A hint you give Performance Max about who is likely to convert: your customer lists, site visitors, interests and custom segments.
• Bid adjustment: A percentage that raises or lowers bids for a device, location, schedule or audience.