Optimized targeting

It can find people similar to your converters whom no list describes. It also means the audience you carefully built is a starting point, not a limit.

Because it is on by default, many advertisers do not know it is widening their campaigns.

1. Open a Display, Video or Demand Gen campaign, then an ad group, then Audiences.
2. Look for Optimized targeting and whether it is on.
3. Compare results of ad groups with it on and off.
4. Switch it off where the chosen audience is the point, such as remarketing.

A remarketing ad group meant for cart abandoners has optimized targeting on, and most of its impressions go to people who never visited the site. Switching it off keeps the ads with the abandoners.

• Leaving it on in remarketing ad groups.
• Judging an audience's results without knowing optimized targeting widened it.
• Switching it off on prospecting without testing.

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

• Google widening the audience past the one you chose
• Still paying to advertise to people who already bought

• Audience signal: A hint you give Performance Max about who is likely to convert: your customer lists, site visitors, interests and custom segments.
• Observation: An audience setting that adds an audience to a campaign for reporting and bid adjustments without limiting who sees the ads.
• Demand Gen campaign: A campaign type that shows image and video ads on YouTube, Discover, Gmail and the Display Network to people likely to be interested, rather than to people searching.