Using Google Analytics Audiences Strategically
Time to Read: 5m 16s
Google Analytics audiences can be used to target specific users based on setting the criteria for your personal business needs. There are two main ways to create audience definitions in Google Ads; one is directly through Google Ads, and the other is imported through Google Analytics. However, with a combination of both, you can create an audience definition in Google Ads and add different definitions in Google Analytics. Using both strategically can help further define the best audiences for remarketing. Remarketing is a way for you to target ads directly at those who have already visited your site or have seen your product before. It is a way for you to reconnect and re-engage with your targeted audiences to make them more likely to convert in your site. With the right remarketing strategy, you can target those that have been curious about your products and site before. When you implement retargeting you give users another chance to gain familiarity, pushing them closer to making a purchase. 
It can give an idea of how much time and money should be spent marketing to specific audiences. Also, on an SEO level, you can determine which areas of the site to make improvements on based on where your audience is on their buyer's journey. Through building remarketing audiences, you will have more information about users based on their actions taken on your site and where they are in their ‘buyer’s journey,’ knowing this can be very effective in creating powerful marketing strategies that will drive more conversions. Google's recent shift to prioritizing the buyer's journey means that understanding where your users are in the buying process is more important than ever. Google’s new algorithm will show results based on the user's history to understand the user's decisions better and show results based on their intentions. Knowing your audience’s intentions and where they are in their buyer’s journey and decision making aligns well with Google’s focus and creating impactful remarketing strategies will be more powerful than ever.
Remarketing to the Right Audiences
You want to target audiences that will bring users back to your site and deeper into the funnel of your site and in their buyer’s journey, this will ultimately will bring you more conversions. To prevent users from getting caught in a remarketing loop, you can create multiple audience definitions in Google Analytics. Creating two remarketing audiences in Google Analytics is a way to use the platform tactfully. In Google Ads include everyone from the first remarketing audience and exclude everyone from the second audience you created. A common problem for many remarketing campaigns is figuring out how to avoid advertising products to users who have already purchased them. To address this problem, you can create a ‘transaction audience’ of users who have already purchased your product. Exclude the transaction audience while including users who have visited your website before but did not make a purchase. Thinking through the audience attributes in Google Analytics carefully, will help guide you to addressing the right audiences for your business.Creating an Audience in Google Analytics
In Google Analytics, you can use segments to create a target audience. Segmenting audiences is valuable for both reporting and research.- In Google Analytics, at the top of a report, you can click ‘Add segment’ and that will display many options to choose from.
- You can combine different dimensions and metrics to create your own audience. There are some pre-populated useful segments like New Users, Converters and more. Other segment ideas include; by device, location, and site events such as watching a video or downloading a PDF.
- Choose the account you want to share your configurations with.
- Set the definitions to your audiences to your liking. Also, set the number of days you would like your ad to show up for the audience.
- If you want to edit the definitions you made, you can open the segment builder and make changes there.
Segmenting Audiences based on Data
It’s best to segment your audiences based on the actions they have already taken. For example, if there is a segmented audience to drive users to watch a video, there can be another segmented audience for users who have already watched that video. Rather than remarketing the same video to those users, you can market something that will drive the user to the next steps of getting deeper into your site and closer to making a purchase. It is vital that you also determine which audiences should be excluded. Every time you ask yourself ‘who should see this ad?’, you should also be asking ‘who should NOT see this ad?’ Keeping this in mind will guide you to creating the best audience definition for you. Although it’s important to be strategic with creating audience definitions, you also don’t want to make the mistake of making it too complicated. If it’s too specific it may not reach to a big enough audience. There are limits in segmenting; you need to have at least 100 users on a display remarketing list and 1000 users on a search remarketing list. You also don’t want to end up with too many audience definitions because it will create too many smaller and specific audiences. Once an audience is created it cannot be deleted, it can only be closed. Making decisions based on your data will help you know what works best for your site. Once you create the segments, turn them into an Audience and share it with the correct Google Ads account under the Property settings in Google Analytics.Knowing your Audience and the Buyer’s Journey
In 2018, Google Analytics introduced the ‘audiences’ report. This report helps users analyze their audience segments and shows how the audiences are performing. It can give an idea of how much time and money should be spent marketing to specific audiences. Also, on an SEO level, you can determine which areas of the site to make improvements on based on where your audience is on their buyer's journey. Through building remarketing audiences, you will have more information about users based on their actions taken on your site and where they are in their ‘buyer’s journey,’ knowing this can be very effective in creating powerful marketing strategies that will drive more conversions. Google's recent shift to prioritizing the buyer's journey means that understanding where your users are in the buying process is more important than ever. Google’s new algorithm will show results based on the user's history to understand the user's decisions better and show results based on their intentions. Knowing your audience’s intentions and where they are in their buyer’s journey and decision making aligns well with Google’s focus and creating impactful remarketing strategies will be more powerful than ever.