People are depositing vital data as they spend more time online- from shopping to searching and messaging. Foodies watch cookery videos and technophiles read the latest technological news. These digital signals are captured by google ads, which then groups users into affinity audiences.
By developing display ads, businesses may increase their advertising spend’s return on investment (ROI).
What are affinity audiences?
Affinity audiences are made up of people who share common interests or hobbies, such as pet owners, sports fanatics or seasoned investors.
Businesses wanted their TV adverts to be presented to audiences who were interested in buying their products, hence the concept of an affinity audience was created for TV advertising.
Sports equipment makers, for example, intended to target sports fans with their television commercials. Affinity audiences were formed by television networks to allow corporations to choose from a list of affinity groups.
Affinity audiences operate in display advertising online in the same way. Selecting groups of people based on their interests can help businesses increase their advertising ROI.
How do affinity audiences work?
People are grouped by affinity by google ads based on digital indications such as search history, videos watched and email activity. These affinity groups can be chosen in one of three ways by business owners:
-
Based on their interest
Google gathers information on people’s interests and habits based on the keywords they search for and the websites they visit. There are 12 interest groups categories in google ads, including:
- Banking and finance
- Beauty and wellness
- Food and dining
- Sports and fitness
- Travel
There are one or more affinity audiences in each category. There are two types of travellers in the Travel category: business travellers and travel buffs. Cooking enthusiasts, fast food cravers and foodies are all types of people who enjoy food and dining. Foodies can be selected by a small business, such as an upscale italian restaurant, to exclude customers who prefer fast food or who prefer to cook for themselves.
Advanced advertisers can also construct unique affinity audiences by entering relevant keywords, website URLs or areas where their target audience frequents, such as supermarkets or sports stadiums. For example, a London tailor could establish an audience of men who would need tailoring assistance by going to the websites of its top competitors and selecting venues they frequent, such as department stores.
-
Based on whether they are in-market
Today’s buyers are increasingly conducting research online before making a purchase. For example, internet searches for the word “menu” have climbed 55% in the last two days, according to think with google and frequently occur right before someone visits a restaurant.
Google utilizes current search data to identify whether potential buyers are interested in a specific type of property known as “in-market”. Businesses may reach potential customers at the exact moment they are ready to buy by targeting in-market affinity audiences.
There are 19 in-market categories from which businesses can pick, including:
- Apparel and accessories
- Beauty products and services
- Education
- Event tickets
- Real estate
Each in-market category has one or more affinity audiences, similar to interest-based audiences. Within the apparel and accessories category, a manchester retailer, for example, can target those who are just interested in activewear or swimwear. Advanced users can also employ keywords, URLs, and locations to construct specific in-market affinity audiences, allowing the same Manchester store to reach customers across the country.
-
Based on previous interactions with your business
Businesses that want to encourage repeat purchases might reach out to existing and potential customers who have visited their website. To use this feature, known as ad marketing, firms must first compile a list of recent website visitors using google analytics. The Manchester clothes company might create adverts for anyone who has visited its website over a certain length of time once it is set up.
What are the benefits of affinity audiences?
Affinity audiences can assist in identifying potential customers who are more likely to notice or respond to their advertisements than the typical individual. These audiences can specifically assist small enterprises in:
Build brand awareness
Businesses can develop display advertisements for affinity audiences based on their interests, who are more likely to engage with their ads and remember their brand than the general public. The quality of their internet traffic and shop visitors improves as a result of this.
For example, a used clothing company in Cardiff might limit its ads to the affinity audience ‘bargain hunters’ who are more likely than the ordinary customer to click, visit their store and share product links with their friends. For the same advertising budget, the second-hand shop would reach a greater audience with its commercials than if it had merely run ads without engaging bargain hunters.
Find new potential customers
With the purpose of increasing sales, businesses can design display ads for in-market affinity audiences. Showing display ads to these highly reactive potential clients, who are more likely than others to acquire a product or service, helps business owners enhance their advertising ROI.
How to improve ads?
By restricting their target, even more, business owners can boost their affinity group success. A Sheffield shop, for example, might discover that consumers in a given age bracket or from a specific region are more inclined to buy.
The shop owner can use this information to build display adverts depending on:
- Gender, age range, parental status and household income are all aspects to consider.
- Whether adverts are displayed on websites, youtube, applications or in app stores
- Geographical locations: specific countries, regions, cities or zip codes
- Languages: the languages spoken by your prospective customers
Businesses can build unique adverts to appeal to each of their target groups with a narrower focus. A cosmetic store in Canterbury, for example, might opt to place an ad targeting female fashionistas aged 24-25 who live within 25 miles of its location. The beauty shop owner might choose an image of a 26year old woman since the more detailed and relevant the ad is, the more likely audiences would notice and click.
Businesses can also change their affinity audience bidding strategy to allow google ads to compete more aggressively and pay somewhat more for clicks from highly relevant potential consumers. A business owner who applies a 20 % bid adjustment to the affinity group ‘sports fans’ may send more ads, but their chances of engaging with high-quality potential customers will increase.
Summary
Businesses have a lot of options with affinity audiences to make their ads more relevant to potential customers. Business owners may improve their advertising ROI, raise brand awareness and engage with potential customers at the perfect time to develop focused and specific display ads.
For more such information, connect with Adsthrive, Top Digital Marketing Agency in Bangalore, to help you with the insight to increase ROI with affinity audiences.
