Step 3 - Targets

Important: Available ad channels and features vary by partner arrangement. Your ad channels and features might differ from those shown below.

After you create ads, target an audience. By default, the solution uses sophisticated programming to target a relevant audience. But specifying your own targeting settings can improve a campaign's effectiveness.

Activate channels

Note: Turning off a channel does not delete that channel's ad creatives. If you turn on that channel again, its ads will be ready for use.

By default, channels are set to On. But you can turn off channels. Turning off a channel means that no ads from the campaign are served on the off channel for as long as it is turned off.

To turn a channel on or off, just click the applicable On/Off button.

Select locations

Note: You can only select one location type in which to run a campaign. For example, if you first select Local (Near Me), you cannot then select National (Countries) and run the campaign both locally and nationally.

Note: If you target a tiny area, or an area with a small population, we might not find enough supply in there to deliver an effective campaign. If this happens, widen the target area.

Geographic targeting enables an advertiser to focus the placement of their ads on viewers in locations that matter to the campaign.

To set up a Local (Near Me) targeting scope

Note: By default, the city associated with a business is automatically selected for geographic targeting.

1. In the Locations module, click the Local (Near Me) option.

   

2. Increase the number of local cities you target by selecting a wider radius. Zoom in or out, and click Toggle fullscreen view for a wider geo view. Click the Target users within box and select a new radius. The list of Selected Cities adjusts automatically.

To set up a City (Cities/Towns) targeting scope

Note: By default, the city associated with a business is automatically selected for geographic targeting. This might not be the best location to target, though. Think first about where a target audience is, not where an advertiser's physical location is. This is especially true if the advertiser has no brick-and-mortar location.

Note: When latitude and longitude are received in a bid request (for example, from a mobile device), iPromote matches those parameters with the city nearest to them. No other considerations are made; cities are treated as points.

1. In the Locations module, click the City (Cities/Towns) option.
2. Type a city name in the Add Cities text box.

   

3. In the list that appears, scroll-over the applicable city. You have two options:
   • If you are satisfied with the selection, click the city in the list.
   • If you want to add a radius to a city, go to the city in the list and choose a radius around the city by using the +radius selector. A radius adds nearby urban areas to a Selected Cities list.
4. Repeat the steps above if more than one city is to be included in the target area for the campaign. Selected cities accumulate in the Selected Cities field.

To set up a Regional (States/Provinces) targeting scope

Note: By default, the region associated with a business is automatically selected for geographic targeting.

1. In the Locations module, click the Regional (States/Provinces) option.
2. Type a region name in the Add Regions text box. (Regions are synonymous with states or provinces.)

   

3. Click the region you want from the options provided to add it to the Selected Regions list.
4. Repeat steps above if more than one region is to be included in the target area for the campaign. Selected regions accumulate in the Selected Regions list.

To set up a National (Countries) targeting scope

Note: By default, the country associated with a business is automatically selected for geographic targeting.

Note: To be effective, national campaigns should aim for at least 1 million impressions per month.

1. In the Locations module, click the National (Countries) option.
2. Type a country name in the Add Countries text box.

   

3. Click the country you want from the options provided to add it to the Selected Countries list.
4. Repeat steps above if more than one is to be included in the target area for the campaign. Notice that countries accumulate in the Selected Countries list.

Keywords

iPromote automatically determines keyword categories by analyzing an advertiser's on-line footprint and selecting keywords based on past performance. We routinely refresh our search taxonomy with up-to-date keywords. In most cases, manual changes don't need to be made.

But if you do manually edit keywords and want to revert to the keywords automatically selected for you by iPromote, just switch the On/Off button beside Automatic Keyword Management back to On.

If you leave this setting on Off, your customizations are excluded from automatic taxonomy updates, ensuring your changes are not overwritten.

Manual editing requires an advanced understanding of how search works on the web. For more information, see Google's About keyword matching options.

To edit keywords

1. On the Targets page, locate the Keywords module.
2. You can accept the keywords automatically selected or you can manually edit them.

   

3. To edit keywords, first switch the On/Off button beside Automatic Keyword Management to Off.

   

4. Then use the options in the Keywords selector on the right of the module to edit keywords. If you want to revert to the keywords automatically selected for you by iPromote, just switch the On/Off button beside Automatic Keyword Management back to On.
   • Add keywords: Use this option to add new keywords to your existing list. Keywords are added in batches. If you use the Match Type option, whatever you select instantly assigns that match type to all of your newly added keywords. Match type markup is supported. Click Apply to save or Cancel to back out.
   • Delete: If you use the Delete button, you instantly delete all keywords in the selected category. Alternatively, click the X to the right of a keyword to delete only that keyword.
   • Edit: Click Edit to more finely tune any of the keywords in the selected category. For example, add keywords, change match types, and change spelling all at once. If you use the Match Type option, whatever you select instantly assigns that match type to all of your newly added keywords. Match type markup is supported. Click Apply to save or Cancel to back out.
5. If you are satisfied, proceed to setting up another targeting module or click Next to save targeting settings.

Audience targeting

The Audience Targeting module enables you to specify advanced targeting settings for several media channels at once.

To add audience targeting

Note: Audience Targeting settings apply to the following channels: web, mobile, social, video, and native. See tool tips for details about which audiences apply to which channels.

1. On the Targets page, locate the Audience Targeting module and click Audience Targeting.
2. Go to the Add Segments area and type a keyword into the text box. Use the Filter drop-down list to narrow possible results.
   • The keyword should describe a segment you want to target.
   • If you don't find the segment expected, search using synonyms or partial words. For example, if typing car fails to get you the results you expect, type auto.
3. Scroll through the options that appear in the list box and select the most appropriate segment. The segment is added to the Selected Segments area in the applicable category. Review the selected segment tool tips for details about which audiences apply to which channels.

   

4. Repeat steps above if more than one segment is to be included in the list. Notice that segments accumulate in the Selected Segments list, painting a picture of the audience this campaign will target.

   

5. When all segments have been added to Selected Segments, apply the Explicit or Flexible setting to the segments.
   • Explicit: This means that your audience is strictly defined by the selected segments.
   • Flexible: This means that the system will prioritize targeting the selected segments, but it can advertise more widely if needed, ensuring fill goals are met.
6. If applicable, move on to setting up Social Interests and Display Retargeting.

To add social interests

Note: Social interests are auto-applied based on business category. In most cases, manual changes don't need to be made.

Note: If any one of the selected categories is a match, an ad can be served.

1. On the Targets page, locate the Audience Targeting module and click Social Interests.
2. Go to the Add Targets area and type a keyword into the text box. The keyword should describe a category you want to target. If you don't find the category expected, search using synonyms or partial words. For example, if typing car fails to get you the results you expect, type auto.
3. Scroll through the options that appear in the list box and select the most appropriate category.

   

4. Repeat steps above if more than one category is to be included in the list. Notice that categories accumulate in the Selected Targets list.

To add display retargeting

Note: Display interests are auto-applied based on the business category. In most cases, manual changes don't need to be made.

Note: If any one of the selected categories is a match, an ad can be served.

1. On the Targets page, locate the Audience Targeting module and click Display Retargeting.
2. Go to the Add Targets area and type a keyword into the text box. The keyword should describe a category you want to target. If you don't find the category expected, search using synonyms or partial words. For example, if typing car fails to get you the results you expect, type auto.
3. Scroll through the options provided and select the most appropriate category.

   

4. Repeat steps above if more than one category is to be included in the list. Notice that categories accumulate in the Selected Targets list.

Activate manual ad scheduling

Note: To increase the bidding intensity for a time window, use the Bid Adj. (bid adjustment) selector to increase the price you are willing to pay per bid by up to 100%.

Ad scheduling is usually handled automatically by iPromote. If automatic ad scheduling is turned off, then the ad schedule matches the business hours you listed in your Google My Business (GMB) profile. But users can opt to manually control when ads are served by choosing days, time windows, and intensity levels. This is particularly applicable when used with leads-based campaigns.

1. On the Targeting page, locate the Ad Scheduling module.

   

2. Click the On/Off button beside Automatic Ad Scheduling to turn off automatic ad scheduling.
3. Go to Time Zone and select from the options in the drop-down list.
4. Go to the calendar and, for each day that appears, choose from the following options:
   • Touch nothing and accept the default.
   • Click X to delete a time window and specify No Delivery.
   • Click the plus sign (+) beside a day, specify a time period in the Add Time Period box that appears, then click Apply. Repeat for up to 3 daily time windows. Time windows cannot overlap.

   

5. Repeat the steps above for each day you want to manually schedule ad serving.

For more information, see Google's entry on bid adjustment.

Select call tracking

Note: Call tracking requires a special configuration that might not be available to your organization. Your options might differ from those shown below.

Call tracking associates a call tracking phone number (CTN) on an ad with a destination phone number of a business. When a call comes from an ad, the advertiser can learn the channel that led to a call, how long the call lasted, and whether or not the call created a meaningful lead.

If your campaign uses call tracking, your CTNs remain the same until the campaign ends, unless you choose to refresh them. Pausing a campaign does not remove or replace the campaign's existing CTNs.