How to build a modern Google Ads targeting strategy like a pro

Search marketing is still as powerful as ever. Google recently surpassed $100 billion in ad revenue in a single quarter, with more than half coming from search. But search alone can no longer deliver the same results most businesses expect.

As Google Ads Coach Jyll Saskin Gales showed at SMX Next, real performance now comes from going beyond traditional search and using it to strengthen a broader PPC strategy.

The challenge with traditional Search Marketing

As search marketers, we’re great at reaching people who are actively searching for what we sell. But we often miss people who fit our ideal audience and aren’t searching yet.

The real opportunity sits at the intersection of intent and audience fit.

Take the search [vacation packages]. That query could come from a family with young kids, a honeymooning couple, or a group of retirees. The keyword is the same, but each audience needs a different message and a different offer.

Understanding targeting capabilities in Google Ads

There are two main types of targeting:

• Content targeting shows ads in specific places.
• Audience targeting shows ads to specific types of people.

For example, targeting [flights to Paris] is content targeting. Targeting people who are “in-market for trips to Paris” is audience targeting. Google builds in-market audiences by analyzing behavior across multiple signals, including searches, browsing activity, and location.

The three types of content targeting

• Keyword targeting: Reach people when they search on Google, including through dynamic ad groups and Performance Max.
• Topic targeting: Show ads alongside content related to specific topics in display and video campaigns.
• Placement targeting: Put ads on specific websites, apps, YouTube channels, or videos where your ideal customers already spend time.

The four types of audience targeting

• Google’s data: Prebuilt segments include detailed demographics (such as parents of toddlers vs. teens), affinity segments (interests like vegetarianism), in-market segments (people actively researching purchases), and life events (graduating or retiring). Any advertiser can use these across most campaign types.
• Your data: Target website visitors, app users, people who engaged with your Google content (YouTube viewers or search clickers), and customer lists through Customer Match. Note that remarketing is restricted for sensitive interest categories.
• Custom segments: Turn content targeting into audience targeting by building segments based on what people search for, their interests, and the websites or apps they use. These go by different names depending on campaign type—“custom segments” in most campaigns and “custom search terms” in video campaigns.
• Automated targeting: This includes optimized targeting (finding people similar to your converters), audience expansion in video campaigns, audience signals and search themes in Performance Max, and lookalike segments that model new users from your seed lists.

Building your targeting strategy

To build a modern targeting strategy, you need to answer two questions:

• How can I sell my offer with Google Ads?
• How can I reach a specific kind of person with Google Ads?

For example, to reach Google Ads practitioners for lead gen software, you could build custom segments that target people who use the Google Ads app, visit industry sites like searchengineland.com, or search for Google Ads–specific terms such as “Performance Max” or “Smart Bidding.”

You can also layer in content targeting, like YouTube placements on industry educator channels and topic targeting around search marketing.

Strategies for sensitive interest categories

If you work in a restricted category such as legal or healthcare and can’t use custom segments or remarketing, use non-linear targeting. Ignore the offer and focus on the audience. Choose any Google data audience with potential overlap, even if it’s imperfect, and let your creative do the filtering.

Use industry-specific jargon, abbreviations, and imagery that only your target audience will recognize and value. Everyone else will scroll past.

Remember: High CPCs aren’t the enemy

Low-quality traffic is the real problem. You’re better off paying $10 per click with a 10% conversion rate than $1 per click with a 0.02% conversion rate.

When evaluating targeting strategies, focus on conversion rate and cost per acquisition, not just cost per click.

Search alone can’t deliver the results you’re used to

By expanding beyond traditional search keywords and using content and audience targeting, you can reach the right people and keep driving strong results.

Watch: How to build a modern targeting strategy like a pro + Live Q&A