Google to Let Advertisers Upload Email Lists in AdWords to Target Customers

Google is introducing a new product called Customer Match that will let advertisers upload customer and promotional email address lists into AdWords. The new targeting capability will go beyond just search ads, but include YouTube and Gmail native advertising as well. These are the features to expect from this new Google product:

Create More Targeted Lists

Customer Match will mark the first time Google has allowed advertisers to target ads against customer owned data in AdWords. Email addresses will be matched against signed in users on Google. Individual addresses are hashtagged and anonymized and advertisers will be able to set bids and create ads specifically geared for audiences built from uploaded email lists.

Serve Ads Across All Devices

Currently advertisers have the ability to serve display ads to site visitors using retargeting lists captured in Google Analytics. Another product, called Retargeting Lists for Search Ads (RLSA), allows advertisers to bid on and serve ads tailored to audiences when they search on Google. All retargeting lists are built using cookies, which users can easily delete or block and are are not suited for mobile devices. The new email upload capability coupled with user sign-ins will be more effective in targeting across all devices, not just desktop.

Get Great Results

With this new Customer Match product, Google is joining Facebook and Twitter, whose custom audiences and tailored audiences products have long been available and have seen much success. Advertisers have been pushing for the same capability on Google for some time, however, due to Google’s concern with customer privacy, it has since been delayed until now. The push may have resulted from seeing Facebook’s jumping advertising revenue.

Target to Similar Audiences

In addition to reaching existing customers using Customer Match, Google advertisers will also be able to target new prospects with the expansion of Similar Audiences. Similar Audiences for Customer Match lists can also be targeted for YouTube and Gmail.

Universal App Campaigns

One last thing that Google is adding to its arsenal of new features in AdWords is Universal App Campaigns. Universal App Campaigns for Android devices enable app marketers to reach users across search, YouTube, the Google Display Network,  and Google in-app display network AdMob. The idea is to make campaign creating as simple as possible for the app advertiser while offering them access to scale of channels that Google can offer. All bids are based on a cost-per-install targets set by the app marketer and all creative assets are pulled from Google Play.

“From there, our systems will optimize your campaigns using dynamic learning to maximize app install volume at your target cost-per-install. By testing different versions of your ad text and app images in each of the eligible Google networks, we determine the highest-performing variations so only your best ads show,” writes Sridhar Ramaswamy, Senior Vice President, Ads and Commerce at Google, in a blog post.

To get started with Customer Match, advertisers will need to upload their email lists to Audiences within Adwords. There is no limit to the number of lists you can upload.

Expect Customer Match, Similar Audiences, and Universal App Campaigns to roll out globally within the next few weeks.