[Basic] What is GDN targeting? Explaining the types and characteristics of targeting

Are you wondering, “What can GDN targeting do?”

If you do not understand the types and characteristics of GDN targeting, you may end up targeting off target.

This article briefly summarizes the features of basic targeting functions.

Be sure to understand the content thoroughly and use it for your advertising operations.

If you want to start advertising operations, please take a look.

First of all, what is GDN?

GDN is an abbreviation for “Google Display Network.” Refers to display ads that can be used with Google Ads.

There are two types of GDN targeting:

With GDN targeting, you can display ads effectively by setting information such as the interests, attributes, etc. of the users you want to see your ads.

Types of GDN targeting

As mentioned above, GDN targeting allows targeting to “people” and “posting pages.”

There are several types of targeting functions for “People” and “Publication”.

Types of GDN targeting
Targeting “people” (Audience targeting)	affinity segment life event Segments with strong purchase intent custom segment Data segment (formerly known as remarketing) Detailed user attributes
Targeting for “posting page”	topic target placement target keyword

Let’s check each function.

reference:About audience targeting – Google Ads Help
reference:About content targeting – Google Ads Help

Targeting for “people” (audience targeting)

Targeting “people” is called “audience targeting.”

By setting user interests and attributes (age, gender, family structure, etc.), you can display ads to pinpoint users who are likely to be interested in your products.

Audience targeting has several types of targeting features.

Let’s take a look at what kind of targeting you can do with each.

Let’s check them one by one.

affinity segment

Affinity segment is a targeting feature that allows you to display ads in categories that users are interested in.

The available affinity categories are: (As of September 2022)

For example, if your product is related to “domestic travel,” select “Travel” as the category.

If you select “Travel,” the options are further divided into “People who often travel for business” and “Traveling enthusiasts,” so you can choose according to your company’s target audience.

life event

Life events are a feature that allows you to target users who are reaching major milestones in their lives, such as moving or getting married.

Below are the available life event categories. (As of September 2022)

Since major milestone events don’t happen often, there are fewer approaches than with the aforementioned affinity.

However, if you use it to distribute appeals and services that are in line with the event, the purchase rate can often increase.

For example, if you advertise things like “wedding halls” and “wedding rings” around the time of a wedding, more people will likely consider purchasing.

Segments with strong purchase intent

High purchase intent segment is a feature that allows you to display ads to users who are considering products or services similar to yours or who are willing to purchase them.

Since you can send messages to users who are likely to make a purchase, it will be more effective if you use it when you want to increase your conversion rate.

custom segment

Custom segments allow you to set keywords, URLs, and apps to display ads to users who are interested in those topics.

Ads can be displayed to the following users.

Categories that can be set	Users who can display ads
keyword	Users who are interested in products and services related to the set keywords
URL	Users accessing websites similar to the URL you set
app	Users accessing websites similar to the configured app

Data segment (formerly known as remarketing)

Data segment is a targeting feature that allows you to display advertisements to users who have visited your website once.

It can be used in search, shopping, Gmail, YouTube, and display ads.

Detailed user attributes

Detailed user attributes is a function that displays advertisements based on data such as the user’s age, gender, and annual household income.

By setting this, you can pinpoint advertisements to specific users.

The following are user attributes that can be set. (As of September 2022)

User attributes that can be set	choices
age	“18-24 years old” “25-34 years old” “35-44 years old” “45-54 years old” “55-64 years old” “65 years of age or older” “not clear”
gender	“woman” “male” “not clear”
household income	“Top 10%” 「11～20％」 「21～30％」 「31～40％」 「41～50％」 “Bottom 50%” “not clear”
Presence of children	“I have children.” “Without children” “not clear”

Targeting for “posting page”

There are three targeting functions for “Publication page”:

Let’s take a closer look.

topic target

Topic targeting allows you to display ads on websites, videos, and apps related to the specified topic.

For example, if you set the topic to “Games”, you can distribute ads to websites and videos related to games.

Below are the topics you can choose from. (As of September 2022)

placement target

Placement targeting allows you to target specific websites, web pages, and apps to deliver ads.

For example, if you want to deliver ads to websites related to “marketing,” press the “website” category and then enter “marketing” in the search field.

When you perform a search, websites related to marketing will be displayed, so you can configure settings by selecting the site you want to distribute.

In addition to searching for keywords, you can also search for the URL of the website you want to publish.

keyword

By setting keywords, you can display your ads on relevant web pages.

Set keywords related to your products and services.

Other targeting

With GDN targeting, you can target other than “people” and “posting pages.”

Let’s check them one by one.

Geographic targeting

Geographical targeting is a feature that allows you to display ads to people who live in a specific area, who are easy to commute to, or who are interested.

For example, if you want to attract people to a cafe in Yokohama, you can set “Yokohama City” to send ads to people who live in Yokohama, who are easy to visit, and who are interested.

Day/time targeting

You can specify the days of the week and times when ads will be distributed.

By targeting the days of the week and times when your target audience is most likely to view your ads, you can effectively distribute your ads.

For example, if you are targeting office workers, you can set the time based on your prediction, “Will they see your ad during their commuting/returning hours?”

Imagine the lifestyle rhythm of the target you want to display ads to and set your targeting.

device targeting

With device targeting, you can decide how often your ads will be delivered to devices such as computers and smartphones.

Estimate which devices your target uses most before setting them up.

The following are the devices that can be configured.

[Summary] Learn the basics of GDN targeting and use it for advertising operations

In this article, we summarized the types and characteristics of GDN targeting.

Targeting has functions that target “people” and “posting pages.”

GDN targeting allows you to use the following features:

Types of GDN targeting
Targeting “people” (Audience targeting)	affinity segment life event Segments with strong purchase intent custom segment Data segment (formerly known as remarketing) Detailed user attributes
Targeting for “posting page”	topic target placement target keyword

In addition to the above, you can also use the following targeting:

Decide what kind of users you want to reach, and then set up your targeting.

If you feel like you don’t know how to set targets or you’re not confident in your targeting methods, you may want to consider hiring an advertising agency.

In addition to targeting, advertising also focuses on the performance of creatives such as advertisements, banner designs, and LPs.

In order to maximize the effectiveness of your advertising, we recommend that you consider hiring an advertising management professional.

We also operate display advertising, so if you are interested, please feel free to contact us.