The days of relying solely on keywords to manage search campaigns are over! Today’s search marketers have a plethora of tools at their disposal, offering almost as many ways to target their ads using audience solutions as they do with keywords. Advertisers can leverage RLSA to target remarketing audiences within their search campaigns, connect with their existing customers through Customer Match, discover new customers by utilizing Similar Audiences for Search, and even target specific demographics in their search campaigns. And now, advertisers have a powerful new tool at their fingertips to reach their desired audiences on the SERP – In-Market Audiences!

Understanding In-Market Audiences for Search

Google first revealed its plans to introduce In-Market Audiences for search campaigns at Google Marketing Next in May of last year. This month, both Google and Bing made In-Market Audiences for Search available to all advertisers in the US. Advertisers familiar with In-Market targeting for GDN or Facebook’s in-market targeting will find this new addition quite familiar. It allows you to pinpoint users whose recent search and browsing activities suggest they are actively looking for products or services like yours. Similar to RLSA audiences and similar audiences for search, these audiences tend to be more qualified than those reached through standard search; they are closer to making a purchase decision, having moved beyond the initial research or brand consideration phase. However, unlike remarketing audiences, In-Market audiences for search might be completely unfamiliar with your brand or website, presenting a golden opportunity to make a first impression.

In-Market Audiences for Search in Practice

Let’s imagine you’re running an ad campaign targeting the keyword “New York Hotel.” You would likely be displaying your ad to countless individuals searching for hotels daily. Many might be casually browsing or starting to plan their summer trips without any immediate plans to book a room. However, a select few have diligently conducted their online research over the past weeks, secured their flights, and are now ready to book their accommodations. While their search for “New York Hotels” might appear identical to that of the vast majority of less-qualified users using the same keyword, search engines can easily identify them as being in-market for accommodations in New York based on their past search and browsing patterns.

This provides you with a significant advantage, enabling you to increase your bids or dedicate your entire budget to searches originating from individuals who are in “buy-now” mode.

The Composition of In-Market Audiences for Search

The initial rollout of In-Market Audiences features over 170 unique In-Market audiences from various popular industries. This presents an opportunity for businesses across almost every sector, including Auto, Travel, Legal, Finance, Real Estate, Business services, Education, and many more! Both Google and Bing have plans to continuously expand these audiences over time. Early beta tests focusing on In-Market Audiences have demonstrated their remarkable potential to transform search campaign performance. While these carefully curated search audiences reached a smaller portion of individuals searching for relevant keywords, they exhibited a 162% higher likelihood of clicking on a relevant search ad and were more than twice as likely to convert compared to those reached through standard targeting! Moreover, without incurring additional costs to reach these audiences, advertisers were able to enhance the targeting precision of their search campaigns and achieve an average reduction in their CPA by over 50%!

It’s important to acknowledge that these In-Market Audiences will have a limited reach on the SERP, even for highly sought-after industries and keywords. On average, observations indicate that only around 5% of searchers are categorized as “In-Market” at any given time. While a substantial number of advertisers reported that up to half of their conversions originated from these highly qualified In-Market Audiences, their limited reach should be carefully factored into your campaign strategy.

Best Practices for Incorporating In-Market Audiences into Search Campaigns

Begin with Bid-Only (or “Observe”) Targeting

The introduction of new features is always exciting, and In-Market Audiences are poised to enhance your search campaigns. However, it’s prudent to start gradually. Begin by adding In-Market audiences to your existing campaigns using the “Bid only” (“Observe” in AdWords) setting with a modest bid adjustment. Within a few weeks, you’ll not only observe improvements in your campaign performance but also gather valuable data to guide your next steps. If you find that similar audiences are performing well and attracting a sizable audience, consider creating a separate campaign specifically targeting these users with a “Target and Bid” (“Target” in AdWords) setting. For those who are unsure or prefer a more cautious approach, this data can be obtained without any cost by employing a “Bid only” target with a +0% bid adjustment.

Experiment with Multiple In-Market Audiences (Even the Less Obvious Ones)

Certain targets will naturally align with your brand. It goes without saying that a hotel stands to gain significantly by targeting individuals who are In-Market for travel. However, a savvy luggage retailer could potentially cross-sell their products to this audience seeking a getaway. Conversely, a B2B service provider might benefit from excluding or reducing their bids for this audience of searchers whose travel plans might hinder conversions.

Combine In-Market Audiences with Other Demographics and Audiences

While In-Market Audiences are undeniably powerful, it’s crucial to avoid relying on them as the sole indicator for identifying qualified searchers. Enhance your targeting precision by re-engaging past visitors through RLSA and customer match audiences, and leverage the demographic targeting options available within your search campaigns.

Embracing the Future of Search

The future of search is not about keywords – it’s about people. By integrating In-Market audiences into your strategies, you have the potential to revolutionize your search campaigns, optimize your ad targeting, and ultimately realize substantial cost savings in your paid search endeavors!

Data Sources

The aggregated data presented in this post is derived from a sample of 26 nexus-security client accounts that participated in the early beta program for In-Market Audiences, advertising on the Bing Search Network in April 2018.