Google Customer Match with Google Ads: Beyond E-mail Targeting

To maximize your online presence, you need a stellar PPC strategy. With so many brands entering the online marketplace daily, competition is fierce. Implementing a PPC strategy is essential to position your brand and maximize your ROI. There are many PPC tools available, but one of the most innovative solutions is Google Customer Match for Google Ads.

When the original Google Customer Match feature was released, it revolutionized PPC marketing. The identity-based customer marketing it provides allows marketers to identify their target audience more efficiently and to tailor their campaigns for maximum impact. While it originally only supported customer matching by email, recent updates have broadened its functions.

With these new features, you can better:

1. Generate new website traffic
2. Grow online sales
3. Increase brand awareness
4. Cultivate customer loyalty

These features can make your PPC campaigns more impactful in many ways. Read on to learn how to use them.

Google Customer Match by Phone and Mailing Address

The new update to Google Customer Match allows marketers to identify customers by phone numbers and mailing addresses, in addition to email targeting on Google Ads. This addition has the potential to drastically improve your match rate and expands your ability to engage with your highest value customers across Search, Shopping, Gmail, and YouTube. 

This new functionality allows advertisers to reach an even broader market. You can now retrieve customer data from a variety of sources, including:

• Direct mailing lists
• In-store shoppers and purchasers
• Loyalty and reward program members
• Shipping lists
• SMS/texting campaigns
• Message extensions

This information is invaluable when developing timely and relevant ads for a broad audience. One important caveat to remember: a $50,000 lifetime spend in your Google Ads Account is required for whitelisting Gmail Ads.

Target Similar Audiences

Another helpful tool to include in your PPC strategy is similar audience targeting. It adds powerful capabilities when used with Google Customer Match on Google Ads, as it allows you to reach new customers on Gmail and Youtube. This function allows you to find new prospects based on similarities with your existing customer list, even if they haven’t previously visited your site. It’s a great way to significantly extend your advertising reach and drive new customer engagement.

A user is added to the similar audience list when they conduct a search related to those of users on your customer match list. Similar audience lists are dynamic, continuously updating as users’ search activity changes and removing users from the similar audience list once they have visited your site. 

How Google Customer Match on Google Ads Works

Google Customer Match works via a data matching process in which you upload a customer data file based on the customer data you’ve collected. Google will then compare your data to its own database and add the matches to your customer list. Google Customer Match also includes security features for protecting customer data. 

Create Your Customer List

First, you’ll need to create a comma-separated (.csv) customer list, and there are some rules for the data you’re allowed to upload. For instance, you only upload data you collected in the first-party context (data that the customer shared directly with you). Examples of this include data shared with you by a customer during:

• Purchase of an item from your website.
• Sign-up for your loyalty program in your physical store.
• Registration to receive marketing messages through your apps.

You must also disclose to the customer that you will be sharing their data with a third party and receive consent to do so when required by law. Google also requires that you use their approved API or interface for the upload and that the data and upload complies with all applicable regulations. 

Google also has several restrictions for data containing sensitive personal information or that of children under the age of 13. Be sure to review their policies in detail before proceeding. 

Getting the customer list right is crucial to successfully use Google Customer Match. The formatting requirements for phone numbers and mailing addresses are different, and Google will remove any data point that isn’t compliant with its standards.

Create Winning Campaigns for Your Matches

Once you’ve determined that your list meets Google standards, you’re ready to upload it!

Google Customer Match will check your list against Google’s network and create a Customer Match audience based on the matches — the people from your list who are also Google users. This data is invaluable in refining your advertising to meet customers’ needs. With this audience, you can create or update a campaign precisely targeted to your Customer Match audience or any portion thereof. Your capabilities vary across Google products:

1. On Google Search Network and Shopping, you can optimize your campaign by customizing your bid based on known customer behavior.
2. In Gmail, you can personalize ads down to a specific customer. Gmail offers several advantages over other email marketing, as Gmail ads do not wait to be opened by the customer. They can be previewed in Inbox/Promotions/Social. You also only have to pay for clicks.
3. Similarly, you can customize YouTube ads to a single user.

Control How You Target Your Customers

This tool allows marketers to reach existing customers in a more personalized setting. Some of the best results of the new Google Customer Match features include:

1. Promoting repeat purchases
2. Identifying buying habits and opportunities to maximize up-selling and cross-selling
3. Re-engaging cart abandoners through ads and Google Shopping
4. Increasing brand loyalty
5. Re-engaging already loyal customers as they use Google Shopping
6. Engaging new customers through Google platforms based on similarity to existing customers

Couple the new capabilities with the existing ability to refine geographical scope, and the potential for driving sales with Google Customer Match on Google Ads seems limitless.

The Best PPC Firm in the Business

It’s not easy to know which keywords are most effective, how much to spend, or where to spend it. The process of testing, refining, and improving your results can be overwhelming if you’re not a PPC expert.

Coalition Technologies has distinguished itself as a leading SEO and PPC company. Our experts can help you refine your marketing and ecommerce strategies for the current marketplace. 

We can help you develop Google-compliant customer lists and optimize your campaigns across Google’s services. Our proven techniques can maximize the results of your Google Ads experience. Contact us today for a free consultation.