Google Quietly Rolls-Out “In-Market Buyers” Targeting To Reach Imminent Purchasers

Though it hasn’t been officially announced, Google has started rolling out a new targeting feature on the Google Display Network in AdWords called In-Market Buyers. Listed under Interest Categories, the new In-Market Buyers segments are designed to target visitors whose site visitation habits suggest they are in active-consideration mode and want to make a purchase.

Advertisers can target consumers who are further down in the funnel and considering buying a product or service like theirs. David Szetela, Owner & CEO of paid search agency FMB Media, spotted the quiet roll-out in several of his client accounts yesterday and provided the screenshot below. Szetela says he has started an early test using the Boats & Watercraft category of In-Market Buyers for a boat lighting client. “Google says they have figured out how to identify people who want to make a purchase. So it’s targeting people, not sites, based on their site behavior,” said Szetela.

Consumers who visit a site too frequently are typically not considered in-market buyers. For example, Google has found that a user who visits an car site frequently may already be an owner and is not likelyconsidering a purchase in the near future. Based on the patterns Google has identified, the In-Market Buyer segments actually target visitors who are frequenting certain sites less frequently.

Google’s support page on Interest Categories has been updated to include information about In-Market Buyers:

• In-market buyers (available only to campaigns targeting English): Select from these categories to find customers who are researching products and actively considering buying a service or product like those you offer.These categories are designed for advertisers focused on getting conversions from highly qualified customers. “In-market buyers” categories can help drive remarketing performance and reach consumers close to completing a purchase.

Google recommends bidding on these segments can be done on a CPA basis to tie it to actual sales. CPC bidding is also available for advertisers that can’t use bid on a CPA basis. CPC bidding is not recommended. Google also suggests not adding other targeting methods to ad groups set with In-Market Buyers, but instead setting bid adjustments based on demographics or by specific topic. An example given for an automotive advertiser is in the in-market category “Sedans,” to set a bid adjustment for people within that audience who also happen to be browsing pages related to the topic “Autos & Vehicles.”

This is early days, of course, so you may find your own ways of using this new targeting feature. Again, this is still rolling out and hasn’t even been announced officially, so you may not see it in your accounts, yet.