DV360 Audience Targeting for Higher Conversions

If you have been running programmatic campaigns, you already know how powerful Google Display & Video 360 (DV360) can be. It gives advertisers access to premium inventory, advanced bidding strategies, and detailed targeting options that can take your digital marketing efforts to the next level. But here is the truth: great targeting is the backbone of any high-performing campaign.

When you are aiming for higher conversions, audience targeting is not just a feature—it is the foundation of your success. Showing your ads to the wrong audience wastes money and reduces return on ad spend (ROAS). On the other hand, reaching the right people at the right time with the right message increases your chances of driving meaningful actions, whether that is a purchase, a lead form submission, or an app install.

In this blog, we will explore how to use DV360 audience targeting effectively to maximize conversions, break down the different types of audiences, and share best practices to make your campaigns more performance-driven.

 

Why Audience Targeting Matters for Conversions

Conversions happen when the right user sees an ad that aligns with their needs or interests at the right time. Without proper targeting, your ads will be shown to people who have little to no intent to buy, which means low conversion rates and high wasted spend.

DV360 offers some of the most advanced audience targeting options in the programmatic world. It allows you to combine first-party data, Google’s audience segments, and custom-built audiences for a granular approach. When optimized properly, these options can help you achieve lower CPA (Cost per Acquisition), higher ROAS, and better engagement.

 

Types of Audience Targeting in DV360

Before diving into strategies, let us look at the key audience types available in DV360:

1. First-Party Data (Your Own Data)

First-party data is the most valuable because it comes directly from your business. It includes:

• Website visitors (people who browsed your site or added products to their cart)
• Customer lists (email addresses, CRM data)
• App users

Why is this important? These are users who have already shown interest in your brand, making them highly likely to convert.

 

2. Google Audience Segments

Google provides a wide range of pre-built audience segments that you can use in DV360:

• Affinity Audiences: People with a general interest in certain categories (for example, “Fitness Enthusiasts”).
• In-Market Audiences: Users who are actively researching or intending to buy a product or service. These are extremely powerful for conversions because they indicate purchase intent.
• Demographics: Age, gender, parental status, and household income.

 

3. Custom Audiences

DV360 allows you to create custom audience lists using:

• Keywords
• URLs
• Apps

For example, if you sell home fitness equipment, you can build a custom audience of people who have visited fitness blogs, downloaded workout apps, or searched for home gym equipment.

 

4. Lookalike Audiences

Similar to your first-party data, these audiences include users who share similar behaviors and interests as your existing customers. This is a great way to scale conversions while maintaining efficiency.

5. Combined Audiences

DV360 lets you combine multiple targeting layers (for example, in-market for “sports apparel” + age 25–35 + visited your site in the last 30 days) to create a highly refined audience.

 

Best Strategies to Use Audience Targeting for Higher Conversions

Now that you know the audience types, let us look at practical strategies for better conversion performance.

 

1. Start with Remarketing

Remarketing is one of the most effective ways to drive conversions because you are targeting users who have already interacted with your brand.

• Dynamic Remarketing: Show ads featuring products users viewed on your website.
• Abandoned Cart Campaigns: Target users who added products to their cart but did not complete the purchase.
• Upsell and Cross-sell Campaigns: Show related products to existing customers.

Example:
If someone browsed your website for home décor items but did not buy, show them ads with the exact products they viewed or similar items.

 

2. Use In-Market Audiences for High Intent

In-market audiences are extremely powerful because these users are actively searching for products or services like yours.

For example:

• If you sell smartphones, target “In-Market for Mobile Phones.”
• If you are a travel agency, target “In-Market for Travel Packages.”

These users are close to making a purchase decision, so your ads have a higher chance of converting.

 

3. Combine Audience Layers for Precision

Instead of targeting a broad segment, combine multiple audience layers for precision.

For example:

• In-market for “fitness equipment”
• Age 25–40
• Recently visited your site

This approach narrows down your audience to those most likely to convert, reducing wasted impressions.

 

4. Use Lookalike Audiences to Scale

Once you have a strong base of converters, create lookalike audiences to reach similar users.

Example:
If your best customers are fitness enthusiasts aged 25–35 who shop online frequently, DV360 can help you find similar people across the web.

 

5. Test Custom Audiences for Niche Targeting

Custom audiences are a hidden gem in DV360 because they allow hyper-specific targeting.

For example:
If you sell vegan snacks, build a custom audience using:

• Keywords like “vegan snacks,” “plant-based diet.”
• URLs of vegan recipe blogs.
• Apps related to healthy eating.

 

6. Layer Audience Targeting with Contextual Targeting

Audience targeting works best when combined with contextual targeting. Show your ads on websites or apps relevant to your product, alongside reaching the right audience.

For instance, if you sell sports gear, target in-market audiences for “sports equipment” and place ads on sports blogs.

 

7. Apply Frequency Capping

Showing too many ads to the same user can hurt your performance. DV360 allows you to cap impressions per user per day. For conversions, keep it reasonable—3–5 impressions per user per day is usually enough.

 

8. Use Audience Exclusions

Avoid wasting money on users who are unlikely to convert, such as:

• People who have already purchased your product.
• Users who have not engaged despite repeated exposure.

 

Performance Marketing and Audience Targeting

Audience targeting plays a huge role in performance marketing. Performance marketing focuses on measurable results like conversions, sign-ups, and sales. In DV360 Account, the ability to combine first-party data, predictive algorithms, and intent-based targeting makes it a powerful tool for performance-driven campaigns.

When you optimize audience targeting for performance marketing, you are essentially focusing your ad spend on high-intent users, which improves conversion rates and lowers cost per acquisition.

 

Example: How a Brand Improved Conversions with Audience Targeting

Let us take an example of an online fitness brand selling home workout equipment. Initially, their campaigns were targeting broad audiences, leading to high CPM but very low conversions.

Here is what they did to fix this:

• Step 1: Built remarketing lists for users who visited product pages but did not buy.
• Step 2: Added in-market audiences for “home fitness equipment” and “gym accessories.”
• Step 3: Created a custom audience using fitness-related keywords and URLs.
• Step 4: Ran dynamic display ads featuring products users viewed.
• Step 5: Applied frequency capping and excluded converters.

The result? Their conversion rate improved by 40% and cost per acquisition dropped by 25% in 30 days.

 

Key Tips for Higher Conversions with DV360 Audience Targeting

• Always start with first-party data (it is your most valuable asset).
• Use in-market and custom audiences for high-intent users.
• Do not forget lookalikes for scaling.
• Combine targeting layers for precision.
• Monitor performance and adjust regularly.

 

DV360 audience targeting is not just about selecting a few segments and running ads. It is about strategic layering, testing, and optimization to ensure your ads reach users who are most likely to convert. By combining remarketing, intent-based targeting, and predictive modeling, you can significantly improve your campaign performance and maximize return on ad spend.