DV360 to Discontinue Audience Analysis: What it Means and Whats Next

Introduction 

May have come as a shock to you all as Starting August 1, 2024, If you’ve relied on this tool to understand and target your audience, this might seem daunting. But don’t worry! There are multiple alternatives that could be deployed to keep the performance inline. 

 To begin we must first break down what this means and explore some alternative strategies to keep your campaigns effective and your targeting sharp. 

What is Audience Analysis in DV360? 

• Audience Analysis in DV360 was a extraordinary that provided details insights of the prospecting audiences which help increase ROI by understanding your target market. It provided: 
• Audience Insights: Quick overviews of demographics, interests, and behaviours as well as device split. 
• Running Analysis: Easy access to audience insights for line items with at least 1,000 impressions and existing audiences with threshold users. 
• Data Breakdown: Detailed breakdowns by gender, age, and top interests, comparing your optimized targeting traffic to baseline populations and providing a similarity index.

Why Was Audience Analysis Important? 

1. Targeting Precision: It helped advertisers understand who they were reaching and tailor ads to match those audience segments. 
2. Optimized Campaign Performance: Better audience understanding meant more effective ads and higher ROI. 
3. Strategic Planning: Informed broader marketing strategies and helped craft more relevant ad content with a chance to personalise. 

How Did Audience Analysis Help? 

• Demographic Targeting: Allowed advertisers to fine-tune their campaigns based on gender and age. 
• Behavioural Insights: Provided data on user interests and purchase intentions, making ads more relevant. 
• Performance Metrics: Offered insights into the reach and effectiveness of optimized targeting, supporting data-driven decisions. 

What’s Next? 

With the end of Audience Analysis, it’s time to explore new ways to gather insights and maintain effective targeting and we have got them covered for you. 

First-Party Audiences 

First-party data is your goldmine. Here’s how you can collect and use it in DV360: 

1. Website and App Data: Use Google Analytics to track user behaviour on your site or app, then segment and import this data into DV360. 
2. CRM Data: Integrate your CRM data to target existing customers or leads, including email lists and purchase history. 
3. Engagement Data: Collect data on user interactions, such as video views and social media engagement, to build highly engaged user segments. 
4. Custom Affinity Audiences: Create audiences based on specific interests and behaviours observed on your properties. 

Contextual Targeting 

Contextual targeting is all about showing ads based on the content users are viewing. Here’s why it’s great: 

1. Relevance: Ads are more likely to engage users when they align with the content being consumed. 
2. Privacy Compliance: It doesn’t rely on personal data, aligning well with privacy regulations. 
3. Brand Safety: You can control where your ads appear by excluding certain keywords and categories. 

In DV360, you can set up: 

• Brand Safety Settings: Avoid placing ads next to inappropriate content. 
• Category Targeting: Select relevant content categories for your ads. 
• Keyword Targeting: Fine-tune ad placements with specific keywords. 
• Viewability Criteria: Ensure your ads are seen by setting viewability standards. 
• App & URL: Selecting specific websites where you would like to show your ads on. 

Optimized Targeting 

DV360’s optimized targeting uses machine learning to expand your reach by finding new, relevant audiences. It’s a great way to ensure your ads reach potential customers, even without detailed audience insights. 

Google’s Own Audience Segments 

Don’t forget about Google’s audience segments: 

Affinity Segments: Target users based on interests and lifestyles. 

In-Market Segments: Reach users actively considering purchases. 

Custom Segments: Create custom groups based on relevant keywords, URLs, and apps. 

Detailed Demographics: Target users based on life facts like marital status and homeownership. 

Life Events: Engage users during significant life milestones. 

Methods to Implement to track effective audiences: 

Performance Tracking: Use advanced analytics tools to track the performance of both initial and remarketing campaigns. Key metrics to monitor include CTR, conversion rates, and ROAS. 

A/B Testing: Continuously perform A/B testing on audience segments and communication to optimize engagement and conversion rates. 

Feedback Loop: Use insights gained from performance tracking to refine and enhance the audience targeting, creatives, and overall strategy. 

Conclusion 

The discontinuation of DV360’s Audience Analysis feature is a big change, but it’s also an opportunity to innovate. By leveraging first-party data, contextual targeting, and Google’s audience segments, you can continue to reach your desired audiences effectively. Stay adaptable, and your campaigns will remain successful in this evolving digital landscape.