As of May 15, 2017, audiences created in Google Analytics can take advantage of cross-device remarketing for Google Display (AdWords GDN and DoubleClick Bid Manager) and Search Ads (RLSA).
What is Cross-Device Remarketing for Audiences in Analytics?
The ability to reach customers through Google Analytics audiences in more places.
Before this update, targeting users through Google Analytics audiences in AdWords and DBM was limited to serving users ads on the desktop device used during their initial session (when they met the criteria for your audience and the GA Client ID was collected).
Cross-Device Remarketing for Audiences not only expands your potential to reach users on any desktop device they’re logged into, but also allows your ads to reach users as they switch over to mobile and tablet devices, assuming the user has opted-in to personalizing ads with Google and has logged in to their Google Account on those devices.
So What's Changed in this Update?
Before this update, targeting users through Google Analytics audiences in Google Ads and DBM was limited to serving users ads on the desktop device used during their initial session (when they met the criteria for your audience and the GA Client ID was collected).
Now, we’re able to leverage these audiences created in Google Analytics to target and remarket cross-device, not only on desktop but across mobile and tablet as well.
How does Cross-Device Remarketing work?
By associating users that are logged into Google Accounts across devices.
It’s important to note that this update does not change audience definition in Google Analytics. Rather, it allows you to target users who meet specified criteria across multiple devices in Google’s Ad Platforms.
Let’s break it down with an example:
Say you created a remarketing audience in Google Analytics that consists of users who visited your site from Organic Search and downloaded two or more resources.
This update will allow you to use that list on AdWords or DBM to target users with display ads on any device where they’re logged into a Google account.
While the functionality has been available in Google Ad Platforms since late September 2016, today’s release will allow marketers to use it for audiences created in Google Analytics in addition to audiences built within the Ad Platforms.
How do I take advantage of this feature?
Good news! If you have Remarketing Data Collection enabled and are using Remarketing Audiences in Google Analytics, your Google Analytics audiences will leverage the functionality automatically through AdWords and DoubleClick Bid Manager.
If you do not have Remarketing Data Collection enabled, you can update your property settings and tracking code to take advantage of this update. Once you enable the data collection, you’ll be able to monitor your performance through cross-device reporting.
If you decide you do not want to remarket cross-device, marketers will need to turn off Remarketing Data Collection in Google Analytics. Google has stated GA users will have one month from being notified of the changes to review and make updates as desired.
Cross-Device Remarketing, Is it Worth It?
In the end, cross-device remarketing to Google Analytics helps to expand the potential impressions that you can earn from remarketing audiences, so we hope you’ll take advantage of this release.
To learn more about how Seer leverages the power of Analytics audiences, check out our case study to learn how we generated 44% of the total revenue among remarketing campaigns at only 28% of the total budget.
In summary, this Google Analytics update offers:
- Expanded reach across devices with the same user audiences
- Greater possibilities for more device-specific marketing applications.
- For example, a company is launching an App and wants to use remarketing to reach users who have visited its website on desktop, but advertise to users on mobile devices where we (the company) can prompt them to download the App.
- Opportunities to do more targeted RLSA (remarketing lists for search ads) across devices
- Improved efficiency for your remarketing campaigns through grouping and targeting, or excluding users more accurately across devices
..and much more. Have questions or other ideas for how to take advantage of this release? We’d love to hear from you (leave your feedback in the comments below).
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