Google has finally gotten around to prohibiting advertisers in the employment, housing and credit sectors to target certain demographic categories, a move Facebook made over a year ago. Advertisers in these sectors are no longer permitted to target ads based on:
The policy change will be fully implemented by the end of 2020.
Some builders may have used these previously available targeting options as part of their Google Ads strategy. These are not strategies we would recommend, but some builders may use. Here’s what we do recommend:
Google Display Ads for remarketing is a great way to efficiently remind previous visitors to your website of what you offer. This is especially true since you only pay for Google Display Ads when they are clicked on (NOT per ad impression like other platforms). However, using Google Display Ads to drive new traffic to your website will often drive poorer quality traffic to your website that also takes longer to nurture than other options like search ads or social ads.
Some builders may choose to have Google Display campaigns targeting a geographic area and then layered with in-market targeting options (those Google believes based on their search and web activity are in the market for a home) – with the goal of displaying the ad to who they believe are most likely to buy.
If you were running Google Display Ads utilizing the affected targeting options, shift that budget over to Facebook Ads. Facebook Ads (if set up properly) will drive substantially higher quality of traffic to your site by using their A.I to target and optimize delivery of your ads.
The unique part of Google Search ads is that Google allows us to select keywords to bid on. Some builders may have added an additional layer of targeting that is no longer available. If you are bidding on the best keywords, there is no need for this additional layer of targeting.
Targeting by these criteria could actually prevent your ad from being shown to someone who should see it – for example, a Millennial researching retirement communities for his parents, or someone in Fargo looking to relocate to Ft. Lauderdale.
Use your ad copy and keywords to clearly attract and qualify the ideal buyer. Be sure to use the location, price range and other qualifying features to attract those most likely to buy. By clearly showing what is being offered, only those interested in what you have for sale will click the ads.
Google’s new policy changes, while they may cause home builders to rethink a few advertising strategies, will not significantly impact the reach or frequency of Google ads.
You can read Google’s full article here.
