Google to use Customer Match lists for Smart Bidding, Optimized Targeting

Customer Match lists will be leveraged more within Google Ads, according to an email sent to advertisers this week.

These lists will soon be eligible to be used within an account to help aid Smart Bidding and/or Optimized Targeting.

This is a shift from how Customer Match lists are applied today. Advertisers currently need to manually apply these to a campaign.

Customer Match lists won’t be used with manual bidding strategies. However, advertisers may still use bid modifiers manually to adjust bids.

When this is happening. Starting in Q2. The tentative timelines for the rollout of Customer Match lists in smart bidding are:

Advertisers can opt out. If you don’t want Customer Match lists to be applied to Smart Bidding or Optimized Targeting, you’ll have the ability to opt out at the ad account level. To opt out, go to Account settings then choose Customer Match and uncheck the Use all Customer Match lists in Smart Bidding or Optimized Targeting box.

You may also remove lists that you don’t want to include in this targeting.

Note: Google Ads Managers can’t opt out of all campaigns. This must be done at the individual account level.

Why we care. More signals for automation is a good thing. The ability to curate what lists are or aren’t utilized should be a boon for advertisers. Because you will need to opt out, make sure to take time for each account to ensure that the proper Customer Match lists are in play.

About The Author

Greg Finn

Greg Finn is the Director of Marketing for Cypress North, a company that provides digital marketing and web development. He is a co-host of Marketing O'Clock and has been in the digital marketing industry for nearly 20 years. You can also find Greg on Twitter (@gregfinn) or LinkedIn.