Targeting is the difference between paying $5 to reach a real buyer and paying $5 to reach someone who'll never need your product. Every platform has its own UI for this, but underneath they all offer the same five flavors of audience.
1. Search intent (Google, Microsoft Ads)
The strongest targeting signal in advertising. Someone literally typed what they want. You bid on the keywords ("emergency plumber San Antonio") and your ad shows when those words match.
When to use: for any business solving an immediate problem someone Googles. Strength: intent is unbeatable. Weakness: only catches people already aware they have the problem.
2. Demographics & interests (Meta, Google Display, Nextdoor)
You don't pick keywords — you pick attributes: age, gender, location, household income, parental status, "interested in fitness," "follows competitors X and Y."
When to use: for products people don't search for, but a known audience would buy. New SaaS launches. Consumer products with a clear demographic. Strength: reaches cold audiences. Weakness: costs more per conversion than search.
3. Custom audiences (everywhere)
Upload a list of email addresses or phone numbers. The platform matches them to its users and shows ads only to those people. Best uses:
- Existing customers — for win-back campaigns, upsells, "we miss you" promos.
- Email subscribers — push them toward purchase.
- Past leads who didn't convert — second chance.
4. Lookalike audiences (Meta, Google)
You give the platform a "seed" audience (your customers, your high-LTV users) and ask it to find more people like them. The algorithm builds a model of what makes them similar and targets that pattern.
5. Retargeting / remarketing (everywhere)
The ad you see for 2 weeks after you looked at a pair of shoes. The platform's pixel saw you visit the product page; now it shows you ads to bring you back.
Common retargeting pools:
- Visited any page in the last 30 days
- Added to cart but didn't purchase
- Watched 75% of your video ad
- Started the form but didn't submit
Retargeting almost always has the highest ROAS in the account. The audience already knows you.
The targeting hierarchy for a brand-new account
- Day 1: Search ads (intent) + retargeting (warm). These two cover the people most likely to buy.
- Week 2: Add custom audiences (existing customers, email list).
- Month 2: Layer in lookalikes seeded on purchasers.
- Month 3+: Demographic / interest targeting for new awareness.
Mistakes that waste money
- Going broad on day one. "All adults in the US." Burn rate, no learning.
- Stacking too many filters. "25–34, female, urban, dog owner, vegan, married, $100k+." Now your audience is 4,000 people. Algorithms can't optimize on that.
- Forgetting to exclude existing customers from acquisition campaigns. You're paying to reach people you already have.
- Using the same creative on cold + warm audiences. First impression vs reminder need different copy.