Implementation Training: Customer Match

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Implementation Training:Customer Match


Product Background


Introducing Customer MatchCustomer Match targeting brings together the power of your data and the reach of YouTube, Search and Gmail.

The power of first party data

Reach of YouTube, Search and Gmail

Single view of a consumer

Customer Match enables you to reach customers and build new audiences more effectively with the right message

Regardless of advertising objectives, you can engage your audience across some of the most powerful platforms on the web

Using email addresses as an identifier enables enhanced cross device targeting. Engage or exclude specific audiences across screens


● Devices○ Desktop: Y (YouTube, Gmail and Search if signed in)○ Tablet: Y (YouTube, Gmail and Search apps if signed in)○ Mobile web: Y (YouTube, Gmail and Search if signed in)○ Mobile app: Y (YouTube, Gmail and Search apps if signed in):

■ Note Gmail Android will not show Customer Match targeted ads at beta launch, coming 1-2 weeks later.

● Platforms● Search: Note - PLA/Shopping ads will not be compatible at launch● Display: Gmail Ads● Video: TrueView in-stream ads (including vertical formats, e.g. app promo and Shoppable trueView)

● Frontends○ AdWords frontend: Remarketing Picker○ API: Early October (not at launch): you can upload an audience list, delete an audience list, add users,

remove users, and edit configurations through an API call. ● Similar Audiences

○ Gmail & YouTube only; available in beta beginning early October.

Availability


How it works: Deep dive

Upload your list of email addresses

Email addresses are “matched” with Google accountsRaw email addresses are connected with Google accounts

Email lists are deletedOnce lists are matched to Google accounts, original csv files are deleted

After processing, audience lists are targetableThese lists can be either directly targeted or excluded within an ad group.

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Important note

Matched audience lists can be targeted to TrueView, Search and Gmail campaigns.

On Gmail, only @gmail.com matched accounts are targetable (since ads show in the Gmail environment).

On YouTube and Search, all matched accounts are targetable.


Policy & User Controls


Policy RequirementsWhen using Customer Match, you may only upload customer information that you have collected in the first-party context—i.e., information you collected from your websites, apps, physical stores, or other situations where customers shared your information directly with you. Examples:

● You collected an email address from a customer who had purchased an item from your website.● You collected an email address from a customer who registered to receive marketing messages

through your apps● You collected an email address from a customer who signed up for your loyalty program in your

physical store.

During list creation, you must…● indicate that you will abide by these policies● provide a link to a website where a user can manage their preferences for receiving emails from you

See our Customer Match Policies for more details

https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/6299717


User ControlsUsers have multiple ways to control the ads they see on Google.

● When a user sees an ad that was served to them based on their status on your Customer Match list, they will see:○ An explanation for why they saw that ad (“Why This Ad”) ○ An option to mute or block the ad so they do not see it again

○ A link to Google’s Ads Settings, where they can control your advertising preferences, including opting out of personalized ads


Step-by-Step Implementation


Implementation Must-Knows1. All email lists are uploaded via SSL. Lists can be hashed or un-hashed, depending on your

preference.

2. Individual files can be no larger than 17MB (~500k email addresses) and must be in a .csv file format.

3. Can target against primary email address (i.e. a majority of primary emails are @gmail.com, but don’t have to be; we do not match “backup” email associated with Google account). Only @gmail.com addresses can be used for Gmail ads

4. Rules for list creation: Advertisers may only upload email addresses they collected in a first-party context, meaning they collected them directly from your customers (more info)

5. Should consider not only lists to target, but also lists to exclude (e.g. to focus on new customers)

6. Must provide link to page where customer can manage email preferences if your customers no longer wish to receive marketing information

7. API documentation

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/0ByTN8bJ1RXD_ajN3aXhqLWZkY1E/view

https://developers.google.com/adwords/api/docs/guides/remarketing#remarketing-based-on-email-addresses

https://developers.google.com/adwords/api/docs/guides/remarketing#remarketing-based-on-email-addresses


Step 1: Open Audience Lists in Shared LibraryOpen Shared library from left menu (bottom left) when viewing all campaigns in AdWords frontend

Choose “View” from Audiences menu


Step 2: Create New List for Customer Emails

Choose “Customer emails” option under “Remarketing List” menu


Step 2: Create New List for Customer Emails

Name your new list TIP: Use descriptive names for lists so it’s easy to identify later

Choose file to upload

TIP: Remember that the max file size is 17MB

Provide link where user can manage preferences for receiving emails from you, including opting out of any email lists they may be subscribed to (Mandatory)

Once list is uploaded, you must confirm it meets data policies

Customize list duration if desired (default is 180 days, which is also the max)


Step 3: Upload and Save List

Status bar will indicate progress

List will take a few hours to process, check back for account notification when ready

Save your list after uploading to begin processing


Step 4: Verifying List Details

Once processed, will show upload as successful, as well as campaigns and ad groups associated with the list

Note that exact volume of matched emails will not be shown


Targeting lists across channels

From here, the process differs depending on if you are setting up Customer Match for YouTube, Gmail or Search. Follow the right path:

Gmail

YouTube

Search


Step 5a: Target the list in a Gmail ads ad group

When creating a new ad group, choose “Interests and remarketing” when planning on using an email list for targeting

TIP: You can also create a new “Display Network only” campaign for Gmail.


Step 5a: Targeting the list (Gmail)

Select “customer email lists” from dropdown menu



Choose relevant list(s) to associate with ad group

Use selector to move list over to targeting list



Deselect audience expansion options. When using Customer Match, we recommend using Similar audiences (when available) to expand audience lists

Save and continue

After saving your ad group, you’ll be asked to create ads. Remember to customize creative based on list type. For example, for existing customers, a special offer or

loyalty program could be promoted.


Important: “Bid only” v. “Target and bid”Like Search/RLSA, it’s important to understand the difference between “bid only” and “target and bid” when setting up a new Gmail ads ad group:

● "Bid only" means you will set a bid adjustment for users in your audience list, and will continue to serve to non-audience traffic

● "Target and bid" means you will only compete in auctions for users on your audience list


Step 5b: Target the list in a new TrueView ad group

Create TrueView campaign using new ‘Video’ campaign type

Create TrueView ad group - in-stream or in-display


Step 5b: Target the list (TrueView)

Click to narrow your targeting and select ‘Remarketing’

Choose relevant list(s) to associate with ad group

Tip: Email list will live under ‘AdWords Remarketing Lists’ - NOT Video Remarketing

Customer List

Use selector to move list over to ad group targeting. Then, save ad group.


Step 5c: Target the list on SearchIMPORTANT: Search must be layered on top of

keywords like RLSA campaigns

As a reminder, much like standard RLSA, it is important to consider:

● "Bid only" means you will set a bid adjustment for users in your audience list, and will continue to serve to non-audience traffic

● "Target and bid" means you will only compete in auctions for users on your audience list

On the next slides, you will see the various ways in which you can add an audience list, and the default bid/targeting setting that occurs in each.


Step 5c: Getting started in an Ad Group

Navigate to the Audience Tab

Choose ‘Remarketing’


Step 5c: Targeting a list (ad group view cont.)

Add the desired list

and choose to ‘target and bid’ or ‘bid only’

Pick ‘Customer email lists’ under ‘Interests & remarketing’


Editing Lists


Editing an Existing ListOpen list from “Shared Library,” and select edit icon in upper right

Choose to add or remove email addresses in a given list, with same verification of compliance as when new list is created. Save and continue

Note: Soon you’ll be able to add or remove email addresses from all lists if desired


Best Practices


Inventory

Bid most aggressively in ad groups that contain your most valuable lists. Adding geo, content and rigorous device targeting will reduce your scale - careful not to over target!

Quick Tips & Tricks

You can view your list size in the remarketing picker and use the reach widget during ad group creation to estimate your potential volume.

Bidding / Targeting

Assets

Reporting / measurement

Establish a unique measurement framework tailored to your objectives - awareness, consideration, conversion or loyalty - to measure accountably.

Align your creative messaging and list targeting strategies as closely as possible to maximize your performance.


Best practices

Targeting

❏ Create unique ad groups for different audiences (e.g. new customers v. high value customers)

❏ To maximize performance and drive awareness with new customers, leverage Similar Audiences (in beta). You can also exclude a list to reach only those outside of your known customer base.

❏ The size of your list will have an impact on your reach, which will ultimately impact your performance. Avoid getting too granular uploading lists.

❏ Remember: the size of your list does not equal your reach. Your reach will be reduced the more geo, device and other targeting you layer on.

❏ (TrueView) Combining lists: ❏ When you combine customer match list in the same ad group with keywords, topics or demos,

you’ll reach the intersection of the criteria. ❏ When you combine a CM list in the same ad group with an affinity or in-market audience

segment, or remarketing list, they’ll be targeted as an OR, not an ‘AND.’


Best practices

❏ Consider your audience when creating ads and developing messaging. The more aligned your message is to your audience, the more relevant your ad will be.

❏ Test multiple ad creatives to learn what resonates best with your audience.

❏ Take advantage of TrueView interactivity, ad extensions on search, and the large, customizable creative canvas on Gmail.

❏ If running across multiple channels, be sure to create ads for each. For example, Gmail ads can only run on Gmail, while video assets are required for TrueView, etc.

Assets


Best practices

Measurement

❏ Every list has the potential to perform differently. Establish a measurement framework before you launch that is customized towards your objectives & audience targeting strategy.

❏ Leverage metrics from Brand Lift Surveys, Google Analytics, YouTube Analytics & AdWords reporting

❏ Recommended metrics to monitor based on your objective could include...❏ Sales: conversions, site traffic, lift in purchase intent❏ New customer awareness / consideration: website traffic, time on site &

lift in awareness and consideration, unique reach❏ Loyalty: channel subscriptions & earned metrics, lift in favorability


Frequently Asked Questions


What do I need to know about uploading a list?

● What’s the max file size to upload?○ Frontend: 17MB (~500K email addresses)○ API: 10K email addresses

● Is there a limit to the # of lists I can create?○ No

● How long will it take to process?○ It can take several hours (12 max)○ Your list upload status will read ‘In Progress’

● How will I know when it’s ready to target?○ Status will change from “In Progress” to successful○ Your campaign must also reach 1,000 or more active visitors

● What’s my list size?○ List size can be seen under the ‘Google Properties’ column in the remarketing picker.


What do I do if I got an error when I uploaded my email list in the front end?

● Incorrect file type: Make sure the file you upload is a .csv file.● File too large: Make sure the file you upload is less than 17MB (approx. 500k email

addresses) when uploading via the front end. ● Incorrect email address format: All submitted email addresses must follow these

rules:○ Must contain an @ sign○ Must contain a .

■ Followed by a top level domain such as com

○ Can't contain spaces○ Can't contain consecutive dots [..*]○ Does not start or finish with a period .

Note: We will include what % of the list was accepted, as well as the row numbers of first 10

problematic emails


What’s the difference between the email opt-out link required when creating a list and controls available to users from Google?

● Google requires that you provide a link to a website where users can manage their email preferences. Google will show this link in the “Why This Ad” pop-up as a courtesy to users.

● The email opt-out is not meant to be a way for users to control the ads they see on Google.

● Users may control the ads they see on Google by muting or blocking ads from certain advertisers or by opting out of personalized ads in Google’s Ads Settings?


● Google only use your uploaded lists to create a matched list for your marketing use.

● The file is deleted once our matching and compliance checks have been completed after a maximum of 7 days, as will be outlined in the external HC for launch

● Emails that we do not match to Google account email addresses, as well as duplicate email addresses, are ignored.

What happens to a file after it’s uploaded?


● How does editing an audience list impact duration? Will matched customers be active for different periods of time?○ You can upload additional email addresses or re-upload email addresses to an

audience list anytime. ○ The max duration period will be reset for these email addresses.

● Can I create custom combinations?○ Yes! You can create custom combinations using the same Customer Match list

type only. ○ Customer Match lists cannot be combined with other types of audience lists,

such as video or rule-based remarketing lists.○ Standard remarketing combinations, such as AND and OR, are supported.

What happens when I edit my email list?


How does hashing work?

● Note: you are not required to upload hashed emails but we recommend it. ● All email addresses - hashed or unhashed - will be uploaded via SSL. ● Advertisers can upload lists using the secure hashing algorithm 256 (sha256), a one-

way hashing mechanism that can not be unencrypted. ○ Hashing method: SHA256○ ID format: 32 bytes id in hex○ Example: [email protected] ->

264e53d93759bde067fd01ef2698f98d1253c730d12f021116f02eebcfa9ace6○ Canonicalization: You must make sure pre-hashed emails are all lowercase, and there there

are no spaces before or after the email addresses● We will match your uploaded emails to our own database of hashed users, without

ever seeing unhashed data. Your email lists are never shared with us.


● Monday, September 28th at 3pm EDT: ○ Phased roll-out of Customer Match begins! You can

expect to see Customer Match in your AdWords account within 2-4 weeks.

● Late October: ○ Similar Audiences targeting on YouTube and Gmail will

be available for all Customer Match clients.

Timeline


Thank You!

Documents

Implementation Training: Customer Match