Audience targeting in Google Ads allows you to focus your advertising spend on reaching customers most likely to be interested in your products or services, improving your return on investment. As of early 2026, Google’s machine learning capabilities combined with detailed audience signals make this more powerful than ever.
- Demographics: Target by age, gender, parental status, and household income – crucial for Australian businesses understanding their core customer base.
- Interests & Affinity Audiences: Reach people based on their passions, habits, and interests, categorised by Google.
- In-Market Audiences: Target users actively researching or comparing products and services like yours – a high-intent signal.
- Custom Audiences: Create audiences based on keywords they search for, websites they visit, or apps they use.
- Customer Match: Upload your existing customer data (email lists, phone numbers) to target or exclude them, complying with Australian privacy regulations.
In 2026, current systems include enhanced privacy controls, reflecting updated Australian data laws. Google now features more granular location targeting, allowing you to reach specific postcodes or even radius areas around your business – vital for local Australian SMEs. Furthermore, the platform’s AI-powered audience expansion now features more sophisticated lookalike modelling, identifying new potential customers with greater accuracy.
Instead of navigating these technical complexities and ensuring full compliance with Australian advertising standards, let ROI.com.au handle your Google Ads audience targeting. We can take care of all this for you. Contact our team today to discuss a tailored strategy for your business.
