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Ad Manager - Audience Controls

Learn how to set geographic and intended audience targeting in Ad Manager. Use interests, lookalikes, and retargeting to boost ad performance and reach.

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  1. TABLE OF CONTENTS
  2. Where to find Audience Controls in Ad Manager campaign creation process?
  3. How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?
  4. What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?
In this article, we will be discussing the audience controls section of the Ad Manager campaign creation flow that includes geographic location and Intended target audience selection. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Where to find Audience Controls in Ad Manager campaign creation process?

The second step of campaign creation flow is about 'Budget and Audience' which has 2 parts:
  1. Budget - Refer to this article for a detailed understanding on budget definition.
  2. Audience Controls- This will be the second section of the 'Budget and Audience' step comprising of:
    1. Geographic location: It is the first part of audience controls and contributes to estimating the audience size by defining the target audience location. 
    2. Intended Audience: This section deals with the target audience definition to be used for better ad performance and conversions by reaching out to the target audience.
Where to find Audience Controls in Ad Manager campaign creation process? (image 1 of 10) What this shows Budget - Refer to this article for a detailed understanding on budget definition. What this shows Illustrates the "Where to find Audience Controls in Ad Manager campaign creation process?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". This screenshot appears in the "Where to find Audience Controls in Ad Manager campaign creation process?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". The text alongside this image reads: Budget - Refer to this article for a detailed understanding on budget definition. Audience Controls - This will be the second section of the 'Budget and Audience' step comprising of. Immediately after, the guide continues: Under the first section of the Audience controls, there is an entry field box with label as 'Search Locations'. Follow the below steps to add/remove a location as part of your audience group. Image 1 of 10 What this coversBudget - Refer to this article for a detailed understanding on budget definition. Audience Controls - This will be the second section of the 'Budget and Audience' step comprising of:
Buttons and menus referenced articleAudience ControlsGeographic locationIntended Audience
Next stepUnder the first section of the Audience controls, there is an entry field box with label as 'Search Locations'. Follow the below steps to add/remove a location as part of your audience group:
All 2 steps in this procedure
  1. Budget - Refer to this article for a detailed understanding on budget definition.
  2. Audience Controls - This will be the second section of the 'Budget and Audience' step comprising of:

How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?

Under the first section of the Audience controls, there is an entry field box with label as 'Search Locations'. Follow the below steps to add/remove a location as part of your audience group:

1. Enter the city, town, state, country or specific address in the box and select the one you want from the list of results shown in the dropdown. The same location will be shown on the map next to it.

How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group? (image 2 of 10) What this shows 1. What this shows Illustrates the "How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". This screenshot appears in the "How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". The text alongside this image reads: 1. Enter the city, town, state, country or specific address in the box and select the one you want from the list of results shown in the dropdown. The same location will be shown on the map next to it. Immediately after, the guide continues: 2. Once selected, the chosen location will be shown under the location box and using the dropdown next to it, you can select the radius range using the slider for audience consideration around the location. Image 2 of 10 What to fill in1. Enter the city, town, state, country or specific address in the box and select the one you want from the list of results shown in the dropdown. The same location will be shown on the map next to it.
Buttons and menus referenced EU Political Ads (Google Ads only)must make a selection to continuearticle
Next step2. Once selected, the chosen location will be shown under the location box and using the dropdown next to it, you can select the radius range using the slider for audience consideration around the location.
All 2 steps in this procedure
  1. Yes: The campaign contains EU political ads.
  2. No: The campaign does not contain EU political ads.

2. Once selected, the chosen location will be shown under the location box and using the dropdown next to it, you can select the radius range using the slider for audience consideration around the location.

How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group? (image 3 of 10) What this shows 2. What this shows Illustrates the "How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". This screenshot appears in the "How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". The text alongside this image reads: 2. Once selected, the chosen location will be shown under the location box and using the dropdown next to it, you can select the radius range using the slider for audience consideration around the location. Immediately after, the guide continues: 3. Another dropdown in line with the selected location, next to the radius dropdown is to select between "Include" or "Exclude" an audience. If you select "Include", the audience in that location and radius(if defined) will be considered…. Image 3 of 10 What to choose2. Once selected, the chosen location will be shown under the location box and using the dropdown next to it, you can select the radius range using the slider for audience consideration around the location.
Buttons and menus referenced EU Political Ads (Google Ads only)must make a selection to continuearticle
Next step3. Another dropdown in line with the selected location, next to the radius dropdown is to select between "Include" or "Exclude" an audience. If you select "Include", the audience in that location and radius(if defined) will be considered as target audience and if "Exclude" is selected, the audience of that vicinity will be ignored and not considered as the campaign audience and the location on the map will change the colour to Red.
All 2 steps in this procedure
  1. Yes: The campaign contains EU political ads.
  2. No: The campaign does not contain EU political ads.

3. Another dropdown in line with the selected location, next to the radius dropdown is to select between "Include" or "Exclude" an audience. If you select "Include", the audience in that location and radius(if defined) will be considered as target audience and if "Exclude" is selected, the audience of that vicinity will be ignored and not considered as the campaign audience and the location on the map will change the colour to Red.

How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group? (image 4 of 10) What this shows 3. What this shows Illustrates the "How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". This screenshot appears in the "How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". The text alongside this image reads: 3. Another dropdown in line with the selected location, next to the radius dropdown is to select between "Include" or "Exclude" an audience. If you select "Include", the audience in that location and radius(if defined) will be considered as target audience and if "Exclude" is selected, the…. Immediately after, the guide continues: 4. There is a cross icon present in line with the selected audience to remove the location if desired. Image 4 of 10 What to choose3. Another dropdown in line with the selected location, next to the radius dropdown is to select between "Include" or "Exclude" an audience. If you select "Include", the audience in that location and radius(if defined) will be considered as target audience and if "Exclude" is selected, the audience of that vicinity will be ignored and not considered as the campaign audience and the location on the map will change the colour to Red.
Buttons and menus referenced EU Political Ads (Google Ads only)must make a selection to continuearticle
Next step4. There is a cross icon present in line with the selected audience to remove the location if desired.
All 2 steps in this procedure
  1. Yes: The campaign contains EU political ads.
  2. No: The campaign does not contain EU political ads.

4. There is a cross icon present in line with the selected audience to remove the location if desired.

Note: The radius option of a location to narrow down target audience is present only for addresses, neighborhoods, alleyways and other similar locations. It will not be present for cities, countries and other vast locations.

5. EU Political Ads (Google Ads only)

When creating a Google Ads campaign, you must confirm whether the campaign includes European Union (EU) political ads.

Note: You must make a selection to continue and publish the campaign. Use this article to review Google’s Political content policy:

Select one option:

  1. Yes: The campaign contains EU political ads.
  2. No: The campaign does not contain EU political ads.
How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group? (image 5 of 10) What this shows Yes: The campaign contains EU political ads. What this shows Illustrates the "How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". This screenshot appears in the "How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". The text alongside this image reads: Yes: The campaign contains EU political ads. No: The campaign does not contain EU political ads. Immediately after, the guide continues: There are three types of Intended audiences available to be used which are described in brief as follows. Image 5 of 10 What this coversYes: The campaign contains EU political ads. No: The campaign does not contain EU political ads.
Buttons and menus referenced EU Political Ads (Google Ads only)must make a selection to continuearticle
Next stepThere are three types of Intended audiences available to be used which are described in brief as follows:
All 2 steps in this procedure
  1. Yes: The campaign contains EU political ads.
  2. No: The campaign does not contain EU political ads.

What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?

There are three types of Intended audiences available to be used which are described in brief as follows:

1. Target Interests: This one refers to new customers with specific interests, language, gender or Age range. Dropdown with interests of specific niche or industry can be selected for specific targeting of people who align with the one selected. Multiple Interests can be selected from the dropdown.

What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them? (image 6 of 10) What this shows 1. What this shows Illustrates the "What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". This screenshot appears in the "What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". The text alongside this image reads: 1. Target Interests: This one refers to new customers with specific interests, language, gender or Age range. Dropdown with interests of specific niche or industry can be selected for specific targeting of people who align with the one selected. Multiple Interests can be selected from the dropdown. Immediately after, the guide continues: 2. Lookalike audiences: This type of target audience refers to a new group of people who align in choices with your current customer base. A lookalike audience uses an existing custom audience you select as its source audience and when…. Image 6 of 10 What to choose1. Target Interests: This one refers to new customers with specific interests, language, gender or Age range. Dropdown with interests of specific niche or industry can be selected for specific targeting of people who align with the one selected. Multiple Interests can be selected from the dropdown.
Buttons and menus referenced 1. Target Interests
Next step2. Lookalike audiences: This type of target audience refers to a new group of people who align in choices with your current customer base. A lookalike audience uses an existing custom audience you select as its source audience and when you use a lookalike audience, your ad is delivered to that audience of people who are similar to your existing customers which are used as the source for this lookalike group.
All 3 steps in this procedure
  1. Up to 15 lookalike and 15 retargeting audiences can be selected from the respective dropdown.
  2. The ready and not ready state of the audience in the dropdown refers to their eligibility to be used as an audience to draw enough traction for the ad campaign. If state is "Ready" audience can be selected and will give satisfactory results and if the status of any audience is "Not Ready" we do not allow that to be selected as designed by Facebook and the reason on why it cannot be selected will be shown as a tooltip next to it.
  3. Combination of all three or any two intended audiences can also be used for a campaign but it is not advised as it will narrow down the audience size considerably resulting in undesired turnaround.

2. Lookalike audiences: This type of target audience refers to a new group of people who align in choices with your current customer base. A lookalike audience uses an existing custom audience you select as its source audience and when you use a lookalike audience, your ad is delivered to that audience of people who are similar to your existing customers which are used as the source for this lookalike group.

Note: Lookalike audiences support is limited or unavailable for Special Ad categories.
What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them? (image 7 of 10) What this shows Note: Lookalike audiences support is limited or unavailable for Special Ad categories. What this shows Illustrates the "What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". This screenshot appears in the "What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". The text alongside this image reads: Note: Lookalike audiences support is limited or unavailable for Special Ad categories. Immediately after, the guide continues: An estimated audience size is calculated based on the lookalike source and geographic location selected by you. Image 7 of 10 What this coversNote: Lookalike audiences support is limited or unavailable for Special Ad categories.
Buttons and menus referenced 1. Target Interests
Next stepAn estimated audience size is calculated based on the lookalike source and geographic location selected by you.
All 3 steps in this procedure
  1. Up to 15 lookalike and 15 retargeting audiences can be selected from the respective dropdown.
  2. The ready and not ready state of the audience in the dropdown refers to their eligibility to be used as an audience to draw enough traction for the ad campaign. If state is "Ready" audience can be selected and will give satisfactory results and if the status of any audience is "Not Ready" we do not allow that to be selected as designed by Facebook and the reason on why it cannot be selected will be shown as a tooltip next to it.
  3. Combination of all three or any two intended audiences can also be used for a campaign but it is not advised as it will narrow down the audience size considerably resulting in undesired turnaround.

An estimated audience size is calculated based on the lookalike source and geographic location selected by you.

What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them? (image 8 of 10) What this shows An estimated audience size is calculated based on the lookalike source and geographic location selected by you. What this shows Illustrates the "What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". This screenshot appears in the "What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". The text alongside this image reads: An estimated audience size is calculated based on the lookalike source and geographic location selected by you. Immediately after, the guide continues: When user selects lookalike audience as their choice of intended audience, there will be a dropdown present under it and the dropdown items will be the list of lookalike audiences imported from the connected ad account. Image 8 of 10 What this coversAn estimated audience size is calculated based on the lookalike source and geographic location selected by you.
Buttons and menus referenced 1. Target Interests
Next stepWhen user selects lookalike audience as their choice of intended audience, there will be a dropdown present under it and the dropdown items will be the list of lookalike audiences imported from the connected ad account.
All 3 steps in this procedure
  1. Up to 15 lookalike and 15 retargeting audiences can be selected from the respective dropdown.
  2. The ready and not ready state of the audience in the dropdown refers to their eligibility to be used as an audience to draw enough traction for the ad campaign. If state is "Ready" audience can be selected and will give satisfactory results and if the status of any audience is "Not Ready" we do not allow that to be selected as designed by Facebook and the reason on why it cannot be selected will be shown as a tooltip next to it.
  3. Combination of all three or any two intended audiences can also be used for a campaign but it is not advised as it will narrow down the audience size considerably resulting in undesired turnaround.

When user selects lookalike audience as their choice of intended audience, there will be a dropdown present under it and the dropdown items will be the list of lookalike audiences imported from the connected ad account.

3. Retargeting: This type of target audience refers to a group of people who are familiar with your brand/product and have interacted with it earlier at some point in any of the Meta platform. We use custom audience curated especially to target these set of people with our ad campaign with hopes of a conversion.

What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them? (image 9 of 10) What this shows 3. What this shows Illustrates the "What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". This screenshot appears in the "What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". The text alongside this image reads: 3. Retargeting: This type of target audience refers to a group of people who are familiar with your brand/product and have interacted with it earlier at some point in any of the Meta platform. We use custom audience curated especially to target these set of people with our ad campaign with hopes…. Immediately after, the guide continues: When the user selects Retargeting as the choice of intended audience, a dropdown will be present under it and the dropdown items will be the list of retargeting audiences created using custom audiences or imported from the connected ad…. Image 9 of 10 What to fill in3. Retargeting: This type of target audience refers to a group of people who are familiar with your brand/product and have interacted with it earlier at some point in any of the Meta platform. We use custom audience curated especially to target these set of people with our ad campaign with hopes of a conversion.
Buttons and menus referenced 1. Target Interests
Next stepWhen the user selects Retargeting as the choice of intended audience, a dropdown will be present under it and the dropdown items will be the list of retargeting audiences created using custom audiences or imported from the connected ad account.
All 3 steps in this procedure
  1. Up to 15 lookalike and 15 retargeting audiences can be selected from the respective dropdown.
  2. The ready and not ready state of the audience in the dropdown refers to their eligibility to be used as an audience to draw enough traction for the ad campaign. If state is "Ready" audience can be selected and will give satisfactory results and if the status of any audience is "Not Ready" we do not allow that to be selected as designed by Facebook and the reason on why it cannot be selected will be shown as a tooltip next to it.
  3. Combination of all three or any two intended audiences can also be used for a campaign but it is not advised as it will narrow down the audience size considerably resulting in undesired turnaround.

When the user selects Retargeting as the choice of intended audience, a dropdown will be present under it and the dropdown items will be the list of retargeting audiences created using custom audiences or imported from the connected ad account.

What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them? (image 10 of 10) What this shows When the user selects Retargeting as the choice of intended audience, a dropdown will be present under it and the dropdown items will be… What this shows Illustrates the "What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". This screenshot appears in the "What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?" section of "Ad Manager - Audience Controls". The text alongside this image reads: When the user selects Retargeting as the choice of intended audience, a dropdown will be present under it and the dropdown items will be the list of retargeting audiences created using custom audiences or imported from the connected ad account. Immediately after, the guide continues: Up to 15 lookalike and 15 retargeting audiences can be selected from the respective dropdown. The ready and not ready state of the audience in the dropdown refers to their eligibility to be used as an audience to draw enough traction for…. Image 10 of 10 What to chooseWhen the user selects Retargeting as the choice of intended audience, a dropdown will be present under it and the dropdown items will be the list of retargeting audiences created using custom audiences or imported from the connected ad account.
Buttons and menus referenced 1. Target Interests
Next stepUp to 15 lookalike and 15 retargeting audiences can be selected from the respective dropdown. The ready and not ready state of the audience in the dropdown refers to their eligibility to be used as an audience to draw enough traction for the ad campaign. If state is "Ready" audience can be selected and will give satisfactory results and if the status of any audience is "Not Ready" we do not allow that to be selected as designed by Facebook and the reason on why it cannot be selected will be shown as a tooltip next to it. Combination of all three or any two intended audiences can also be used for a campaign but it is not advised as it will narrow down the audience size considerably resulting in undesired turnaround.
All 3 steps in this procedure
  1. Up to 15 lookalike and 15 retargeting audiences can be selected from the respective dropdown.
  2. The ready and not ready state of the audience in the dropdown refers to their eligibility to be used as an audience to draw enough traction for the ad campaign. If state is "Ready" audience can be selected and will give satisfactory results and if the status of any audience is "Not Ready" we do not allow that to be selected as designed by Facebook and the reason on why it cannot be selected will be shown as a tooltip next to it.
  3. Combination of all three or any two intended audiences can also be used for a campaign but it is not advised as it will narrow down the audience size considerably resulting in undesired turnaround.
 
Please note: 
  1. Up to 15 lookalike and 15 retargeting audiences can be selected from the respective dropdown.
  2. The ready and not ready state of the audience in the dropdown refers to their eligibility to be used as an audience to draw enough traction for the ad campaign. If state is "Ready" audience can be selected and will give satisfactory results and if the status of any audience is "Not Ready" we do not allow that to be selected as designed by Facebook and the reason on why it cannot be selected will be shown as a tooltip next to it.
  3. Combination of all three or any two intended audiences can also be used for a campaign but it is not advised as it will narrow down the audience size considerably resulting in undesired turnaround.

Frequently asked questions

Where to find Audience Controls in Ad Manager campaign creation process?
The second step of campaign creation flow is about 'Budget and Audience' which has 2 parts: Budget - Refer to this article for a detailed understanding on budget definition. Audience Controls - This will be the second section of the 'Budget and Audience' step comprising of: Geographic location : It is the first part of audience controls and contributes to estimating the audience size by defining the target audience location. Intended Audience : This section deals with the target audience definition to be used for better ad performance and conversions by reaching out to the target audience.
How to include/exclude geographic location as part of the target audience group?
Under the first section of the Audience controls, there is an entry field box with label as 'Search Locations'. Follow the below steps to add/remove a location as part of your audience group: 1. Enter the city, town, state, country or specific address in the box and select the one you want from the list of results shown in the dropdown. The same location will be shown on the map next to it. 2. Once selected, the chosen location will be shown under the location box and using the dropdown next to it, you can select the radius range using the slider for audience consideration around the location. 3. Another dropdown in line with the selected location, next to the radius dropdown is to select between "Include" or "Exclude" an audience. If you select "Include", the audience in that location and radius(if defined) will be considered as target audience and if "Exclude" is selected, the…
What are the different types of Intended Audiences categories and how can one use them?
There are three types of Intended audiences available to be used which are described in brief as follows: 1. Target Interests : This one refers to new customers with specific interests, language, gender or Age range. Dropdown with interests of specific niche or industry can be selected for specific targeting of people who align with the one selected. Multiple Interests can be selected from the dropdown. 2. Lookalike audiences: This type of target audience refers to a new group of people who align in choices with your current customer base. A lookalike audience uses an existing custom audience you select as its source audience and when you use a lookalike audience, your ad is delivered to that audience of people who are similar to your existing customers which are used as the source for this lookalike group. Note: Lookalike audiences support is limited or unavailable for Special Ad…

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