Audience Targeting
01 Definition
Audience Targeting meaning: Choosing who sees an ad based on people's attributes, interests, or behavior.
Audience targeting selects viewers by traits about the people themselves, such as interests, demographics, past actions, or intent signals. It contrasts with contextual targeting, which focuses on the surrounding content. Platforms build these audiences from their own data and advertiser-supplied data, subject to privacy rules and user consent.
Why it matters
How Audience Targeting fits the work
Audience targeting aims to reach the people most likely to care about an offer, which can reduce wasted impressions compared with untargeted buys.
In context
A running-shoe brand uses audience targeting to reach people showing interest in marathons and fitness across a display network.
Practical note
Audience data can be stale or inferred incorrectly, and privacy limits shrink some segments. Combine signals and test audiences rather than trusting any single label.