What is a Custom Audience?
A custom audience is built from your own data—site visitors, app users, email lists, or purchasers. It powers retargeting and value-based lookalikes.
Understanding Custom Audiences
Custom audiences are durable, consented signals built from your own users and customers. They help close the loop with catalog ads by showing the exact products people viewed or abandoned. Recency and value segmentation keep messages relevant and efficient. Clear naming and refresh cadences prevent drift and maintain quality. Exclusions protect prospecting from overlap with recent purchasers.
The strongest custom audiences are tied to actions that predict revenue, not just visits. Product viewers, cart starters, purchasers, and high‑LTV cohorts each merit different creative and bids. Map audiences to product sets so the experience feels specific. Keep privacy and consent at the center and hash data per platform specs. Monitor performance by segment to refine windows and messaging.
Why Custom Audiences matter
How Custom Audiences work
Custom audiences work by uploading hashed identifiers (email, phone) and by sending site/app events that define behavior cohorts. Platforms match these inputs to user accounts and assemble audiences for targeting. Deduplication and regular refreshes keep lists accurate and current. Value and recency rules tailor who qualifies for each audience. Exclusions prevent users from living in conflicting cohorts. Clear governance and access controls protect data quality and privacy.
Key Takeaways
- Custom audiences are user lists built from your own data (website visitors, purchasers, email subscribers).
- Use custom audiences for retargeting, suppression, and lookalike expansion.
- Pair custom audiences with catalog ads to show relevant products based on browsing or purchase history.
- Refresh audiences regularly and validate pixel/CAPI data quality to maintain accuracy.
