YouTube ads targeting options

This guide is built from Google Ads Help: About targeting for Video campaigns, Add targeting to your Video campaigns, About demographic targeting, About placement targeting, About topic targeting, Optimize your Video campaign for more conversions and Use optimized targeting. Formats, bidding and set-up are in our YouTube video ads guide; the segment types themselves are explained in our audience segments guide.

How targeting fits together

Google splits YouTube targeting into two groups. Audience targeting decides who sees the ad: people grouped by "interests, intents, and demographics, as estimated by Google." Content targeting decides where the ad shows: on which channels, videos, topics or keywords. On top of that sit the campaign settings for locations, languages and devices.

The two groups combine in different ways, and this is the part most people get wrong:

• Different methods narrow. Google's set-up article says: "each targeting method you add will narrow, not widen, your targeting." Location works the same way. Google's example: target New York and a remarketing list, and the ads reach people who are "both in New York and members of the remarketing list."
• Content methods widen each other. Topics, placements and keywords in one ad group are matched as "either." Google's example: with "bikes" as a topic and "cycling" as a keyword, "your ads will show on content that matches either." Adding a topic next to a placement list makes the reach larger, not more precise.

Most targeting is set per ad group under Audiences, keywords, and content. Content targeting has its own Content page, where topics, placements, keywords and exclusions sit in one view.

Audience targeting: who sees the ad

These are the audience options Google lists for Video campaigns. Our audience segments guide explains how each type is built; here is what each one means on YouTube.

Option	What it reaches
Demographic groups	Age, gender, parental status or household income
Detailed demographics	Broad shared traits, such as college students, homeowners or new parents
Affinity segments	People with "a strong interest in relevant topics", for awareness and consideration
Custom affinity / custom segments	Audiences you define; Google's example is "Avid Marathon Runners" instead of "Sports Fans". Custom segments can be built from keywords people "recently searched on Google.com"
Life events	People around milestones "like moving, graduating from college, or getting married"
In-market segments	People "actively considering buying a service or product like those you offer"
Your data segments	People who interacted with your videos, ads or channel (after linking your YouTube channel to Google Ads), your website or your app
Customer Match	Your own customer lists; see our Customer Match guide

Two limits from the audience segments article worth knowing: custom segments and segments built from your data "aren't supported with Target frequency video campaigns." And the set-up article notes that if you use subscribers or visits of a YouTube music artist channel in a data segment, you have to verify that you are linked to the right channel.

Retargeting viewers of your own videos is covered in more depth in our remarketing audiences guide.

Demographics

For Video campaigns, the demographic article lists these groups:

• Age: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+ and Unknown.
• Gender: Female, Male and Unknown.
• Parental status: Parent, Not a parent and Unknown.
• Household income: Top 10%, 11-20%, 21-30%, 31-40%, 41-50%, Lower 50% and Unknown, only in a list of countries that includes the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan.

"Unknown" means people whose demographics Google hasn't identified. It is selected by default "because you can reach a significantly wider audience", and Google advises excluding it "only if you're sure you want to restrict your campaign to a narrow audience." Advertisers also "can't target ads to show only to children under 13" or "only to teens under 18."

To set demographics: Campaigns, Audiences, keywords, and content, Audiences, then Edit demographics in the Demographics module, pick an ad group, tick the groups and save.

Content targeting: where the ad shows

Placements

A placement is a specific place your ad can run. For Video campaigns you can pick YouTube channels, YouTube videos and websites. The set-up article adds two rules: you must "add or select a minimum of 10 YouTube channels or videos" or you can't save, and "Apps and App categories targeting aren't supported for Video campaigns."

A placement does not guarantee you stay there. Google notes that when you add Display Network placements, "your ad may still run in all eligible locations on YouTube", and the reverse. The placement article also warns that popular sites or videos "may need higher bids to get impressions", because you still compete with other advertisers there.

Topics

Topic targeting puts your ad on videos, channels and websites about a subject, for example "Automotive", where Google says the ad "will show on YouTube to people watching videos about cars." Pick the top-level topic as well as subtopics: "Adding all the subtopics isn't the same as adding the top-level topic," and some pages are missed if you only add the subtopics. Google suggests topics when you want reach on a broad set of content, have a flexible budget or want to "quickly ramp up your ad delivery."

Keywords

Video keywords (under Content, Display/video keywords) match your ad to YouTube videos, channels or websites related to the words you enter. The keyword box can suggest ideas from your landing page or a related website. Video keywords are about the content being watched. If you want to reach people based on what they searched on Google, Google points to custom segments instead.

Campaigns that drive conversions

For video campaigns aimed at conversions, the rules change. Google's articles say "you'll no longer be able to add content targeting to new and existing video conversion campaigns", and that existing content targeting in those campaigns was removed automatically. Its conversion article explains why: these campaigns "usually perform better without keywords, topics, or placements."

For audiences, Google recommends starting with custom segments based on search keywords, Customer Match or your data segments, using "10-15 of the suggested keywords" in a custom segment, and opting in to optimized targeting. The optimized targeting article says the feature "is only available for Demand Gen, Video action campaigns (VAC), and Display campaigns." Our audience signals guide covers how optimized targeting treats your segments, and our Demand Gen guide covers that campaign type. All of this needs conversion tracking in place first.

Locations, languages and devices

• Locations are set per campaign: cities, postal codes, countries, counties, states, districts, airports or regions, or a radius around a place, address or coordinates. The details of presence versus interest are in our location targeting guide.
• Languages are changed in the campaign Settings tab: tick the campaign, Edit, Change languages.
• Devices default to "Show on all eligible devices (computers, mobile, tablet, and TV screens)." You can instead set specific devices, and add operating systems, device models and network providers. Our device targeting guide covers the options.

Exclusions

You can exclude audience segments and demographic groups (Audiences, Exclusions module) and exclude topics, placements and keywords on the Content page. Google suggests this "when your video is most relevant to a specific demographic group and you want to target certain topics but exclude some viewers."

For keeping ads off channels, videos or kinds of content you don't want next to your brand, use placement exclusions and the content suitability settings. Both are covered in our placement exclusions guide, and the inventory types are summarised in our YouTube video ads guide.

How we set up YouTube targeting

This is our own practice, not Google guidance:

• One idea per ad group. One ad group for an in-market segment, one for a custom segment, one for a placement list. That way the reports show which idea works.
• Don't stack by accident. Each audience layer you add narrows reach, while each topic or keyword you add next to placements widens it. We write down what each ad group is meant to reach before adding a second method.
• Leave Unknown on. We only exclude the Unknown demographic groups when a client has a hard reason to.
• Check where ads ran. In the first weeks we read the Audiences report and the placements report, and add exclusions from what we see.

If you want help planning a YouTube campaign, see our services.

Frequently asked questions

What targeting options do YouTube ads have?

Audience targeting (demographics, detailed demographics, affinity, custom, life events, in-market, your data and Customer Match) for who sees the ad, and content targeting (placements, topics and keywords) for where it shows. Locations, languages and devices are set per campaign.

Can I show my ad only on specific YouTube channels?

You can target channels and videos as placements, with at least 10 channels or videos per ad group. Your ad may still run elsewhere on YouTube or the Display Network, as Google notes, and conversion-focused video campaigns can't use placements at all.

Does adding more targeting make my audience smaller?

Adding a different method narrows it: Google says each method "will narrow, not widen" your targeting. But topics, placements and keywords in the same ad group combine as "either," so adding one of those widens your content reach.

Should I exclude the Unknown age group?

Usually not. Unknown is people whose demographics Google hasn't identified, and Google says excluding it "might prevent a substantial number of people from seeing your ads."

Why can't I add keywords or topics to my video campaign?

If the campaign is set up to drive conversions, Google no longer allows content targeting in it. Use audiences such as custom segments, Customer Match or your data segments instead, with optimized targeting.

For more on YouTube and Google Ads, see our guides to YouTube video ads, audience segments and placement exclusions.