As the YouTube viewer increasingly shifts to mobile, Google is actively searching for ways to build solutions that will allow advertisers to reach customers across screens in more effective ways. Last month, Google finally announced that they would be allowing users to use search data for YouTube targeting.
Up until now, advertisers have only been able to narrow targeting in YouTube using demographic information and browsing behavior, not including search histories.
Now, according to Diya Jolly, Director, YouTube Product Management, data from active Google accounts may be used to fine tune targeting for ads that users see on YouTube. A basic example that Google has been using is “a retailer could reach prospects who searched on Google for winter coats, and engage with them on YouTube.”
This move by Google seems to be a reaction to increased competition from Facebook and slowly moving away from the use of cookies and tracking pixels. By relying on capturing data from signed in profiles and mobile activity, Google is hoping to move towards a more unified and seamless cross-screen experience.
While this seems to be all great news for advertisers (who doesn’t want cross platform data sharing?), there is something very important to be aware of. Google is updating how users can control their advertisers preferences in a way that is “built for the mobile world.” Over the coming weeks, if a user decides to remove or “mute” an advertiser from Search, they will no longer to be reached via YouTube ads either.
