Performance

Lookalike audience

Also known as: similar audience · lookalikes

Definition

A lookalike audience is a group of people an ad platform selects because they resemble a source list, such as existing customers, in the signals the platform can see. The quality of the source list matters more than the size setting.

The output copies the input. A lookalike built from everyone who ever filled in a form reproduces whoever fills in forms cheaply, while one built from customers who paid, kept the product and bought again reproduces value. Use the narrowest, highest-quality source that still gives the platform enough people to learn from, and rebuild it as the customer base changes.

The UAE is a small pool, so a lookalike can overlap heavily with audiences you already reach through retargeting or interest targeting. Test it against broad targeting before giving it budget. Uploading a customer list also uses personal data, so check that the consent you hold covers advertising use before you upload. Platforms keep changing how much of this stays manual, so check what your account offers before planning around it.

More in Performance

A/B testing

A/B testing compares two versions of one element, such as a headline, an offer or a page, by showing each to a randomly split share of traffic at the same time and measuring which produces more conversions. It needs enough traffic and one change at a time.

Ad fatigue

Ad fatigue is the decline in an ad's performance as the same people see it repeatedly, usually visible as rising frequency and falling click-through rate before cost per result climbs. The remedy is fresh creative or a wider audience, not a bigger budget.

Ad Rank

Ad Rank is the value Google Ads calculates in each auction to decide whether an ad is eligible to show and where it sits against others. It combines the bid with ad and landing page quality, minimum thresholds, competition, search context and the expected impact of assets.