Targeting
You can have the best ad in the world and still get terrible leads if it's shown to the wrong people. Targeting is how you control who sees your message, and who doesn't.
- Why broad targeting produces bad leads, even with strong creative
- The three audiences every service business should be running
- Platform-specific targeting strategies for Meta, Google, and LinkedIn
- Exclusions, the most underused targeting tool available
Most businesses default to the widest possible targeting. The logic makes sense on the surface: more people = more leads. But for a high-consideration service business, that logic breaks down fast. The larger your audience, the more of your budget goes to people who could never afford you, aren't in the right area, or don't have the problem you solve.
Better targeting means fewer people see your ad, and a higher percentage of them are the right people. Your cost-per-lead goes up. Your cost-per-closed-deal goes down. That's the trade you want to make.
The Three Audiences You Should Always Be Running
Most businesses only run cold prospecting, the bottom of the pyramid, and wonder why their close rate is low. The warmest, most likely-to-convert audiences are the ones who've already interacted with your brand. Retargeting those visitors is almost always your best performing campaign.
Platform-by-Platform Targeting
- Geographic radius (5–25km from your location)
- Age range aligned to your buyer
- Homeownership status
- Household income top 25%
- Website visitors (retargeting)
- Lookalike audiences from your email list
- Interest targeting alone (too broad)
- Nationwide campaigns for local services
- Audiences under 1,000 (too small to optimize)
- Automatic placements including Audience Network
- Broad age ranges (18–65) for high-ticket offers
- Exact match and phrase match keywords
- Location targeting, city or radius
- In-market audiences (Google's intent signals)
- Negative keywords (critical, see below)
- Remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA)
- Broad match without negative keyword lists
- Search partners network for local service leads
- Smart campaigns with no manual oversight
- "Maximize clicks" bidding (optimizes for clicks, not leads)
- Job title targeting (decision makers)
- Company size filters
- Industry targeting
- Seniority level (Director and above)
- LinkedIn website retargeting
- LinkedIn Audience Network (drives poor quality traffic)
- Skills targeting alone (low signal)
- Audiences under 50,000 on cold campaigns
- Running lead gen forms without a landing page option
Exclusions, The Most Underused Targeting Tool
Most businesses spend all their time thinking about who to target. The businesses with the best lead quality spend equal time thinking about who to exclude.
- Existing clients (stop paying to reach people who already chose you)
- Geographic areas outside your service radius
- Age groups that don't match your buyer profile
- On Google: every irrelevant keyword variant (check the Search Terms report weekly)
- Job titles that can't afford or won't approve the purchase
- Competing businesses (exclude your own industry on LinkedIn)
- People who've visited but never converted after 90+ days
- Low-income demographics for high-ticket offers
1. Check your Google Search Terms report. Are you paying for searches with words like "free," "cheap," "DIY," or other terms that signal the wrong buyer? Add them as negatives immediately.
2. Check your Meta campaign. Do you have a retargeting campaign running for website visitors? If not, set one up today, it's almost always your best-performing audience.
3. Check your geographic targeting. Are you paying for clicks from areas you don't serve? Tighten it.
Bad targeting is one of the biggest drivers of bad leads
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