Google Merchant Center New Preferred Audience Targeting For Promotions

11/07/25
Source: Search Engine Roundtable by barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz). Read the original article

TL;DR Summary of Google Merchant Center’s New Preferred Audience Promotion Targeting

Google Merchant Center introduced a new preferred audience option for promotion targeting, allowing advertisers to target new customers or users based on location. The new customer option applies exclusively to Shopping Ads, while the location option is limited to organic listings. This update enhances promotional flexibility, enabling more strategic and personalized marketing campaigns. However, some limitations remain regarding cross-listing applicability.

Optimixed’s Overview: Enhanced Audience Targeting Options Boost Merchant Promotion Strategies

Introduction to Preferred Audience Targeting in Google Merchant Center

Google has expanded its Merchant Center capabilities by adding a preferred audience setting for promotions. This new feature enables advertisers to tailor promotional offers specifically to two distinct customer segments:

  • New Customers: Users who have not previously interacted with the store. This segment is exclusively targetable within Shopping Ads.
  • Location-Based Customers: Users identified by their geographic location or interest in a region, applicable only to organic listings.

Benefits and Strategic Implications

This development offers several advantages for advertisers:

  • Increased Promotional Flexibility: Marketers can now design offers that appeal directly to specific audiences, enhancing relevance and engagement.
  • Improved Targeting Precision: The ability to segment by new customers or location allows for more personalized and contextually appropriate promotions.
  • Data-Driven Campaigns: Combining this targeting with product-level performance data supports more informed marketing decisions.

Current Limitations and Considerations

Despite the innovation, some constraints exist:

  • The new customer audience targeting is restricted to Shopping Ads, limiting its reach across other Google listing types.
  • Location-based targeting is confined to organic promotions, preventing its use in Shopping Ads campaigns.
  • Advertisers running region-specific or in-store promotions might find these restrictions limiting for cohesive cross-channel strategies.

Conclusion

Google’s introduction of preferred audience targeting in Merchant Center marks a positive step toward more personalized and strategic promotion management. While certain functionality is currently segmented by ad type, these tools empower advertisers to better connect with key customer groups and enhance campaign effectiveness.