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On 19 October 2020, Google will update its personalised advertising policies to introduce new targeting restrictions. In an effort to improve inclusivity for users disproportionately affected by societal biases, housing, employment and credit products or services can no longer be targeted to audiences based on gender, age, parental status, marital status or postcode.
Examples of impacted products or services include, but are not limited to:
- Housing: Housing listing sites, individual houses for sale or rent, real estate services
- Employment: Ads for jobs, job recruitment sites, job listing sites
- Credit: Credit cards, loans including home loans, car loans, appliance loans, short-term loans
This policy change will apply in the US and Canada only. All advertisers using personalised ads to target audiences in the US and Canada must comply with these changes.
What this means for advertisers promoting housing, employment or credit
- Potentially impacted advertisers will receive notifications in their Google Ads account prompting them to acknowledge these policy changes and to agree to comply with relevant local laws. Advertisers who have not acknowledged these changes when the policy goes into effect on 19 October will be unable to create any new campaigns until they click to accept the changes.
- Additionally, when the policy goes into effect on 19 October, advertisers promoting housing, employment or credit products or services will no longer be able to target audiences based on gender, age, parental status, marital status or postcode. Any existing campaigns featuring housing, employment or credit products or services that target the newly restricted audiences will no longer be eligible to serve. Advertisers should update their campaigns before this policy goes into effect to ensure they aren’t negatively impacted.
For more information about the policy and how to acknowledge these policy changes in your account, refer to the upcoming policy for housing, employment and credit in personalised ads and to other frequently asked questions.
(Posted August 2020)