Profile analysis

The audience profile analysis lets you understand the composition of your selected audience based on its overlap with all other audiences in Display & Video 360 (e.g. Google data, Partner data, and other datasets you have access to). Discover similar audiences with both the right amount of user overlap and unique users that you can use to extend the reach of your campaigns.

Analysis data

In addition to the seed audience pane on the left, the table in the middle includes the following dimensions and metrics for each audience:

Audience: The category and name of the audience

Audience ID: The ID of the audience

Size: The total number of users in the audience

User overlap: The estimated overlap between the audience you selected with all of the audiences you have access to in Display & Video 360.

Unique users: The number of users in each audience that are also not in the seed audience

Overlap similarity index: Reflects the likelihood of reaching new users that are not overlapping with your seed and reference audiences. It is represented as a form of relative similarity against all users you have access to. It can be used as a way to compare user lists and their potential to reach similar audiences.

Tips for your analysis

The most favorable similarity index value will differ depending on your goal. There is no such thing as a good or bad value for this index. The optimal value can differ depending on whether your goal is to reach more similar audiences or to maximize your reach to new users with less constraint on similar behavior.

Depending on your goals, you will want to find a balance between:

• User overlap between the seed and reference audiences (similarity in behavior)
• Amount of users unique to the compared audiences (potential new reach)

Keeping that in mind, here are a few pointers on how you can interpret the metrics for your analysis:

• Higher overlap value compared to the seed audience demonstrates similar behavioral/interest traits between the seed and reference audiences. A higher index offers better chances of finding new users with similar behavior, but could also mean lower additional reach potential.
• More users unique to the reference audience represents the potential of expansion. A lower index offers better chances to find extra reach, but will reduce the likelihood of similarity in behavior.
• Lists that have the least correlation can be considered for negative targeting purposes.
• Check the difference in size between your seed and reference audiences. For example, a small seed audience will have a small index value for overlap with a very large audience, even though the overlap is quite large compared to the seed audience size.

Be sure to review the overlap and unique columns to understand how the index value works in relation to your seed audience and what could be considered a favorable value for this index in your use case.

Run the analysis

To run the profile analysis:

1. From your Display & Video 360 advertiser, select Audiences > Analysis on the left menu.
2. Select Audience profile.
3. Select an audience that you want to examine the composition of.
   
   Once you've selected an audience, you see an overview of your other audiences, as well as the dimensions and metrics for each of those other audiences so you can make comparisons with the audience that is the subject of the report. Click Show All within each audience group or one of the tabs across the top to see more.

Filter the table

Use the Filters pane on the right to filter which audiences you see:

Unique users: Enter the minimum/maximum number of users in each audience that are not also in the seed audience.

Overlap similarity index: The higher the index, the higher number of overlap of users there are in one of your other audiences and the audience you selected.

Select a different audience

To run the audience analysis on a different audience:

1. From the panel on the left, select the  next to the audience name.
2. Select a different audience that you want to examine the composition of.

Create a new audience

When you identify the audiences that meet your criteria for similarity and overlap, you can use those as the basis for a new audience.

To create a new audience:

1. From the table, select the audiences you want to use as the basis for your new audience. As you select each audience, they will be added to the  in the top right corner.
2. When you have finished adding audiences, click the .
3. Click Create audience.
4. Enter a name and description for the new audience.
5. Here you can choose to include and exclude First-, Third-party, and Google audiences:
   YouTube remarketing lists are currently not supported.

   Include First- and Third-party audiences

   Under the "Include" section:

   1. Next to First- and third-party audiences, click Add to begin adding first-party and third-party audiences to include. Select the audience lists of your choice.
      • Use the filter to help narrow down the results.
   2. Click Apply when you are done.
   3. Click Add audience to expand to add more audience lists.
   4. Click Add group to narrow to narrow the audience with a separate group of audiences.

   Include Google audiences

   Under the "Include" section:

   1. Next to Google audiences, click Add to begin adding Google audiences to include.
   2. Choose from the Affinity, In-market, Installed apps, New mobile devices tabs.
   3. Select the audience lists of your choice and click Apply when you are done.
      • Use the filter to help narrow down the results.
   4. Click Add audience to expand to add more audience lists.
   5. Click Add group to narrow to narrow the audience with a separate group of audiences.

   Exclude First- and Third-party audiences

   Under the "Exclude" section:

   1. Next to First- and Third-party audiences, click Add to begin adding first-party and third-party audiences to exclude.
   2. Select the audience lists of your choice.
      • Use the filter to help narrow down the results.
   3. Click Apply when you are done.
   4. Click Add audience to expand to add more audience lists.

   Exclude Google audiences

   Under the "Exclude" section:

   1. Next to Google audiences, click Add to begin adding Google audiences to exclude.
   2. Choose from the Affinity, In-market, Installed apps tabs.
   3. Select the audience lists of your choice and click Apply when you are done.
   4. Use the filter to help narrow down the results.
      • Click Add audience to expand to add more audience lists.
   5. Click Add group to narrow to narrow the audience with a separate group of audiences.

    When you are done adding audiences altogether, click Save. The new audience will appear in Audiences > All Audiences within a few hours and are available for your to target in current and future line items.

   Limitations

   • Customer match audiences built off contact information are not supported (audiences built on mobile device IDs are supported)