Google’s recently announced change to its Customer Match audience retention policy might have caught some marketers off guard, but if you’ve been in the digital advertising game for long enough, this is just another update to adjust to. Google’s Customer Match feature has been one of the most powerful tools for targeting audiences with precision, but now, the platform is setting a limit on how long audiences can stay in your pool: 540 days.

It’s a simple change, but one that will require some action from your end, especially if you're using Salesforce Marketing Cloud to run ad campaigns with Google Ads. Let’s dive into the specifics of this change, why Google is making it, and how you can stay ahead of the curve.

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What’s Changing?

Google’s Customer Match is a feature that allows advertisers to target specific audiences across Google Ads, Gmail, YouTube, and the Google Display Network using customer data they’ve gathered, like email addresses. For years, this feature has helped advertisers reach their ideal customers with precision, ensuring ad spend efficiency. The ability to retain audiences indefinitely has been one of its biggest advantages.

However, as of now, Google is imposing a maximum membership duration of 540 days for Customer Match audiences. Once that threshold is reached, audiences will no longer be available for targeting unless you refresh or recreate them.

Why Is Google Making This Change?

Google has made this move to align with best practices for data management, privacy, and security. As online privacy regulations continue to evolve, companies like Google are having to adapt to ensure they are compliant with global data retention policies. By limiting audience retention to 540 days, Google is ensuring that its platform remains in compliance with data privacy regulations and that user data isn’t stored unnecessarily long.

As part of this shift, Google’s Customer Match Policies now emphasize the importance of managing audience data responsibly. The change will encourage advertisers to refresh or update their audiences regularly, which also helps ensure more accurate targeting based on current data.

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How Will This Affect Salesforce Marketing Cloud Users?

If you're using Salesforce Marketing Cloud Advertising Studio to run your Google Ads, this update will directly impact your audience targeting. Specifically:

1. Match Count Drop: If you’ve been using audiences that are older than 540 days, you’ll notice that the match counts for those audiences will decrease over time. Essentially, Google will stop targeting these audiences once they exceed the 540-day limit.
   
   
2. Audience Management: If you're accustomed to keeping audiences active for extended periods without much maintenance, this policy change means you’ll need to put a bit more work into managing your Google audiences.
   

In short, if you don’t make adjustments, your older audiences might be removed from your active campaigns, reducing the effectiveness of your targeting.

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What Actions Do You Need to Take?

So, what should you do to ensure your ad campaigns remain effective despite this change? Here’s the step-by-step plan:

1. Delete and Recreate Affected Audiences: If you have audiences that have been active for more than 540 days, they need to be deleted and re-created to continue being eligible for targeting.
   
   
2. Update Your Ad Campaigns: Once you've refreshed your audiences, make sure to update your ad campaigns to target these new audiences. This step will ensure that your targeting remains accurate and effective.
   
   
3. Track Audience Expiry: Going forward, you’ll need to track when your audiences are approaching the 540-day mark. The audiences will stay active until that point or until they’re refreshed via an Ad Studio update.
   
   
4. Ad Studio Refresh: Don’t forget that audiences will automatically remain active until they either reach the 540-day threshold or are refreshed manually. Keeping your audiences up-to-date is key.
   
   

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Next Steps and Resources

As Google continues to enforce its new policies, it’s crucial for users to adapt and stay ahead of the curve. Here’s how you can best prepare:

• Review Google’s Updated Policies: Familiarize yourself with Google’s latest Customer Match Policies to better understand how these changes might affect your campaigns in the long run.
  
  
• Seek Support If Needed: If you're unsure about how to implement these changes or run into any issues, don’t hesitate to reach out to Google support or consult their help documentation.
  
  

By staying proactive, you’ll be able to seamlessly transition your campaigns without missing a beat.

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Conclusion

Google’s updated Customer Match audience retention policy is straightforward but requires some action from your end. With a maximum retention period of 540 days, it’s important to refresh and recreate your audiences to maintain effective targeting.

These changes may seem daunting at first, but by taking the necessary steps to update your campaigns and manage your audiences more regularly, you can continue to run successful and efficient ad campaigns. Just keep in mind: staying informed and adaptable is the key to ensuring your marketing strategy remains effective.

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