Don't Panic! This Google Change Doesn't Impact You

On October 19, Google officially implemented a new policy aimed at greater restrictions on advertising in sensitive topics, such as Employment, Housing and Credit (if these sound familiar, it's because they are - Facebook did the same thing last year). These restrictions prohibit advertisers of these topics from targeting based on:

• Gender
• Age
• Parental Status
• Marital Status
• Zip Code

At first blush, these seem like a major impact (and have caused a flurry of panic from clients and contacts alike). Fortunately, we tend to take a conservative approach with our targeting - as we do not want any of our clients to be at risk from a compliance or regulatory standpoint. "But wait - we can't target zip codes so how can we target our area?!" A common misconception! Zip codes are not the same as towns, so we are still able to target towns, counties, states and the radius of any of the above, etc.

When considering targeting options, we are very aware of Reg B, and policies regarding Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices. This means we never target based on zip codes, age, gender, parental status or marital status as an agency best practice. Unfortunately, not all advertisers are as cautious or knowledgeable - particularly those that don't work with financial institutions - which is what prompted these changes.

In short - rest easy, a change has finally come that likely doesn't have any impact on you.

Looking for assistance with strategy or targeting recommendations, or still have questions? Give us a shout, we're here to help.