Marketers 'should welcome demographic targeting'

13th February 2008

The ability to target particular ages and genders through online ad campaigns could prove lucrative for marketing professionals, it has been claimed.

Google recently introduced an option enabling advertisers to focus their display ads on specific types of consumers.

While only available to a limited number of advertisers at the moment, the move has the potential to boost the effectiveness of campaigns, notes Amber on PPC Hero.

"This will help eliminate unqualified traffic from clicking on your ads. Also, you have the opportunity to bid higher on these demographic groups to be sure your ads are in front of your target age and gender more prominently," she suggests.

For example, an internet wedding store could select an option allowing them to display their promotional materials only to women between the ages of 18 and 30, she points out.

Meanwhile, a new study from comScore, Starcom and Tacoda highlights the weaknesses of click-through metrics, claiming that such analytical strategies fail to represent a cross-section of the web population.