Domain & Interest Targeting: An Overview
When creating web & mobile display ads via found.ee, there are two categories of targeting options available – Domain Targeting and Interest Targeting. Domain Targeting allows you to select the specific websites where your ads are placed, while Interest Targeting allows you to reach specific audience segments wherever they exist across the web.
For found.ee web & mobile display campaigns, you can choose either Domain Targeting, Interest Targeting, or both, depending on your marketing goals & the scope of your project.
Domain Targeting
With domain targeting, you have the ability to choose which websites you'd like your ads to appear on. We have dozens of pre-built domain lists available, divided into two different categories – Premium Sites and Max Click Sites:
Premium Sites (G) refers to websites that are premium publishers, or well-known websites with large monthly readerships. Premium Sites for music include Rolling Stone, Billboard, Pitchfork, Complex, XXL, and more.
We have dozens of Premium Sites groups available, which are arranged by industry & subject matter. For instance, the Music section is grouped by genre (eg. Hip-Hop, Rock, or Pop). Choose the group of sites that is most applicable to the project you are promoting. It isn't possible to select multiple Premium Sites lists per campaign, so if multiple lists are applicable to your project, we recommend either looking at our Max Clicks lists for broader targeting options or creating a Custom Domain list (detailed below).
To see which premium sites are in each group, click the pink Manage button next to the group’s name. Here, you can also add or remove domains to create your own Custom Domain list!
If there are any domains you’d like to remove from the group, click the gray minus (-) icon next to the website’s name in the Pre-set list. Then, if there are any additional websites you’d like to target, you can add them in the Domains List on the right and click Add Domains. Once you've edited the list, you can then save it to your account as a Custom Domain list and use it in any upcoming found.ee ads. Here's a quick walkthrough video to learn more about this process!
Your other option for domain targeting is Max Clicks Sites (H). Max Clicks Sites are not premium publishers, but are designed and optimized by the system to generate the most amount of clicks and engagement possible on your ad, while still also reaching users with relevant interests to your ad. In essence, Premium Sites are more expensive to place ads on, but the benefit that you’re getting is the placement of your ad on large, well-known websites. Max Clicks sites are cheaper, and the benefit you’re getting is more clicks and engagement on your ads for the same budget.
Clicking the dropdown icon for Max Clicks Sites allows you to select a group of websites that is most appropriate for your release. Sites are grouped by genre here as well. However, unlike Premium Sites, the Max Clicks website lists cannot be edited.
When setting up domain targeting, you may select Premium Sites OR Max Clicks Sites, but not both together.
When choosing between Premium Sites or Max Clicks Sites, it is best to consider the goals and objectives of the artist and release you are promoting. Choose Premium Sites if the artist’s primary objective is to build awareness of themselves and their music, raise their overall profile, and build their brand. Choose Max Clicks if the objective is to drive up streams and video views, or to encourage discovery of their music amongst new audiences.
Interest Targeting
While with Premium Domain targeting, the focus is on where your ads are placed, with Interest Targeting, the focus is on who you're reaching. Interest targeting includes audience segments with either proven or probable interest in the subject matter based on their web browsing, location, and/or purchasing behavior.
To select interest targeting, it is advised to search whatever interests you’d like in the “Type to Search” bar above. As you start typing, a list of suggested interests will appear. You can also browse targetable options using the dropdown icon, but we would recommend searching as the list of interest targeting options is very long!
When selecting Interest Targeting, think about the general attributes of what you're promoting, as well as other topics that your target audience may be interested in. For instance, if you're promoting a rock music album, 'Rock Music' and 'Rock Concerts' would be immediately relevant to your project. However, if you'd like to take a broader approach, also consider what non-music interests this audience may have, such as 'Sports', 'Retail: Tickets', or 'Health & Fitness'. The options are (nearly) endless!
Some important things to consider when utilizing interesting targeting:
Note that Interest Targeting does not combine with Premium Domain targeting – if you choose to use both targeting options, you will reach two separate groups of users. For instance, selecting “Hip-Hop Premium Sites” in your Domain Targeting will allocate 50% of your ad spend towards users on those websites, while selecting “Hip Hop Fans" in your Interest Targeting will allocate the remaining 50% of your ad spend towards reaching users in that audience segment, wherever they exist across the web.
Adding in Interest targeting can help lower your overall CPC (cost per click) when you also have premium sites domain targeting enabled, since interest targeting is able to serve ads to users on a larger amount of websites across all of the internet. In this way, Interest targeting operates in a similar fashion to our “max clicks” targeting options.
If you aren't able to find relevant Interest Targeting for your project, contact us at info@thefoundgroup.com and we'd be happy to assist!
Optimizations
Note: The following section is only applicable in the Web and Mobile campaign setup process if you are using both Premium Sites Domain Targeting AND Interest Targeting. If you do not meet these criteria, then the Optimizations setting will be greyed out.
If you do have both types of targeting enabled, our ad platform gives you an option of which objective you would like to prioritize: Brand Building OR Clicks/Engagements. Click the dropdown icon to view the two options and select one:
If Brand Building is selected, our ad platform will prioritize ad delivery on high-profile websites, typically via the Premium Domain list you've selected. Alternatively, if Clicks/Engagements is selected, our ad platform will prioritize ad delivery to users who are more likely to click on your ad, typically via the Interest Targeting segment(s) you've selected.
Since users via Interest Targeting tend to be cheaper to reach than users on Premium Domains, selecting the Clicks/Engagement options will maximize the amount of clicks and engagements you are getting for your budget, while the Brand Building optimization will prioritize placement on premium sites at a potentially higher cost per reach.
Lastly, now that you've configured your campaign targeting & settings, it's time to add your creative & destination URL – learn more about that here!