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Strategy
6 min read
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Broad targeting vs interests: what our tests show
We ran the same ads to broad and interest audiences across twelve accounts. The winner surprised a few clients.
Article details
Topic
Strategy
Reading time
6 min read
Published
Written by
Margin strategy team
Clients often ask us to target people who like yoga, follow certain brands or match a job title. It feels precise. Our tests suggest it is often slower and more expensive.
How we tested it
Across twelve accounts we ran identical ads to two audiences: a broad one with only age and location, and a stacked interest audience. Same budget, same two weeks.
What happened
Broad won on cost per purchase in nine of the twelve accounts. The platforms found buyers we would never have guessed, as long as the ad itself made it clear who the product was for.
When interests still help
New accounts with little purchase data and very niche products did better with interests at the start. Once there were around fifty sales a week, broad caught up.
The lesson: let the creative do the targeting. A clear first line about who it is for beats a list of interests.
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