Understanding Targeting

5 common questions about our new targeting features

If you’re like some of our advertisers, you have questions about how to use our new targeting features. Fortunately for you, some of your questions have already been asked and answered at our webinars. Below are five of the most frequently asked questions about targeting.

I manage a Web site for teens. Do you allow for targeting of underage users?   
At this time, we don’t offer targeting for teens.  You’re able to block underage users, but not specifically target them.

Can I block an age group—such as users over 65— as you do for 17 or less?        
In age targeting, only users 17 years and younger can be filtered out completely. However, you can reduce the amount of traffic you receive from less desirable age ranges by adjusting your bids upwards for the demographic groups you want the most.

By the way, if you so chose, you can simply block less desirable traffic in geographic and ad scheduling targeting.

How do you determine the age or gender of a user?  
We use anonymous and aggregated information, such as registration data, from Yahoo!’s large user population, to help determine the age and gender of individual users who are viewing your ads. 

Do I need to turn on the reporting for geo-targeting, ad scheduling and demographic targeting?
You are automatically opted in to the ad scheduling and geo-targeting reports for the targets you choose – and into all age and gender reporting as soon as you choose a target.  If you would like age and gender reporting before choosing a target, simply opt in through the user interface.

Can the bid adjustment lower the bid, as well as raise it?            
Not currently.  Bid adjustments allow you to increase your bid for the target prospects that you believe will be most valuable to your business.  They allow you to make it more likely that your spend will be focus on your high value targets.

—The Team