Targeting Inputs Grid: Respected or Expanded?

This grid will help…

Almost every advertiser gets this wrong, so I wanted to create a reference that would make it easier.

Respected vs. Expanded Confusion

The most common point of confusion is about when your targeting inputs are respected and when they’re not.

In other words, there are times when your inputs are used as tight constraints. Meta will respect those inputs. And there are other times when your targeting inputs are only seen as suggestions or the audience is expanded.

Far too often, advertisers switch from Advantage+ Audience because they think they have more control with original audiences. That’s often not the case.

The Grid

When Do Targeting Inputs Matter?

I created this grid as an easy reference. It looks at the following targeting inputs:

  • Minimum age
  • Maximum age
  • Gender
  • Location
  • Custom audiences
  • Custom audience exclusions
  • Lookalike audiences
  • Language
  • Detailed targeting

It then highlights whether each of those inputs is respected, a suggestion, or expanded depending on your setup.

I include every scenario based on performance goal for Advantage+ Audience or original audiences. While all performance goals are treated the same for Advantage+ Audience, there are three different scenarios when using original audiences.

Check out my blog post for more details about these differences. Bookmark it!

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