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When planning your Google Ads campaigns, understanding your audience is paramount. But are you targeting people with a passing interest, or those actively looking to buy?

This is where the distinction between In-Market Audiences and Affinity Audiences becomes critical.

In-Market Audiences: The Hot Leads

These are users Google has identified as being actively researching a product or service in a specific category, indicating a high purchase intent in the near future.

• Intent: “I’m looking to buy this NOW.”
• Behaviour: Performing specific searches (“best 4K TV reviews,” “mortgage rates comparison”), visiting multiple product pages, reading buying guides, comparing prices.
• Goal: Drive conversions, sales, leads.

When to Use: Lower-funnel campaigns for immediate action.

Affinity Audiences: The Passionate Enthusiasts

These audiences represent users with a long-term, passionate interest in a particular topic. They enjoy engaging with content related to it, but aren’t necessarily looking to make a purchase right now.

• Intent: “I love this topic/hobby.”
• Behavior: Regularly consuming content (blogs, videos) related to their interest, following relevant social accounts, general browsing.
• Goal: Build brand awareness, reach new prospects, nurture long-term relationships.

When to Use: Upper-funnel campaigns for brand building and reach.

The Key Difference: In-Market segments focus on recency and transactional signals, identifying those at the bottom-to-mid funnel. Affinity segments focus on consistent, broader interests, targeting users at the top of the funnel.

Pro-Tip: A comprehensive strategy often involves both! Use Affinity for broad reach and brand awareness, and In-Market to capture those ready to convert.

Credit: Shani Hawthorne-Williams, Head of Digital