{"id":14322,"date":"2023-03-01T16:25:15","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T16:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ga.agency\/?p=14322"},"modified":"2026-05-25T18:59:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:59:27","slug":"google-sunsetting-similar-audiences","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/ga.agency\/en\/blog\/google-sunsetting-similar-audiences\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Sunsetting Similar Audiences; What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Google has been taking steps to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of data privacy while ensuring valuable insights can still be extracted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In line with this, starting<strong> <\/strong>May 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/google-ads\/answer\/12463119?hl=en\">Google will sunset Similar Audiences<\/a> preventing advertisers from adding new audience segments on Google Ads and Display &amp; Video 360. However, any live campaigns with Similar Audiences applied will continue running until August 1<sup>st<\/sup> and all historical data will be preserved. After this date, these will be removed from all ad groups and campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_are_they_going_away\"><\/span><strong>Why are they going away?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In light of the rising concerns on data privacy and the phasing out of 3<sup>rd<\/sup> party cookies, the deprecation of Similar Audiences does not come as a surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similar audiences heavily rely on third-party cookies to populate. As 3<sup>rd<\/sup> party cookies become obsolete, these audiences will now be removed and replaced by other more powerful solutions that comply with data protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of these have already been available for a long time, such as Smart Bidding and Optimised Targeting settings.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ga.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/similar-audiences-retiring.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14325\" width=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ga.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/similar-audiences-retiring.png 720w, https:\/\/ga.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/similar-audiences-retiring-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/ga.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/similar-audiences-retiring-618x466.png 618w, https:\/\/ga.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/similar-audiences-retiring-133x100.png 133w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Our_recommendations\"><\/span><strong>Our recommendations<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>In light of the latest changes, it is important to take some practical steps when transitioning away from Similar Audiences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Define holistic strategies to expand your first party data that can be then utilised to supercharge your campaigns, such as encouraging customers to sign up for newsletters or follow your social channels<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use first-party lists as audience hints to optimise your campaign targeting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Continue using Customer Match lists alongside Smart Bidding, which will help drive improved performance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Analyse your customer\u2019s interests to better understand how they engage with the ads through the <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/google-ads\/answer\/11372871?hl=en\">Audiences Insights Page<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Similar Audiences will still be available for the next couple of months, you should still plan and test your transition to other audience strategies, so the impact is less harmful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At GA Agency, our dedicated <a href=\"https:\/\/ga.agency\/paid-media\/\">paid media<\/a> specialists can help you navigate these changes and ensure your campaigns are set up for success &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/ga.agency\/contact-us\/\">contact us<\/a> today for a free consultation!<br><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/ga.agency\/en\/blog\/google-sunsetting-similar-audiences\/#Why_are_they_going_away\" >Why are they going away?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/ga.agency\/en\/blog\/google-sunsetting-similar-audiences\/#Our_recommendations\" >Our recommendations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":80853,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[254],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14322","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-paid-media"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Google Sunsetting Similar Audiences; What You Need to Know<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Starting May 2023, Google will sunset Similar Audiences. 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We discuss what you need to know and the actions you should take.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ga.agency\/en\/blog\/google-sunsetting-similar-audiences\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GA Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-25T16:59:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ga.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Articles-7.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ga.agency\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/google-sunsetting-similar-audiences\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ga.agency\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/google-sunsetting-similar-audiences\\\/\",\"name\":\"Google Sunsetting Similar Audiences; What You Need to Know\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ga.agency\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ga.agency\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/google-sunsetting-similar-audiences\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ga.agency\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/google-sunsetting-similar-audiences\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ga.agency\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/Articles-7.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-01T16:25:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-25T16:59:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"Starting May 2023, Google will sunset Similar Audiences. 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