Yandex.Audience: 5 Secrets to Finding Clients

Contents:

• Understanding segments: principles of operation and creation
• How to effectively use collected segments in advertising
• Effective strategies for attracting customers using Yandex.Audience
• Effective A/B testing in Yandex.Audience
• Results of using Yandex.Audience

Understanding segments: principles of operation and creation

User segments are groups formed based on certain criteria. It is important to emphasize that the members of these groups remain anonymous: their identifiers cannot be viewed or retrieved. However, analytics for each segment are available, which allows for effective user behavior evaluation. It is also possible to transfer aggregated data to advertising platforms such as Yandex.Direct, which facilitates more precise targeted advertising and increases the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

To work effectively with Yandex.Audiences, each segment must contain more than 100 anonymous identifiers. If the number of users in a segment is less than this threshold, it will be marked as "low data", which limits its use in the Direct system. Segments are formed based on uploaded information, data collected by Yandex, and external sources. This allows you to create more targeted and effective advertising campaigns aimed at specific user groups.

In this article, we will explore segment creation methods in detail. We will discuss various approaches and techniques that will help you effectively segment your audience. Segmentation is a key element in marketing, allowing you to more accurately target advertising campaigns and improve their effectiveness. Understanding segment creation methods will help you better tailor your offering to customer needs and increase conversion. We will cover both traditional and modern approaches to segmentation, including demographic, psychographic, and behavioral methods. With this knowledge, you will be able to optimize your marketing strategies and achieve better results.

Uploaded data is the information you transfer to Yandex.Audience. There are two main types of data: information from CRM systems and mobile device identifiers. To successfully upload data, certain file format requirements must be met. Proper formatting and structure of uploaded data ensures its correct processing and use in advertising campaigns.

Data collected from CRM systems includes customer phone numbers and email addresses. This information is essential for creating target segments. You can use only phone numbers, only email addresses, or a combination of both for more precise targeting. It is also recommended to additionally include customer information, such as date of birth, residential address, and marital status, to increase the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and improve customer engagement.

Mobile device identifiers, such as Android ID, MAC addresses, and other unique codes, play a vital role in identifying and tracking mobile devices. Evgeny Chetvertnykh, CEO of the Amado internet agency, identifies two main methods for obtaining them. The first method is directly extracting identifiers through device settings, which allows developers and marketers to collect data for analyzing user behavior. The second method involves using specialized applications that have access to device data and can read identifiers. These methods allow for more effective optimization of advertising campaigns and improvement of user experience, which in turn contributes to higher conversion and business success in the digital environment.

• Using Wi-Fi radar at events or in places with a high concentration of target audience;
• Providing Wi-Fi in public places: for example, in cafes, where you can get an identifier upon registering your device.

Ksenia Khisamutdinova, Media Director of Re-actor, notes that the Audience system compares uploaded data with Yandex user information. The match percentage reaches 70-80%. In this regard, to form a segment of 1,000 users, it is recommended to upload files containing 1,200 to 1,500 identifiers. This approach allows for greater accuracy and efficiency in working with target audiences.

Yandex services automatically collect information about users, which allows for the formation of segments in Audiences. Four main tools are available for this purpose: Yandex.Metrica, AppMetrica for analyzing user behavior in mobile apps, a dedicated Audience pixel, and geolocation information. These tools help effectively analyze audiences and optimize advertising campaigns, which in turn helps increase conversions and improve user engagement. Using these methods allows businesses to precisely target their offers and adapt content to the needs of their target audience. Using Yandex.Metrica and set goals, you can create various audience segments. Segmentation allows you to analyze user behavior, which facilitates more precise targeting of advertising campaigns and improves website content. Creating segments based on specified criteria helps identify key visitor groups that can be reached more effectively. Thus, Yandex.Metrica becomes a powerful tool for optimizing marketing strategies and increasing conversion.

• All visitors to your site over the past month;
• Visitors who performed certain actions, for example, adding an item to a cart;
• Users who fell into certain internal Metrica segments, for example, those who visited the site from social networks.

AppMetrica provides the ability to segment mobile app users. This tool allows you to identify groups of users who, for example, visited specific pages or placed orders in the past few weeks. This allows you to more accurately target marketing campaigns and improve customer engagement. User segmentation helps businesses better understand their audience and tailor content to their needs.

Geolocation opens up new possibilities for creating audience segments. There are two ways to create a segment based on geodata. The first option involves using user location information to create geographic segments. The second option is to analyze user behavior based on their geographic location. Both approaches allow for more precise targeting of marketing campaigns, increasing their effectiveness and improving customer engagement.

• Radius — users located within a 0.5–10 km radius of a given point;
• Polygon — users located in a specific area of ​​up to 10 km².

In both cases, it is possible to refine the criteria for inclusion in the segment, including permanent residence or employment in a given area. This will allow for more precise targeting of the target audience and increase the effectiveness of marketing strategies. A clear definition of such criteria contributes to a deeper analysis and understanding of user needs.

The Audiences pixel can be integrated into advertising banners, allowing you to collect data about users who saw your ad. This allows you to target your audience, for example, those who viewed a banner on the Yandex homepage within the last month. Using this tool helps you more accurately customize your advertising campaigns and improve their effectiveness, as you can analyze user behavior and tailor your offers to their interests.

External data is information obtained from third-party platforms, such as DMPs, as well as from the Yandex.Vzglyad service. This data can be used to analyze user behavior and improve marketing strategies. Integrating external data allows companies to more effectively segment their audience and customize advertising campaigns.

Yandex.Vzglyad is a paid survey service. In the "Audiences" section, users can create segments based on survey responses. However, this feature is only available to customers who have invested at least 300,000 rubles in Vzglyad over the past three months. This enables more precise audience analysis and targeting, allowing businesses to effectively use the data obtained to optimize their marketing strategies.

Ksenia Khisamutdinova notes that certain segments can be particularly useful in a number of situations.

• An advertiser conducts a brand awareness survey, identifying communication gaps and opportunities for improvement.
• Based on the survey data, segments are formed: users who answered negatively to a question about a product characteristic can be the target audience for further advertising campaigns.

DMP (Data Management Platform) is a data management platform that aggregates information from open sources and creates segments based on various characteristics, such as gender, age, interests, and education level. These segments allow for more precise targeting of marketing campaigns and optimization of advertising investments. A full list of providers providing data for creating "Audiences" can be found in the reference materials. Using a DMP helps increase the effectiveness of engagement with the target audience and improve conversion rates.

Nadezhda Semenova, founder of Dewsweb and Semenov.Agency, recommends carefully testing audiences obtained from DMPs, as the quality of the data directly depends on the provider's reliability. In her experience, testing results were often worse than expected. Semenova notes that "Audiences" may be based on outdated data and encourages regular segment updates to improve the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

Using the assembled segment, you can create a Look-alike audience. This new segment includes users whose online behavior is similar to the actions of the main group. This allows you to effectively expand your reach and find potential customers who may be interested in your offer. Creating a look-alike audience is an important tool for optimizing advertising campaigns and increasing their effectiveness.

Yuri Balakin, Director of the Online Advertising agency, recommends using proven, high-converting audiences to create segments of similar users. Evgeny Chetvertnykh emphasizes the importance of ranking audiences by priority level. This allows for more effective advertising campaign customization and increases their effectiveness. Creating segments based on successful experience facilitates better targeting and increases ROI. Audience optimization and proper customization are key factors for achieving high performance in online advertising.

Sergey Badalyan, an expert in Yandex.Direct, notes that advertising on segments of similar users can increase costs and traffic, but does not always lead to improved quality. He recommends testing all possible combinations on real clients before creating look-alike segments. This approach allows for the optimization of advertising campaigns and the achievement of better results while minimizing risks. Using data about your current customers to create effective segments can help improve your advertising ROI.

How to Effectively Use Collected Segments in Advertising

The first step is to integrate segments into the Yandex.Direct system. This is possible using a single Yandex profile that covers both Direct and Audiences. If you have different profiles, you must grant access to the segment for the profile from which you will be setting up your ads. This will ensure the correct use of segments in your advertising campaigns and help optimize targeting, leading to increased advertising spend efficiency.

After loading the data, there are two main approaches: showing ads only to a specific audience segment or adjusting bids for this segment. This approach allows for more efficient use of the advertising budget and increases the likelihood of achieving target indicators. We recommend carefully analyzing audience behavior and adapting advertising strategies based on the data obtained to improve the overall effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

Advertising targeted to specific audience segments is available only in the Yandex Advertising Network (YAN). As Ksenia Khisamutdinova, Media Director of Re-actor, notes, retargeting and precise audience selection capabilities do not extend to ads in search results. In this case, the target audience can only be refined using "Bid Adjustments." This limitation should be taken into account when planning advertising campaigns in order to use the budget most effectively and achieve the desired results.

Bid adjustments can be made in both the search network and the advertising network. You can increase bids for users located near your store, increasing the chances that they will notice your ad. At the same time, if your goal is to attract new customers, you should consider lowering bids for repeat customers. This approach will optimize your advertising budget and achieve more effective results.

Marketers can create various strategies using the "Audiences" tool. The main goal of these strategies is to optimize advertising campaigns for maximum effectiveness and return on investment. Effective use of Audiences allows you to more accurately target your audience, which helps increase conversions and improve the results of your advertising activities.

Effective Customer Acquisition Strategies with Yandex.Audience

To effectively use Yandex.Audience, it is important to employ several key strategies. The most popular among them are retargeting and offline user outreach. These approaches not only help return customers but also expand your audience. Retargeting allows you to remind users who have already shown interest in your product, while offline user outreach helps attract new customers using real-world user behavior data. Proper application of these strategies can significantly improve the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and increase conversion.

Retargeting is aimed at returning users who have already shown interest in your product or service. Using CRM data and Yandex.Metrica tools, you can create segments of users who started the purchase process but did not complete it. Abandoned cart reminders in the form of targeted ads can significantly increase conversions by returning customers to your site and encouraging them to complete their purchase. Effective retargeting not only helps restore interest but also improves the overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Yuri Balakin, Director of Online Advertising, notes that the primary use of the Yandex.Audience tool should be focused on retargeting. This is especially relevant when the goal is to increase the number of customer inquiries. Effective retargeting allows you to return visitors who previously expressed interest in your services or products, significantly increasing the chances of conversion. Using Yandex.Audience in this strategy will help establish closer interaction with potential customers and increase the overall effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Mikhail Vasiliev, Internet Marketer at DeVision, notes that identifying target groups of users interested in your services plays a key role in your marketing strategy. To successfully engage these users, it's important to provide them with valuable content that directs them to a landing page optimized for their interests. However, it's important to keep in mind that this approach only generates 10-15% of total conversions, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach to online marketing for maximum effectiveness.

To attract offline users, it's important to use geolocation data and mobile device identifiers, which is especially relevant for local businesses. Mikhail Vasiliev emphasizes that his team actively uses a radius around a specific point, which facilitates the effective promotion of events and services in specific areas. This allows businesses to target specific audiences, increasing their visibility and attracting customers from nearby locations. Effective use of geodata not only increases conversions but also optimizes marketing campaigns based on local specifics.

Natalia Vyazigina, head of the digital agency Axioma-Web, shares successful examples of using geolocation data in marketing. In one case study for a service center, an audience of customers who had visited other centers of the same brand over the past three months was created. This generated high-quality and affordable leads costing around 1,000 rubles. Using geotargeting helps not only with targeting but also with optimizing advertising campaigns, making it an effective tool for attracting customers.

The methodology used to promote a scrap metal purchase company has proven effective. The implementation of geotargeting at metallurgical plants helped reduce the cost of targeted leads by 15%. This confirms that geolocation strategies can significantly improve marketing effectiveness in the metal recycling industry.

Kirill Statkevich, Project Manager at iConText, emphasizes that geolocation targeting is effective in more than just one niche. For example, creating geotargeting around real estate sales offices or segmenting users who frequently visit tax offices allows for targeted marketing to businesspeople interested in financial services. This approach helps significantly improve the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, providing more precise targeting and improving interaction with potential customers.

Excluding irrelevant traffic is a key aspect of effective marketing for car dealerships. Natalia Vyazigina shares methods that will help track inquiries and build a database of irrelevant calls. This will optimize advertising campaigns focused on car sales and improve their effectiveness. Proper analysis of inquiries will help focus on potential customers, which will ultimately lead to increased conversion and sales.

Effective A/B Testing in Yandex.Audience

Since 2020, Yandex.Audience has introduced the Experiments feature, which significantly simplifies testing advertising strategies in the Yandex.Direct system. This feature allows advertisers to easily test various advertising options, which helps optimize advertising campaigns and improve their effectiveness. By enabling testing, users can more quickly identify the most successful formats and approaches, ultimately leading to improved advertising results.

Experiments work by distributing traffic between advertising campaigns based on predetermined segment shares. This approach allows for a more accurate and structured analysis of results, helping to optimize advertising strategies and improve their effectiveness. Proper traffic distribution helps identify the most successful campaigns and improve the overall performance of your advertising budget.

All collected data is transferred to the campaign manager in Yandex.Direct, allowing for analysis of key metrics such as impressions, clicks, CTR, and costs. This allows for comparison of campaign results across different keywords, bids, and strategies. This analysis is an important step in optimizing your advertising budget and improving the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns. Using this data helps identify the most profitable keywords and strategies, which in turn helps improve the overall results of advertising activities.

To obtain accurate results, Yandex recommends running experiments for at least two weeks and choosing advertising campaigns that can generate at least 200 conversions. Internet marketing expert and CEO of the Amado agency Evgeny Chetvertnykh emphasizes the importance of this approach: "Don't rush to conclusions. Allow time to obtain statistically significant data," he emphasizes. This approach helps avoid premature decisions and provides an opportunity to more accurately evaluate the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, which is critical for successful online marketing.

Results of using Yandex.Audience

The Yandex.Audience platform offers a wide range of tools for creating various target audience segments. Using these tools significantly increases the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and improves return on investment (ROI). Creating precise segments allows for more precise advertising targeting, which in turn improves customer engagement and drives sales growth.

• Segmentation based on uploaded data, including mobile device IDs, phone numbers, and email addresses obtained from a CRM system.
• Using data from Yandex tools such as Yandex.Metrica, AppMetrica, geolocation, and Audience pixels.
• Segmentation of data from external providers, including Yandex.Vzglyad and other third-party platforms.

Creating user segments allows you to form groups with similar characteristics and actions. This allows you to identify people whose behavior and interests are closest to your core audience. This approach helps you more precisely target marketing campaigns and improve customer engagement.

Segments created in the "Audiences" section play an important role in setting up advertising campaigns in Yandex.Direct. Using these segments allows you to target ads to specific user groups. This is especially effective when running ads in the Yandex Advertising Network (YAN), and also allows you to adjust bids to improve the effectiveness of advertising campaigns in both search results and YAN. Tailoring your ads to your target audience helps improve conversions and optimize advertising costs.

The most common strategies for using "Audiences" include retargeting and offline user reach. Retargeting is effective at re-engaging customers who abandoned items in their shopping carts and helps increase repeat sales. Offline reach is ideal for local businesses such as restaurants, beauty salons, and dealerships, allowing you to attract the attention of your target audience and increase customer traffic. These strategies help increase conversions and improve the overall results of marketing campaigns.

Additional materials on PPC advertising are available on the Skillbox Media platform. We recommend studying the following resources:

• An article on the principles and features of contextual advertising.
• A selection of recommendations on the latest changes in Yandex.Direct.
• An article on the importance of UTM tags in Direct advertising campaigns.
• Material on testing marketing hypotheses in context.
• Step-by-step instructions for setting up advertising in Yandex.Direct.