Company audiences, ICP segments and lookalikes on Google
Retarget chosen companies after a visit, reach your ICP before they visit, find lookalike companies and exclude placements that waste budget.
Google Ads doesn't let you target a company by name. IntentBid gives you three ways around that for image (Display) campaigns, and a report that shows where your budget is wasted.
| Option | Reaches people | Built from |
|---|---|---|
| Company audience | After they visit your site | Companies you choose, filled as IntentBid identifies their visitors |
| ICP segment | Before they visit | Your buyers' search terms and sites like the ones your ICP reads |
| Lookalike companies | New companies | The profile of a list you already have |
All three need a connected Google Ads account. See Connect your Google Ads account.
Company audience: retarget chosen companies after a visit
A company audience turns your target account list into a Google Ads list. When IntentBid identifies a visitor from one of those companies, that visitor joins the list. Then you run image ads only for those people. It uses no extra credits.
From a TAL list:
- Open TAL Generator and select your list.
- Click Google · retarget visitors →. IntentBid creates the audience and opens a new Google image campaign aimed at it.
From any audience:
- Open Audiences → Active audiences and select an audience.
- In the Google Ads: company audience card, click Create company audience in Google Ads.
- Once the list is live, click Launch image campaign. If the list is still small, the button reads Prepare image campaign (goes live at 100).
This needs the Google tag on your site, and ads start when the list has 100 people. With only a few companies, filling it can take a while, so add more companies.
ICP segment: reach your ICP before they visit
An ICP segment is a Google custom segment. It reaches people who search your buyers' terms and browse sites like the ones your ICP reads, including people who have never been to your site.
- First run the keyword research in GEO / AEO → Auto mode. The segment is built from your buyers' search terms.
- Open TAL Generator and select a list.
- Click Google · reach new →.
- IntentBid creates the segment in Google Ads, named IntentBid ICP · [list name], and opens a new image campaign. The segment is already selected under ICP segments (reach before a visit).
- Finish the ad and budget, then click Create paused campaign.
Lookalike companies
Lookalikes are new companies that are just like the ones in a list: same industries, size and countries. They never include companies you already have.
- In TAL Generator, select a list with at least 3 companies. Or open an audience in Audiences → Active audiences and find the Lookalike companies card.
- Choose how many: 25, 50, 100 or 250.
- Click ✦ Find lookalike companies (on the TAL page) or Find lookalikes (on the audience).
The result is a new list named Lookalike · [list name] with its own audience, ready for Google or Microsoft Ads. Lookalike searches use credits. The message after the search tells you how many were used.
People at your accounts (CRM)
Already have contacts at these companies? In the audience's Google Ads: the people at these companies card, open Send contacts, upload a CSV with an e-mail column or use HubSpot, confirm the policy boxes and click Send to Google Ads. E-mails are hashed (SHA-256) before they leave IntentBid. Google needs about 1,000 matched people for these lists. The first time, click Allow audience uploads in Google.
Exclude placements that waste budget
Image ads can run on sites and apps that bring many impressions and almost no company visits. Mobile apps are a common example.
- Open Google Ads → ABM report and scroll to Placements (where the ads ran). The Google Ads overview also shows Top placements.
- Look for placements with many impressions and a very low CTR. When IntentBid spots them, Next best moves shows Exclude [n] low-quality placements.
- Exclude them in Google Ads itself, under Content → Exclusions. IntentBid doesn't change exclusions for you, and the menu path can differ slightly in your version of Google Ads.
FAQ
Do company audiences work for search campaigns?
In the IntentBid campaign form, you pick audiences for image campaigns. Google Ads → Audiences shows each list's Display size and Search size. Google needs 100 people for image ads and 1,000 for search.
Why does my audience show "Filling"?
Google hasn't matched enough people yet. Add companies, send traffic to the site, or wait. Sizes come from Google and update daily.