Google Ads, sometime after June 2024 and November 2024, updated the size of your data segment requirement from 1,000 active visitors in a 30-day period to 100 active visitors in the same period. This is for the requirement to serve your ads varies based on the target network, specific to the Google Search Network.
It seems this change went mostly unknown (although, I am sure someone noticed?) until Boris Beceric prompted Navah Hopkins about this who wrote on LinkedIn that this is "something HUGE." She wrote, "Just to put this in perspective, previously brands had to find 1000 humans who consented to sharing their email for marketing purposes. Additionally, there would need to be a few people added every few days. This move levels the playing field between Google and Meta re: list size for targeting. If lists can shrink this much and maintain privacy, surely search term transparency is next."
Navah said that while the docs were updated, the Google Ads interface seemed to imply 1,000 was still required, when it was not.
The updated help document now says:
The requirement to serve your ads varies based on the target network. The accuracy of the estimated segment size will vary depending on your segment settings, the length of time since your tag was installed, your campaign settings, and other factors.
- Google Display Network must have a minimum of 100 active visitors or users within the last 30 days.
- Google Search Network must have a minimum of 1,000 active visitors or users within the last 30 days, unless it is a customer list. Customer lists must have a minimum of 100 active visitors or users within the last 30 days.
"Active users" (or just "Users") is the number of people who engaged with your site or app.
Here is the before - old version:
Here is the new version:
I should note, Google also added this section to the bottom:
Your data segments targeting the Google Display Network must have a minimum of 100 active visitors or users within the last 30 days for your ads to show; segments targeting Google Search Network must have a minimum of 1,000 active visitors or users within the last 30 days, unless it is a customer list. Customer lists must have a minimum of 100 active visitors or users within the last 30 days. Based on the number of visitors able to be reached on each network, the segment sizes may vary.Additionally, a segment with at least 1,000 users will be surfaced in Audience insights to help you find new segments by showing valuable information about the people that make up your segment.
Forum discussion at LinkedIn.
