Google offers demographic bidding feature for AdWords

Google AdWords automatic matching meets wary audience

Google is now offering a new demographic bidding feature for AdWords advertisers.

According to a Google AdWords blog entry posted on Friday, this new feature enables advertisers to modify their bids or restrict their ads' visibility “based on the age and gender of the users” who see the ads on participating sites within the Google content network.

In January, Google started inviting selected advertisers to test out the new demographic bidding feature, according to Google. The company did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

Only some sites within the Google content network will offer demographic bidding. These include social networking sites like friendster.com, myspace.com and blackplanet.com, as well as other sites that ask users to identify their age and gender, Google said.

Google already offers demographic site selection. Based on data from ComScore, this feature enables advertisers to identify Web sites that attract specific audiences, Google said.

Yahoo has provided demographic targeting as part of its display advertising offering “for a while now,” said Kristen Wareham, director of corporate communications at Yahoo, when reached by e-mail.

“Though this feature is something we're considering extending into our search marketing offering down the road, there isn't anything to announce at this time,” she continued.