Lookalike audience

A new audience of people similar to your existing customers, built by the ad platform.

What it means

A lookalike audience is a group of new people who are similar to people who already know or buy from you. You give the ad platform a starting list, and it finds others who share similar traits and behaviour.

The term comes from Meta (Facebook and Instagram), where the feature is called Lookalike Audiences.

How it works

First, you create a source audience. This could be a customer list, people who visited your website (tracked with the Meta Pixel), people who engaged with your Instagram page, or past buyers.

Then Meta looks for other users who resemble that source. You choose a country and an audience size, shown as a percentage. A smaller percentage means people match your source more closely; a larger one reaches more people with a looser match.

Note: Google Ads used to have a similar feature called Similar audiences, but Google retired it in 2023.

A simple example

A skincare brand in Bengaluru has 2,000 past buyers. It uploads this customer list to Meta as a source audience and creates a 1% Lookalike Audience in India.

It then runs an Instagram ad offering ₹200 off the first order. The ad reaches new people whose interests and behaviour resemble existing buyers, giving the brand a better chance of reaching likely customers.

Why it matters

Finding new customers is hard. Lookalike audiences let you use what you already know about your best customers to reach similar people at scale.

Beginner tips

Use a good-quality source, such as actual buyers, rather than everyone who liked a post.
Start with a smaller percentage for a closer match, then test larger ones.
Exclude existing customers so you do not pay to reach them again.
Common mistake: using a tiny source list. Meta needs enough people to find reliable patterns.