Vimeo Ad Targeting Issues

My suspicion points towards a deeper technical issue within Vimeo's platform itself, specifically how it processes and utilizes the uploaded data for ad targeting and audience matching.

I definitely understand the frustration when meticulously prepared custom audiences underperform, especially when they're working elsewhere. And to quickly address your closing thought – it's more common to ask, "Has anyone else faced this before?" rather than "Anyone faced this before?" – just a tiny tip for future forum posts! Back to the core issue.

You're likely on the right track suspecting nuances in Vimeo's internal processing for custom and lookalike audiences, particularly for highly niche B2B segments. While Vimeo is a powerful video platform, its core strength and proprietary data graph aren't built around the same professional identity mapping as LinkedIn, or the vast, diverse user data pool Google leverages for YouTube. Here's a breakdown of why you might be seeing this disconnect and what to consider:

1. Audience Matching Algorithms & Data Pool: Each ad platform has its own proprietary audience matching algorithms and data sets. While you're uploading hashed emails, Vimeo needs to match those against its active user base. For very specific enterprise-level decision-makers, the overlap of your CRM list with active, identifiable Vimeo users might simply be smaller than on LinkedIn (where professional identity is paramount) or YouTube (due to sheer scale). Lower match rates directly impact the size and precision of your custom audiences, even with perfect data hygiene on your end.
2. Platform User Intent & Context: Consider the user's mindset on Vimeo. While B2B professionals certainly use Vimeo, they are often there for high-quality video content consumption or creation, perhaps less in a "professional networking" or "researching solutions" mode compared to LinkedIn. This difference in user intent can lead to lower engagement and conversion rates, even if the targeting is technically sound.
3. Lookalike Audience Generation: If the seed audience for your lookalikes is already small due to lower match rates, the "lookalike" generated by Vimeo might be less precise or too broad for your specific B2B SaaS target. The platform might struggle to find enough truly similar users within its ecosystem.
4. B2B Data Granularity: B2B lead generation often relies on specific attributes like job title, company size, industry, and seniority. While you're uploading email addresses, Vimeo's ability to infer or match these deep professional attributes might be limited compared to platforms that actively collect and verify such data (like LinkedIn).

What to do next:

• Diversify Targeting Strategies: While custom audiences are valuable, don't solely rely on them on Vimeo. Experiment heavily with Vimeo's contextual and interest-based targeting. Target channels, videos, and categories highly relevant to your B2B SaaS product or industry. For example, if your SaaS product aids video production teams, target relevant production tutorials or industry news channels.
• Broaden Lookalike Seeds (Cautiously): If your initial custom audiences are too small after matching, try creating lookalikes from slightly broader, but still high-quality, segments of your CRM. Then, layer demographic or interest targeting on top to refine.
• Focus on Retargeting: If your pixel data is robust, prioritize retargeting website visitors, users who've watched your Vimeo content, or those who've engaged with your ads. These are warmer audiences regardless of the platform's matching algorithms.
• A/B Test Aggressively: Run controlled experiments. Compare campaigns using your custom/lookalike audiences against campaigns using purely contextual or interest-based targeting. Also, test different creative angles specifically tailored to the Vimeo user's content consumption mindset.
• Evaluate Platform Fit: Sometimes, a platform simply isn't the best fit for a super niche targeting strategy, even if it's excellent for broader awareness or specific content types. If, after these adjustments, performance remains significantly lower than on LinkedIn or YouTube, it might be more efficient to reallocate budget to platforms that align better with your specific B2B audience matching requirements.

Hope this helps your conversions!

Thanks a lot, William! This breakdown makes so much sense, especially about Vimeo's data graph not being built like LinkedIn's. We're definitely going to try diversifying our targeting and focusing more on retargeting like you suggested.