What Are the Housing Restrictions for Facebook and PPC?

Close up of hands typing on a laptop keyboard

Jan 30, 2023 | Social Media, Paid Media/PPC

As we know, technology is always changing and adapting. It’s something many of those in the senior housing and marketing fields are used to. One of the most recent changes is making a larger impact on how we target ad audiences on Facebook and through pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements.

Changes to Facebook Targeting and Advertising

According to Maggie Dinneen, Paid Social Media Manager, we were previously able to target by age, gender, ZIP code, multicultural affinity, or any detailed options describing or appearing to relate to protected characteristics, like someone who is interested in retirement planning or 401(k) retirement accounts. 

“From there, we were able to create a look-alike audience based on those similar to our uploaded audience to match our campaign objectives,” she shares. “For example, if I wanted to generate a look-alike audience of people who were within a given radius from ages 45 to 65+ who meet similar characteristics, I could. However, Facebook completely removed this, as well as special ad audiences, when they rolled out these new housing ad category restrictions.”

This change, announced by Facebook/Meta, impacts special ad categories, including all ads related to housing, employment, and credit opportunities. Any Facebook ads that fall under these categories are going to see restricted targeting options in the Ads Manager.

Why did these Facebook advertising restrictions begin?

Maggie shares that a settlement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is behind the change in how we deliver housing ads. According to an article from Meta, this was done to protect against discrimination from advertisers setting up ad campaigns while making sure the ads more closely reflect the eligible targeted audience.

What are the restrictions?

According to the article, some of Facebook’s restrictions and changes include:

  1. Requiring advertisers to certify their compliance with their nondiscrimination policy.
  2. Restricting how housing, employment, and credit advertisers can create their target audiences by disallowing gender or age targeting.
  3. Location targeting must have a minimum of a 15-mile radius.
  4. Maintaining all active ads related to housing, employment, or credit opportunities in the Ad Library, allowing anyone to see ads, regardless of whether or not they were in the advertiser’s intended audience.
  5. Removing ad targeting options people may find sensitive to protect against the potential abuse of tools across all ads.

What is the solution?

There are still targeting options we can use to attract new prospects, and we will continue to target them at every phase of their journey.

Housing Restrictions for PPC

According to Zach Dolenar, Digital Media Manager, social media in general took the biggest hit from these changes; however, PPC wasn’t free from the impacts, either.

“We used to be able to get more granular with our targeting. We could build ads around males 65+ who were married, but now we have to be more generic,” said Zach. “Now, there is no customization or tailoring to our audiences outside of keywords they are searching for.”

Why did this change begin?

In short, channels put restrictions into place on specific ad categories to reduce bias and societal targeting, according to Zach. In an article by Google, it was shared that this was also to “improve inclusivity for users.”

What are the restrictions?

“Google ads can no longer focus on gender, age, marital status, parental status, or ZIP code targeting,” Zach explains, adding that the biggest aspects that affect us are ZIP code and age, though marital status has sometimes been a challenge. As stated by the Google article, impacted products and services include, but aren’t limited to, housing, real estate services, employment, and credit.

What is the solution?

To combat these changes, Zach shares that they rely heavily on accurate keyword targeting, effective landing page design, and copy that speaks to the audience. When it comes to the display side, he shares we are moving to a programmatic approach.

Facing the changes ahead with SageAge

At SageAge, we understand why these changes have taken place, and we remain committed to preventing unlawful discrimination. We also remain committed to those we serve and are already adjusting to these changes while keeping informed about any future adjustments.

To see how we make navigating these changes simple – and seamless – contact us today.

SageAge: Here for You, Always

SageAge is a multiple-award-winning strategic growth, marketing and consulting organization that operates exclusively in the unique senior living marketplace. For more information, please call or email Melinda Schmitz at 816.349.0464/[email protected].

Senior Living Social Media 101

There’s a lot to know about senior living social media. From choosing a community’s social media platforms to implementing content marketing strategies and more, it can feel overwhelming to even the most seasoned social media gurus. What’s more, according to the Pew...

How To Develop a Senior Living Marketing Plan

What Is a Senior Living Marketing Plan? A marketing plan is also regarded as an advertising strategy that a company, in this case a retirement community, will implement to help them achieve (or exceed) their operational goals and marketing initiatives for a set period...

40 Years and 40 Pieces of Sage Advice

2023 has been a year full of new ideas, growth, and planning for the future. At SageAge, 2023 brings a significant milestone for our company – our 40th anniversary. In honor of our 40 years of delivering strategic marketing and business growth strategies to the senior...

The Best Senior Living CRM: Three Experts Weigh In

Looking to end your days of manually entering customer data in Excel? If so, a customer relationship management (CRM) tool is the perfect choice. Three of our senior living industry experts are weighing in on everything you need to know about CRM. Meet the SageAge...

How To Generate Leads for Senior Living Communities

Are you looking for ways to spark robust lead generation through your senior living marketing strategy? With the right team on your side and the right approach, it might be easier than you think. Check out some of these top ways to generate senior living leads through...

Senior Living SEO: 7 Tactics That Work

Want to discover a cost-effective way to provide value to others while enhancing your senior living strategy? Through Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, you can do just that.  What Is SEO? SEO is about improving your website’s visibility to search engines, increasing...

The Importance of Responding to Online Reviews

Did you know: 95% of people consult reviews before purchasing products or services. 88% of consumers are likely to use a business if they can see the business owner responds to all reviews, whether positive or negative. 87% of consumers used Google to evaluate local...

The Rise of Senior Living Occupancy

As COVID-19 created a landscape of uncertainty in senior living facilities, experts knew there would be challenges and effects that lasted long after. Although the pandemic continues, many types of senior living communities and care facilities, like continuing care...

4 Ways TikTok Is Redefining Senior Living Social Media

Whether you’ve heard about it, tried it out, or use it regularly, TikTok is taking the world by storm. This social media platform, which focuses on short-form video, is seemingly on everyone’s mind in one sense or another, and more often than not, people are following...

The Benefits of Working at a Remote Company

Remote working offers many benefits to employees and businesses. Today, more people are working from home than ever before, offering many benefits to both businesses and employees. Remote positions offer employees flexible work schedules and autonomy while keeping...
Share This