> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mention-me.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Google Ads Audience Builder
> Create seed audiences from your first-party referral data, sync them with Google Ads, and use them as signals for Performance Max campaigns.
## About Audience Builder
Audience Builder lets you create seed audiences from your first-party referral data, synchronise them with Google, and use them as a signal for Performance Max campaigns in Google Ads.
Audience Builder is available as an add-on. Reach out to your Mention Me Account Manager to learn more and upgrade if needed.
## Prerequisites
* At least **Admin** permission for your Google Ads account.
* Access to the [Mention Me platform](https://mention-me.com/login) (contact your CSM if you do not have access).
## Step 1 — Connect your Google Ads Account
On the [Mention Me platform](https://mention-me.com/merchant/~/audiences/new), select **Google** and click **Connect**.
Allow Mention Me to transfer data to Google on your behalf.
Choose which account to send your Mention Me data to.
## Step 2 — Build your audience
Choose which countries to build the audience from.
Select one country per seed audience for best results. If contact numbers are low, select multiple countries in similar markets.
We recommend **Existing customers who have successfully referred a friend**. If you have fewer than 1,000 contacts, choose the next dataset in the list.
Audience data is collected from your best customers over the last 12 months:
| Audience data set | Description |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Highest value successful referrers (ECR) | Advocates with the greatest revenue when accounting for both their spend and their friends' spending. [Learn more about ECR](/knowledge/reporting/advocacy/ecr) |
| Active referrers (ECR) | Advocates who have either referred or purchased recently. [Learn more about ECR](/knowledge/reporting/advocacy/ecr) |
| Existing customers who successfully referred a friend | Our **recommended** data set — your biggest brand advocates. |
| Existing customers who have shared | Highly engaged advocates. |
| Existing customers who have joined the referral programme | Customers on the path to becoming advocates. |
| Referred customers who have placed their first orders | New customers gained from your advocates. |
## Step 3 — Name your audience
Name your audience and click **Next**.
* A default name is created automatically. This name appears in your Google Ads Manager.
* Use a naming convention that is easy to identify.
## Step 4 — Confirm consent and review
Confirm that you have the relevant consents required by law or by Google to enable Mention Me to process this data.
* You can edit the audience name directly on this page.
* The build starts immediately but can take 24-48 hours for Google to process.
* Email addresses are [hashed](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/remarketing/audience-types/customer-match) before being sent to Google.
Once the build starts, the summary screen lets you view all audiences with contact counts and build new audiences.
Your audience updates **weekly** with new customers meeting the selection criteria.
Any created audience appears as a **Customer Match** in Google (in Audience Builder).
* Effective audiences need a minimum of 1,000 contacts, but aim for 5,000+ as a realistic starting point due to variable match rates.
* If your recommended audience is too small, create another based on the next valuable dataset.
## Step 5 — Use audiences in Performance Max campaigns
Google retired [Similar Audiences](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7151628?hl=en-GB) in August 2023, replacing them with [Performance Max](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/12080169?sjid=8713563842293849397-EU). You can use your Mention Me Customer Matches as a signal to start campaigns with Performance Max.