New format
VK targeted ads: a step-by-step setup
VK targeting runs ads to segments in the ad account (often under the VK Ads brand today). That isn’t the same as promoting a post in someone else’s community: here you set audience, bids, and format yourself.
Below: launch order — account and rules, formats, audience, remarketing, schedule, billing, and result control. Menu labels and creative sizes change — check the current UI; the ads account has shifted more than once since 2019.
Account, rules, and community ads vs targeting
Create or open a VK ad account; pick a client or agency account if needed. Before launch, read the rules: prohibited topics and creatives get cut in review; repeated violations hit the account.
Paid posts in communities work when that community’s audience already matches yours. If you need leads, sales, and a precise segment — targeting is usually required. Don’t paste “millions of VK reach” from old roundups as your own forecast.
Ad formats
In the feed you’ll typically see carousel, a post with a button, universal post, lead forms, Stories, site ads. Separately: community promotion blocks, text+image banners, apps.
Format sets and file limits (weight, JPG/PNG, etc.) have changed — take current requirements from account Help. For a test pick one format for the goal: lead without a site → lead form; traffic to a landing → post/site; brand awareness → reach formats.
You can promote an existing community post or build a creative from scratch. The offer on the image and in the copy must match the landing.
Before Create:
- campaign goal is clear
- one primary format for the test
- creative reads on mobile
- link, community, or form works
Audience, remarketing, and schedule
Build the segment for the offer: geo, gender/age, interests, devices. A narrow relevant audience beats “everyone 18–65 in the city.” Treat the account’s reach forecast as order of magnitude.
Remarketing — warm users: site visitors (pixel), lists, QR and other audience sources available in the account. Exclude buyers from chase offers if the job is new sales.
Schedule: match lead handling. Night calls with no operator waste budget; CRM forms can run wider.
Bids, billing, and review
Billing models are usually CPC and CPM; some goals also use optimized models — names and availability live in the UI. Account bid hints are a market compass, not your economics.
Pick placements (mobile/desktop, network) deliberately. After save, some fields (billing model, format, sometimes URL) can’t change — easier to create a new ad.
Top up the balance for an individual or company, wait for review, and start with a daily cap.
Analysis and iterations
In the account watch impressions, clicks, CTR, spend, target actions. Cross-check with analytics/CRM: clicks with no leads — fix the offer or audience, not only the bid.
Pause weak combinations, boost working ones, don’t change everything at once. Run remarketing and cold targeting separately by creative and bid.
Remember:
- targeting ≠ a paid post in a community
- narrow audience + one hypothesis per test
- pixel for site remarketing
- schedule matched to lead handling
- current UI — in VK Ads Help
FAQ
How is targeting different from community ads?
A community placement reaches that community’s audience. Targeting is an auction by segments (geo, interests, remarketing). They’re often combined.
Where should a beginner start?
With a goal (traffic, leads, community), one format, a narrow audience, and a daily cap. Don’t turn on every interest “just in case.”
Do I need the pixel?
For site remarketing and event optimization — yes. More in the VK pixel article.
Should I use CPC or CPM?
Depends on goal and stage. At the start, use the account forecast and your lead economics; the model often can’t change after ad creation — check before launch.
Should I run ads 24/7?
Not always. For calls — business hours; for CRM forms — wider is fine. Watch your own time-of-day stats.
What if my ad is rejected?
Check VK ad policies, remove prohibited content, fix the creative. Bypassing review risks the account and budget.
Where do I see results?
In account stats plus goals on the site or in the community. Without lead tracking, bid optimization is blind.
VK Ads test spreading across every interest and format?
We’ll lock one format, a narrow audience, pixel if needed, and a daily cap — expanded only after CPA holds.
Discuss the task
