How to Create Remarketing Audience in Google Ads: Step-by-Step Guide
Remarketing in Google Ads lets you reconnect with people who already interacted with your website, app, or YouTube channel. By creating tailored remarketing audiences, you can show ads to past visitors, encourage them to complete purchases, and improve your return on ad spend (ROAS).
In this guide, I’ll explain how to create remarketing audiences in Google Ads, the different types available, best practices to follow, and mistakes to avoid. Whether you’re new to remarketing or looking to refine your strategy, this article covers it all.
What is a Remarketing Audience in Google Ads?
A remarketing audience in Google Ads is a group of users who have previously interacted with your business. These could be people who visited your website, used your mobile app, watched your YouTube videos, or even shared their email address with you. By targeting these audiences, you can display ads tailored to their previous behavior, nudging them closer to conversion.
Remarketing audiences work across multiple Google Ads campaign types, including Search, Display, Shopping, Performance Max, and YouTube Ads. They allow advertisers to maintain visibility and stay top-of-mind for users who are already familiar with their brand.
Remarketing vs Retargeting: What’s the Difference?
While often used interchangeably, the terms aren’t exactly the same.Remarketing generally refers to re-engaging users through Google Ads (or similar ad platforms), while retargeting is a broader concept that can also include channels like Meta Ads, email, and push notifications. For this article, we’ll focus specifically on Google Ads remarketing audiences.
Types of Remarketing Audiences in Google Ads
Google Ads provides multiple remarketing options depending on how users engage with your business. Choosing the right audience type is key to creating campaigns that deliver conversions without wasting budget.
1. Website Visitors Remarketing
This audience is built using the Google Ads remarketing tag (or GA4 integration). You can segment visitors based on actions like visiting specific pages, adding items to cart, or spending more than a certain time on site.
Example: Users who visited product pages but did not check out.
2. Mobile App Users
If you have an app connected to your Google Ads account, you can create audiences based on app activity.
Example: People who installed your app but haven’t made a purchase or upgraded.
3. YouTube Viewers Remarketing
Remarketing on YouTube allows you to reach people who engaged with your videos or channel.
Example: Audiences of users who watched a video ad but didn’t visit your website.
4. Customer List Remarketing
Upload first-party data such as email addresses or phone numbers to build remarketing audiences.
Google matches this data with signed-in users across its properties.
This is useful for reconnecting with existing buyers or re-engaging inactive customers.
5. Custom Combination Audiences
Combine multiple audience signals such as website visitors + cart abandoners or
YouTube viewers + customer lists. This helps build layered targeting strategies
that prioritize high-intent users.
How to Create, Optimize, and Scale Remarketing Audiences in Google Ads
A remarketing audience in Google Ads reconnects you with users who already visited your website, app, or YouTube channel.
Below is the complete roadmap: how to set them up, apply proven best practices, and scale with advanced strategies.
Sign in to Google Ads: Go to Google Ads and open your account.- Open Audience Manager:
From the top menu, select Tools & Settings → under Shared Library, choose Audience Manager. - Create a New Audience:
Click the blue + and select “Website visitors,” “App users,” “YouTube users,” or “Customer list.” - Define Audience Rules:
Add rules such as:- Visited product pages but not checkout
- Time on site greater than 60 seconds
- YouTube: watched video but didn’t click
- Set Membership Duration: Decide how long users stay in your list.
- 7–14 days → cart abandoners
- 30 days → general visitors
- 90–180 days → B2B/high-ticket sales
Note: Minimum list sizes are **100 active users for Display** and **1,000 for YouTube/Discovery**.
- Name & Save: Example: “Cart Abandoners – 30 Days.” Save and let the list populate.
- Apply to Campaigns: In campaign settings, under Audiences, attach your list to Search, Display, YouTube, or Performance Max campaigns.
- Verify Tracking: Test with GA4 or Google Tag Manager to ensure tags fire correctly and users enter the list.
Best Practices for Google Ads Remarketing Audiences
Once your audiences are set up, use these tactics to keep campaigns efficient and profitable:
Segment by User Intent
Separate cart abandoners, product viewers, blog readers, and past buyers. Each list deserves custom ad copy and bidding.
Apply Frequency Caps
Limit impressions (2–3 per day) to avoid ad fatigue and negative brand recall.
Exclude Converters
Remove customers who already converted to save budget and maintain relevance.
Rotate Creatives Regularly
Update visuals, offers, and CTAs every 30–45 days to prevent banner blindness.
Match Message to Funnel Stage
Use urgency offers for cart abandoners, educational content for blog readers, and loyalty perks for past buyers.
Use Smart Bidding with Signals
Shift to tCPA or tROAS once you have enough conversions. Layer remarketing signals for stronger optimization.
Check Audience Overlap
Avoid bid conflicts by using exclusions across campaigns targeting similar users.
Ensure Compliance
Respect GDPR/CCPA consent rules. Offer opt-outs and disclose remarketing use clearly.
Advanced Remarketing Strategies in Google Ads
Once the basics are running smoothly, apply advanced methods to scale conversions and ROAS:
Dynamic Remarketing for eCommerce
Pull real-time product details from Merchant Center to show users the exact items they viewed.
- Feed optimization with clean titles/images
- Segment products by category or margin
- Special offers for cart abandoners
GA4 Predictive Audiences
Use GA4’s predictive metrics like “likely to purchase” or “churn probability” to allocate budget to high-value users.
Customer Match Lists
Upload email or phone lists to reconnect with past buyers. Perfect for upselling, cross-selling, and loyalty programs.
Cross-Channel Remarketing
Extend Google Ads remarketing with Meta, LinkedIn, or email for consistent messaging across platforms.
Best Practices for Remarketing in Google Ads
Building a remarketing audience is only the first step. To see strong results, you need to refine your targeting, creative, and bidding. Here are proven tactics that keep remarketing campaigns profitable and sustainable:
Segment by User Behavior
Don’t treat all visitors the same. Create separate lists for cart abandoners, product viewers, and repeat buyers. Each group deserves tailored messaging.
- 7-day cart abandoners → high urgency offers
- 30-day product viewers → educational ads
- Past buyers → upsell and cross-sell promotions
Layer Audiences with Demographics
Use demographics and in-market segments to refine remarketing. For example, exclude under-18 users for high-value purchases or target income brackets aligned with your product pricing.
- Filter by location, age, or device type
- Combine remarketing with in-market signals
- Exclude low-intent users (e.g., bounced visitors)
Rotate Creative Regularly
Ad fatigue kills performance. Update copy, visuals, and CTAs every few weeks to maintain engagement. Align creatives with the funnel stage.
- Use dynamic product ads for eCommerce
- Test short vs. long-form CTAs
- Refresh images/videos each 30–45 days
Smart Bidding & Budget Rules
Set ROAS or CPA goals depending on your campaign type. Use automated bidding but only after you have sufficient conversion data to avoid wasted spend.
- Start with manual/ECPC, then shift to tCPA/tROAS
- Cap frequency for Display and YouTube
- Allocate budget to high-intent segments first
Start Building Smarter Remarketing Campaigns
Remarketing audiences give you a second chance to win over visitors who didn’t convert the first time. By segmenting users, tailoring ads to intent, and applying the right bidding strategies, you can turn missed opportunities into profitable results.
Whether you’re running eCommerce, SaaS, or local service campaigns, remarketing should be a permanent part of your Google Ads strategy. If you’d like expert support in setting up and managing remarketing campaigns, work with a Google Ads Expert who can guide you with precision and clarity.