A Marketer's Guide to Google Ads Remarketing and Best Practices

Francesco Gatti
February 5, 2025

In a crowded digital marketing space, reconnecting with potential customers is essential for driving success. Google Ads remarketing makes it easier to re-engage website visitors and app users, transforming initial curiosity into measurable outcomes. 

By learning how remarketing works and adopting effective strategies, marketers can fine-tune their PPC efforts and boost conversions.

Let’s dive into the essentials of Google Ads remarketing, explore the types of campaigns available, and uncover actionable strategies to maximize your marketing ROI.

How Does Google Ads Remarketing Work?

Google Ads remarketing works by using tracking technologies like remarketing tags and pixels to identify and reconnect with users who have interacted with your website or mobile app. 

With tools such as Google Ads and the Google Display Network, marketers can show ads to these users across various platforms, encouraging them to complete desired actions, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service. 

Here’s a breakdown of the key components that make remarketing work:

Remarketing Tags

A remarketing tag is a snippet of code added to your website to track user activity. It collects data on actions users take, such as visiting a specific product page or adding an item to their cart. 

This data is used to create audience lists in your Google Ads account, allowing you to target specific audience segments with tailored ads. For efficient tag management, many marketers use Google Tag Manager, which simplifies the process of integrating and updating your Google Ads tags across websites.

Pixels

Similar to remarketing tags, pixels are small pieces of code embedded in your website to track user behavior. Pixels are especially useful for dynamic remarketing, where ads dynamically display the exact products or services a user viewed. 

For example, if a visitor browses a particular shoe on an e-commerce site, the pixel ensures that specific product is highlighted in the ads shown to that visitor later.

Google Ads Accounts

Your Google Ads account acts as the hub for creating and managing remarketing campaigns. By linking it to tools like Google Analytics, you can create more precise audience lists based on user behavior, demographics, and interests. 

Within the account, you can use Audience Manager to segment website visitors, app users, or even a customer list, ensuring your ads reach the right people at the right time.

Google Display Network

The Google Display Network (GDN) is a vast network of websites, apps, and videos where your remarketing ads can appear. It allows you to show ads in formats like banners or videos across millions of websites, helping to increase brand awareness and re-engage potential customers. 

The GDN is a cost-effective way to reach users who have already shown interest in your business and guide them further down the conversion funnel.

What Are the Types of Remarketing Campaigns?

Google Ads offers several types of remarketing campaigns, each tailored to different marketing objectives. Whether you’re looking to re-engage website visitors, target app users, or personalize ads for specific products, there’s a remarketing strategy that fits your needs. 

Below are the main types of remarketing campaigns and how they work.

Standard Remarketing

Standard remarketing involves showing display ads to past visitors as they browse websites and apps on the Google Display Network. This type of Google Ads campaign is ideal for re-engaging users who visited your website but didn’t take the desired action, such as completing a purchase or filling out a form. 

Standard remarketing is particularly useful for building brand awareness and staying top-of-mind with your target audience.

Dynamic Remarketing

Dynamic remarketing takes personalization a step further by automatically showing ads tailored to specific products or services users interacted with on your website or app. For example, if a visitor views a product page for a particular laptop, dynamic ads will display that specific laptop in future interactions. 

This approach is especially effective for e-commerce businesses and retailers looking to drive conversions. To implement dynamic remarketing, you’ll need to integrate your Google Ads account with tools like Google Merchant Center and Google Analytics for detailed product data.

Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA)

Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA) enables you to customize search ads for users who have previously visited your website. For example, if someone visits your product page but doesn’t convert, you can target them with specific search ads when they later use Google Search to look for similar products. 

RLSA is particularly effective when combined with bidding strategies, allowing you to allocate a higher budget to remarketing audiences that are more likely to convert.

Video Retargeting

Video retargeting focuses on re-engaging users who interact with your video content on platforms like YouTube. For instance, you can target users who watched a specific video with ads reminding them to take action, such as visiting a landing page or signing up for a free trial. 

Video retargeting is a powerful tool for building brand awareness and nurturing potential customers through engaging visual content.

Each of these remarketing strategies plays a crucial role in a comprehensive digital marketing plan, helping businesses reconnect with their audience, optimize ad spend, and drive conversions.

How To Set Up a Remarketing Campaign in Google Ads

Setting up a remarketing campaign in Google Ads is simple. Follow this step-by-step guide to get started:

  1. Set Up a Remarketing Tag: Generate the remarketing tag in your Google Ads account under the Shared Library. Use Google Tag Manager to add it to your website or app.
  2. Create Audience Lists: Create audience lists in Audience Manager based on actions like product views or abandoned carts. You can also import data from Google Analytics for more detailed segmentation.
  3. Choose Your Campaign Type: Select the appropriate campaign type: Standard Remarketing, Dynamic Remarketing, Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA), or Video Retargeting, depending on your objectives.
  4. Define Targeting and Budget: Refine your targeting based on demographics, behavior, and device. Set a budget and choose a bidding strategy that aligns with your campaign goals.
  5. Launch and Optimize: Create your ads, launch the campaign, and monitor performance. Use key metrics like click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates to optimize your campaign over time.

This streamlined approach helps you set up remarketing campaigns quickly and efficiently.

What Are the Best Practices for Google Ads Remarketing?

To maximize the effectiveness of your Google Ads remarketing campaigns, it’s essential to follow proven best practices. These strategies help optimize ad spend, improve conversion rates, and deliver better results.

Audience Segmentation

Segment your audience based on their behavior and demographics. For example, create separate audience lists for product page viewers, abandoned cart users, and app users. Tailoring ads to each segment ensures your messaging resonates with specific audience needs.

Frequency Capping

Avoid overwhelming users by limiting how often they see your ads. Frequency capping helps maintain a positive user experience while saving your ad budget for broader reach.

Exclude Converted Users

Exclude users who have already completed a desired action, such as a purchase or sign-up. This prevents unnecessary ad spend and keeps your campaigns focused on potential customers who haven’t converted yet.

Leverage Cross-Device Remarketing

Ensure consistency across devices by targeting users on both desktop and mobile apps. Google Ads automatically identifies users across devices, providing a seamless experience that can improve conversion rates.

A/B Testing

Continuously test different ad formats, creatives, and messages to identify what resonates most with your audience. Use metrics like click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rates to refine your campaigns.

Metric Optimization

Track and optimize key performance indicators (KPIs) such as CTR, ad spend, and return on ad spend (ROAS). Regularly analyze campaign performance to adjust bidding strategies, audience lists, and ad creatives for maximum impact.

Implementing these best practices will help you run more efficient, cost-effective remarketing campaigns that engage your target audience and drive results.

How Can Opensend Help?

Opensend, an email marketing platform, complements your Google Ads remarketing strategy by providing tools to re-engage your audience and enhance conversion rates.

  • Email Capture: Identify anonymous website visitors and capture their email addresses, even those who abandoned carts or browsed without leaving contact information.
  • Audience Segmentation: Create high-performing segments using Opensend data, such as visitors who viewed specific pages or spent significant time on your site, creating synergy with your Google Ads remarketing audiences.
  • Email Revive: Replace outdated or bounced email addresses with active ones, ensuring continuous engagement.
  • 360-Degree Retargeting: Combine email and Google Ads efforts to target the same audience across multiple touchpoints, reinforcing your messaging and increasing conversions.

By integrating Opensend into your marketing strategy, you can effectively bridge email marketing with Google Ads remarketing for a more cohesive and impactful customer engagement experience.The Bottom LineWith Google’s robust tools and platforms, from the Google Display Network to Google Analytics, remarketing offers an efficient and cost-effective way to stay top-of-mind with your target audience. Whether you’re running a standard remarketing campaign or diving into dynamic remarketing for e-commerce, the key to success lies in optimization, monitoring key metrics, and continuously refining your approach.

By understanding the types of remarketing campaigns, using best practices such as audience segmentation and frequency capping, and leveraging tools like Opensend, you can create a comprehensive remarketing strategy that delivers results.

Sources:

The Ultimate Guide to Remarketing in Google Ads [2024 Guide] | Growth Minded Marketing

Google Ads and the Importance of Cross-Device Tracking | Periscope

What Are Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA)? | HubSpot

Remarketing Google Tags | Google Developers

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