How to Run Retargeting Campaigns on Google Ads

Introduction

Did you know that 98% of first-time visitors to your website leave without buying? They’re interested, but they’re just not ready to convert. This is the single biggest leak in your marketing funnel. The solution isn’t to find more new visitors—it’s to win back the ones you’ve already earned. This guide will show you exactly how to run retargeting campaigns on Google Ads, turning your abandoned carts and bounced traffic into your most profitable source of sales.

Why Retargeting is Your Highest-ROI Advertising Strategy

Retargeting (or remarketing) is the practice of showing ads to people who have previously visited your website or used your mobile app. When you learn how to run retargeting campaigns on Google Ads, you’re tapping into your warmest, most qualified audience.

The results speak for themselves:

Retargeting can increase conversion rates by over 70%.
Website visitors who are retargeted are 43% more likely to convert.
It costs significantly less to convert a warm lead than to acquire a cold one.

Mastering how to run retargeting campaigns on Google Ads is about working smarter, not harder, by focusing your budget on people who already know you.

The Foundation: Setting Up Your Retargeting Audience

Before you can show ads, you need to tell Google who to show them to. This starts with the Google Ads tag.

Step 1: Install the Google Ads Tag

The Google Ads tag is a snippet of code you place on your website. It drops a cookie on your visitors’ browsers, allowing you to track and segment them.

In your Google Ads account, go to Tools & Settings > Shared Library > Audience manager.
Click on Audience sources and select Google Ads tag.
Choose your installation method. For most beginners, the recommended method is to use Google Tag Manager. This gives you more flexibility and is easier to manage.

For a detailed walkthrough, our guide on How to Use Google Tag Manager (internal link) can help you set this up correctly.

Step 2: Build Your Audience Lists

Once your tag is firing, you can create specific audience lists. Don’t just retarget “All Visitors.” Get strategic:

All Website Visitors (30-90 days): A broad audience for brand awareness.
Specific Page Visitors: Target people who visited a high-intent page but didn’t convert (e.g., Pricing page, “Contact Us” page).
Cart Abandoners: Your most valuable audience. Target users who added a product to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase.
Past Converters: Upsell or cross-sell to existing customers.

Your 4-Step Process: How to Run Retargeting Campaigns on Google Ads

Now for the actionable part. Follow this framework to launch your first campaign.

Step 1: Choose the Right Campaign Goal

In your Google Ads account, click “+ New Campaign.”
For most retargeting goals, select “Sales” or “Leads” as your objective.
For campaign type, you have two excellent choices:
- Display Campaigns: Perfect for visual ads across millions of websites and apps. Great for building brand recall.
- Search Campaigns: Shows your text ads to people when they search on Google after visiting your site. This is incredibly powerful for capturing high-intent searchers.

For your first campaign, a Display Campaign is highly visual and effective for retargeting.

Step 2: Attach Your Audience and Set Up Targeting

This is where you connect your prepared audience lists to the campaign.

In the campaign setup, navigate to the “Audiences” section.
Under “Browse,” select “How they have interacted with your business” and choose “Website visitors.”
Select the specific audience lists you created (e.g., “Cart Abandoners – 7 days”).
Set the “Targeting” option to “Targeting.” This means your ads will only be shown to people on your list, ensuring your budget is spent exclusively on retargeting.

Step 3: Craft Compelling Ad Creative

Your retargeting ads should acknowledge the user’s previous interaction. Personalization is key.

For Display Ads: Use eye-catching banners. For cart abandoners, consider dynamic remarketing, which automatically shows the exact products the user viewed.
For Search Ads: Write ad copy that speaks directly to their prior interest.
- Example Headline: “Still Thinking About [Product Name]?”
- Example Description: “Get 10% Off When You Complete Your Purchase Today. Limited Stock!”

Google’s Display Ad Best Practices (external link) is a great resource for creative specs and ideas.

Step 4: Set Bids, Budget, and Frequency Capping

Retargeting requires a different bidding strategy than prospecting.

Bidding: Since this audience is so warm, use an automated strategy like “Maximize conversions” or set a manual CPC (Cost-Per-Click) bid that is higher than your prospecting campaigns.
Budget: You typically need a smaller budget for retargeting than for cold traffic, as the audience is smaller but more likely to convert.
Frequency Capping: This is crucial. Limit how many times the same person sees your ad per day (e.g., 5-10 times) to avoid ad fatigue and annoyance.

Advanced Retargeting Strategies

Once you’ve mastered the basics, level up your campaigns.

Create a Sequence: Don’t show the same ad to everyone. Create a campaign for “All Visitors” with a top-of-funnel brand message, and a separate, more aggressive campaign with an offer for “Cart Abandoners.”
Exclude Past Converters: Create a “Past Purchasers” audience and add it as an exclusion to your standard retargeting campaigns to avoid wasting money.
Use Customer Match: Upload your email list to create a custom audience and serve ads directly to your subscribers across Google’s networks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: How many people do I need in an audience list to start retargeting?

A: Google requires a minimum of 100 active visitors (for Display campaigns) or 1,000 (for Search campaigns) in a list before your ads can start showing. This is to protect user privacy.

Q2: Is retargeting creepy? Will it annoy my potential customers?

A: It can be if done poorly. The key is to provide value and use frequency capping. A friendly reminder or a special offer is often appreciated. An ad that follows someone 50 times is not.

Q3: What’s the difference between “Targeting” and “Observation” in audience settings?

A: Targeting means your ads will only show to that specific audience. Observation means you are adding the audience to a broader campaign to monitor its performance and adjust bids, but your ads can still show to other people. For a pure retargeting campaign, always use “Targeting.”

Q4: Can I run retargeting campaigns on YouTube?

A: Absolutely. When creating a Video campaign, you can select your website visitor audiences as your target. This allows you to serve video ads to people who have already been to your site, a incredibly powerful combination.

Conclusion

Learning how to run retargeting campaigns on Google Ads is the ultimate strategy for maximizing your marketing efficiency. By strategically segmenting your website visitors and serving them personalized, relevant ads, you plug the biggest leak in your sales funnel. This approach consistently delivers the highest ROI because you’re not shouting into the void—you’re having a follow-up conversation with people who have already raised their hands and expressed interest.