Remarketing Lists for Search Ads are Now Paired with Google Analytics—But Don’t Get too Excited; There are Privacy Restrictions

When it comes to wooing potential customers, there is always a second chance (at least with Google). Remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) allows marketers to customize their search ad campaigns for people who have previously visited their sites. Bids and ads can be tailored to these site visitors when they’re performing relevant searches on Google.

Recently, Google quietly paired RLSA with Google Analytics. Moving forward, marketers can now create remarketing audiences using the Google Analytics tag, “which offers sophisticated list building capabilities”. These remarketing audiences can be used with AdWords display remarketing campaigns on the Google Display Network; alternatively, these remarketing audiences can be used with the AdWords search ad campaigns. Both methods customize campaigns for people who have previously visited the websites in question.

Google Analytics also offers detailed user analytics, which can help marketers craft their remarketing lists.

Don’t Throw Your Hat in the Air Just Yet—a Lot of Valuable Google Analytics Data is Restricted

According to Google, a remarketing list for Google search ads must possess at least 1,000 cookies before it can be used to tailor search ads. This restriction “[protects] the privacy of those who make up your list.” Privacy protection was also the reason why lists based on any of the following data are not eligible for use in search marketing:

• Google Display Network Demographics dimensions: Age, Gender, Interests

• Google Analytics Demographics and Technology dimensions: Language, Location (including Region, Continent, Sub-continent, Country, City, Metro), Operating System, Operating System Version, Browser, Browser Version, Screen Resolution, Screen Colors, Device Category, Mobile, Tablet, Mobile Device Branding, Mobile Device Model, Mobile Device Info, Mobile Device Marketing Name

Despite these restrictions, marketers and business owners can still potentially leverage the new feature with great results. RLSA with Google Analytics (GA) pretty much works the same way as RLSA without it. The user can use GA to help them define the criteria for placing prospects and customers into remarketing lists, then Google associates visits to the site (based on the GA criteria) with one of Google’s anonymous advertising cookies on visitors’ browsers.

Later on, when prospects and customers perform searches on Google from the same browser, they may see customized ads based on their previous site visits. According to a post that appeared on Think with Google, marketers and business owners can use existing remarketing lists to more effectively reach past site visitors to amplify conversions and potentially improve ROI.

For more information on reaching and converting high-value customers with RLSA, check out this Google Best Practices whitepaper.

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