Only 3% of website visitors convert on their first visit. The other 97% leave without buying, booking, or even filling out a form. Google Ads remarketing gives you a second (and third, and fourth) chance to convert them. Here's our proven strategy for 700%+ ROAS.
Why Remarketing Outperforms Cold Traffic by 10x
Remarketing targets people who already know your brand. The numbers speak for themselves:
- Conversion rates: 2-3% for cold traffic vs. 15-25% for remarketing audiences
- Cost per click: 50-70% lower CPCs compared to prospecting campaigns
- ROAS: Our clients average 700%+ ROAS on remarketing vs. 250-350% on cold traffic
- Customer lifetime value: Remarketing converts higher-intent users with 30% higher LTV
The magic of remarketing is targeting warm audiences who already showed interest but needed more touchpoints to convert.
The 5-Tier Remarketing Audience Framework
Not all website visitors are equal. Our framework segments audiences by intent level, allowing granular targeting and bidding:
Tier 1: Cart Abandoners (Highest Intent)
- Who: Added to cart but didn't purchase
- Lookback window: 7 days
- Bid adjustment: +200-300%
- Ad message: Direct product reminder with urgency ("Still thinking about [product]? 15% off ends today")
- Expected CVR: 25-35%
Tier 2: Product Page Viewers
- Who: Viewed specific products but didn't add to cart
- Lookback window: 14 days
- Bid adjustment: +100-150%
- Ad message: Showcase product benefits, social proof, free shipping
- Expected CVR: 15-20%
Tier 3: Category Browsers
- Who: Viewed category pages but no specific products
- Lookback window: 30 days
- Bid adjustment: +50-75%
- Ad message: Category highlights, bestsellers, discovery-focused
- Expected CVR: 8-12%
Tier 4: Homepage/Blog Visitors
- Who: Visited site but minimal engagement
- Lookback window: 60 days
- Bid adjustment: +20-30%
- Ad message: Brand awareness, value proposition, top offers
- Expected CVR: 4-6%
Tier 5: Past Purchasers (Retention)
- Who: Existing customers
- Lookback window: 180 days
- Bid adjustment: +150-200%
- Ad message: Cross-sells, upsells, loyalty rewards, new arrivals
- Expected CVR: 20-30%
Advanced Audience Exclusions (The Secret Sauce)
What you exclude is as important as what you include. Strategic exclusions prevent wasted spend:
- Exclude recent converters: Don't show ads to people who bought in last 7 days (unless cross-selling)
- Exclude competitors: Exclude audiences who visited competitor sites (if using in-market audiences)
- Exclude low-value pages: People who only visited careers, support, or legal pages
- Exclude short visits: Visitors who spent <10 seconds (likely accidental clicks)
RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads): Double Your Search ROI
RLSA lets you adjust bids and messaging for past visitors searching on Google. This is remarketing on steroids:
- Bid up on high-intent keywords: If someone visited your product page then searches "[your product]", bid 300% more
- Target broader keywords profitably: Generic terms too expensive for cold traffic become profitable for warm audiences
- Custom ad copy: "Welcome back! Your [product] is still available" vs. generic prospecting ads
- Competitor conquesting: Bid on competitor names for people who visited your site
Real example: For a SaaS client, we bid on "project management software" (highly competitive) only for past website visitors. CPA dropped from $247 to $89 while maintaining volume.
Dynamic Remarketing: Show the Exact Products They Viewed
Dynamic remarketing automatically creates ads featuring the specific products each user viewed. Implementation requires:
- Product feed: CSV/XML feed with product ID, name, price, image URL, landing page
- Event tracking: Enhanced e-commerce tracking in Google Analytics or custom parameters
- Ad templates: Responsive display ads with dynamic product insertion
- Business data: Upload to Google Ads to enable product-level targeting
Performance lift: Dynamic remarketing increases CTR by 2-3x and conversion rates by 40% vs. static remarketing ads.
The Remarketing Ad Sequence Strategy
Instead of showing the same ad repeatedly, sequence your message based on time since last visit:
- Days 1-2: Direct product reminder ("Still interested in [product]?")
- Days 3-5: Social proof and reviews ("Join 10,000+ happy customers")
- Days 6-10: Urgency and limited-time offers ("Last chance: 20% off ends tonight")
- Days 11-30: Education and value content ("See how [product] solves [pain point]")
- Days 31+: Aggressive discounts or final-effort campaigns
Budget Allocation: How Much to Spend on Remarketing
Our recommended budget split based on total Google Ads spend:
| Campaign Type | Budget % | Expected ROAS |
|---|---|---|
| Prospecting (cold traffic) | 50-60% | 250-350% |
| High-intent remarketing (Tiers 1-2) | 25-30% | 700-1000% |
| Mid-funnel remarketing (Tiers 3-4) | 10-15% | 400-600% |
| Customer retention (Tier 5) | 5-10% | 500-800% |
Frequency Capping: Don't Annoy Your Prospects
Showing the same ad 50 times/day creates banner blindness and brand damage. Our frequency cap guidelines:
- Display ads: Maximum 5 impressions per user per day
- YouTube ads: Maximum 2-3 impressions per user per day
- Discovery ads: Maximum 3 impressions per user per day
- Search ads (RLSA): No frequency cap needed (shown only when user searches)
Cross-Platform Remarketing: Google + Facebook + Email
The most effective remarketing uses multiple touchpoints across platforms:
- Google Display: Visual product reminders across 3M+ websites
- YouTube: Video ads for brand storytelling and social proof
- Google Search (RLSA): Capture high-intent searches from warm audiences
- Facebook/Instagram: Social feed ads with user-generated content
- Email: Automated cart abandonment and browse abandonment emails
Combined impact: Multi-platform remarketing increases conversion rates by 60% vs. single-platform approaches.
Measuring Remarketing Success: Key Metrics
Track these metrics to optimize remarketing performance:
- ROAS by audience tier: Ensure each tier delivers positive returns
- View-through conversions: People who saw but didn't click your ad before converting
- Time to conversion: How many days from first visit to purchase
- Frequency: Average impressions per user (watch for diminishing returns)
- Audience overlap: Ensure audiences don't compete against themselves
"Stratagem's remarketing strategy transformed our Google Ads performance. By implementing their 5-tier audience framework, our overall ROAS increased from 320% to 580% in just 60 days. The cart abandonment campaigns alone generated $180K in recovered revenue."
Jennifer Park
E-commerce Director, Luxe Home Furnishings
Get Expert Remarketing Campaign Management
Building high-performance remarketing campaigns requires technical expertise, strategic thinking, and continuous optimization. Our Google Premier Partner team manages $1M+ in monthly remarketing spend across 50+ clients.
Contact us for a free remarketing audit, or learn more about our Google Ads management services.