Here’s a tip that brings back sales you’ve already paid for: stalk your customers using remarketing. In a non-creepy way, of course.
Most people don’t buy on their first visit to your Shopify store. Maybe the phone rang. Maybe it wasn’t payday yet. Maybe they were still comparing options. Without remarketing, you run the risk of being forgotten, and the money you spent getting them there is wasted.
Google Ads remarketing gives you a second chance. This guide covers what it is, six ways it grows your sales, how to set it up on Shopify, and what to measure so it pays for itself.
The short version
- Remarketing shows ads to people who have already visited your store, on sites like Gmail, YouTube, TradeMe and other websites that show Google ads.
- It works best for shoppers who viewed a product or added to cart and left, and for past customers who are ready to buy again.
- Dynamic remarketing shows each person the exact products they looked at, pulled from your Shopify product feed.
- Fix your website first. Remarketing brings people back, but if your store doesn’t convert, you pay twice for the same lost sale.
What Is Google Ads Remarketing?
Remarketing (Google sometimes calls it retargeting) is the process of tagging a person’s browser when they visit a page or take an action on your website, like viewing a product or adding it to their cart and then leaving. You can then show that person an ad for the product they were looking at as they browse other websites.
Here’s an example of remarketing in action. I was on The Iconic’s website looking for a new swimsuit for a holiday in Hawaii. Now whenever I log in to Gmail or browse other websites, I see Iconic banner ads featuring the exact pair of togs I looked at. That’s remarketing: subtle, powerful and effective.
Your ads appear on websites that show Google Display ads, like Gmail, YouTube, TradeMe and thousands of content sites, reminding your potential customer about your product and increasing your chances of making the sale.
Why First Visits Rarely Turn Into Sales
A shopper may visit your store with genuine interest and leave without buying for all sorts of reasons. They got distracted, needed time to compare, or weren’t yet convinced your product was worth the price. It usually takes several touchpoints before someone decides to buy.
Remarketing keeps your store in their mind while they make that decision. It can take them straight back to the product page they were looking at, so coming back to buy takes one click.
6 Ways Google Ads Remarketing Helps Shopify Stores Grow
1. Recover abandoned carts
People who added a product to their cart are your warmest audience. Show them the product again, answer the doubt that stopped them (shipping, returns, sizing), and give them a simple reason to finish the order.
2. Show people the exact products they viewed
Dynamic remarketing automatically builds ads from your product feed, showing each person the products they looked at. If someone browsed a pair of shoes, they see those shoes, with the price and a link straight back to that page. Once your tag and product feed are connected, Google updates the ads for you.
3. Spend more on the people most likely to buy
Not every visitor is worth the same. Split your audiences by what people did: viewed a product, added to cart, started checkout, or bought. Someone who started checkout yesterday deserves a bigger bid than someone who glanced at your homepage a month ago. Shorter time windows (for example 7 days for cart abandoners, 30 days for product viewers) keep your budget on the people still deciding.
4. Bring past customers back to buy again
Remarketing isn’t only for people who didn’t buy. Show past customers related products, new arrivals or refills when they’re due. A repeat sale costs far less than finding a new customer, and it’s where most of your profit comes from.
5. Stay ahead of your competitors
While a shopper compares you with other stores, your ads keep your brand in front of them. Every time they see you, your store becomes more familiar and more trusted, so when they’re ready to buy, you’re the store they remember.
6. Use messages that speak to where they are
A good remarketing ad speaks to what that person already knows about you. Lead with benefits, not just features: how the product makes their life easier or solves their problem. Use clear calls to action like “Shop Now” or “Return to Your Cart”, keep your branding consistent so the ad is instantly recognisable, and use a time-limited offer only when you need to, so you’re not training people to wait for a discount.
How to Set Up Google Ads Remarketing on Shopify
- Add the Google tag to your store. On Shopify, the Google & YouTube app connects your store to Google Ads and Merchant Center and adds the tracking for you.
- Connect your product feed through Merchant Center if you want dynamic ads that show the exact products people viewed.
- Create your audience segments based on behaviour, for example product viewers, cart abandoners, checkout starters and past buyers.
- Build ads (images, text or video) that speak directly to each audience.
- Set up the campaign to target those audiences, with budgets weighted towards your warmest segments.
- Check your conversion tracking, then track your results and keep optimising.
Running Performance Max? It uses your remarketing audiences as signals too, but it mixes them with new customers. Watch how much of your budget goes to people who were already going to buy.
Fix Your Website Before You Turn Up the Traffic
Before turning on any remarketing or traffic campaigns, make sure your website is built to convert. If your site isn’t optimised, you’re wasting your ad budget sending people back to a store that didn’t sell to them the first time. Fix the website first, then turn up the traffic. That’s how you get the best return on your ad spend and build an ecommerce business you can scale. Our conversion optimisation strategy guide shows where to start.
What to Measure
A remarketing campaign isn’t set and forget. Track these numbers every month:
- Click-through rate: how well your ads catch attention.
- Conversion rate: the share of people who buy after clicking.
- Landing page to purchase rate: whether the page you send them to does its job.
- Cost per sale: what each order costs you in ad spend.
- Return on ad spend: revenue for every dollar spent.
- The most you can afford to pay for a customer: your cost per sale should sit under this number.
- How often customers come back: how many times will they buy from you over the next year? Five years?
Test different images, copy and offers, keep what works, and drop what doesn’t.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Google Ads remarketing?
Remarketing shows Google ads to people who have already visited your website, as they browse Gmail, YouTube and other sites that show Google ads. It reminds them about the products they looked at and brings them back to buy.
Is remarketing the same as retargeting?
Yes. Google uses the word remarketing, and Meta and most other platforms say retargeting. Both mean showing ads to people who have already interacted with your business.
How do I set up remarketing on Shopify?
Install the Google & YouTube app to connect your store to Google Ads and Merchant Center, create audiences such as product viewers and cart abandoners, then build a campaign that targets those audiences with ads made for them.
What is dynamic remarketing?
Dynamic remarketing builds ads automatically from your product feed, so each person sees the exact products they viewed on your store, with prices and a link straight back to that product.
How long should someone stay in a remarketing audience?
It depends on how long people take to decide. As a starting point, many stores use about 7 days for cart abandoners and 30 days for product viewers, then adjust based on their own sales data.
Does remarketing work if my website doesn’t convert?
Not well. Remarketing brings people back to your store, but if the store didn’t convince them the first time, you pay again for the same lost sale. Fix your website first, then turn up the traffic.
Want Help With Remarketing?
If you’re not using Google Ads remarketing yet, or you’ve set it up but aren’t seeing the results you hoped for, you’re likely leaving money on the table. We help Shopify store owners set up remarketing that converts, segment audiences by behaviour, create ads that feel relevant rather than annoying, and test and scale what works.
Want it done for you? See our Google Ads management service. Want to learn to do it yourself? Our Google Ads training gives you one-to-one sessions over Zoom, recorded so you can rewatch them, and the confidence to run your own campaigns.
