Are you using Remarketing Lists for Seach Ads? Using them with Google Analytics can open up a whole world of opportunity. In this presentation I'll share some tactics for using RLSAs and Google Analytics, as well as some set-up instructions and tips. #FOS17
2. Over the last few years,
the search landscape has been evolving
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
3. It’s no longer all about keywords
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
4. The search landscape now includes many
audience based marketing features
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
5. The first example of audience based marketing within
search ads was the release of Remarketing Lists for
Search Ads (RLSAs) back in 2013
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
7. The biggest update to RLSAs has been their
integration with Google Analytics remarketing lists
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
8. And that’s what I’m going to be talking bout today…
An understanding of why using Google Analytics code for RLSAs is better than
using the AdWords code
How to activate your Google Analytics code to use it for RLSAs
How to update your Privacy Policy to comply with RLSAs terms
Tactics for using RLSAs that you can apply to your own website
Instructions for setting up these RLSA tactics
Handy tips for getting the most out of your RLSAs
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
9. The biggest update to RLSAs has been their
integration with Google Analytics remarketing lists
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
11. What are Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSAs)?
Lists of your
website visitors
that you can apply
on top of search
campaigns
Tailor your bids
when members of
the audience
are searching
Show specific
ad copy
when members of
the audience
are searching
You can decide
specific keywords
which only tigger
when members of
the audience
are searching
12. RLSAs
still requires the
user to be
searching using
the keywords you
are bidding on
Think of RLSAs
as another layer
of targeting you
can apply to
search ads
Traditional
display remarketing
‘pushes’ ads at
your previous
website visitors
RLSAs do not
‘push’ search ads
in front of users
regardless
of what they are
searching for
What’s the main difference between Remarketing
Lists for Search Ads and traditional display ad
remarketing?
13. Why should you use RLSAs?
You can
capitalise on
existing
relationships
with your
website
visitors
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
15. The integration of the Google Analytics
remarketing tag for RLSAs means
you can now target by…
Product BrandAd ContentExit Page
Transactions
Revenue Days to
Transaction
Product
Quantity Removed
from Basket
Product Category
Date of First
Session
No of Sessions &
Duration
Traffic Source
Campaign, source, medium
16. AdWords remarketing set-up lists VS
Google Analytics remarketing lists set-up
Analytics uses
standard
analytics code
AdWords tag
requires
AdWords tag
code
You can keep
both codes on
your site
AdWords tag
needs custom
parameters to
target beyond
page views
17. Get started by activating the remarketing function
in your Google Analytics tag
If you
want to use
RLSAs on an
app see these
instructions:
http://bit.ly/23H3Wc8
18. State how
third
party vendors
including Google
show your
ads online
Appropriately
describe how
you’re using
remarketing
State how
users
can opt out of
Google &
third parties
cookies
Sate how
Google & third
party vendors
use cookies
to do this.
Don’t forget to update your Privacy Policy
19. Here’s an example…
We use cookies from Google and other third parties to allow us to track your visits and
behaviour on our website. These are remarketing cookies, and they allow us to show you more
relevant personalised advertising from us (via Google and other third parties) as you browse
the internet and search on Google.
You can opt out of Google’s cookies here: http://bit.ly/1LLgLpM
You can opt out of Double Click cookies here: http://bit.ly/2jP6UcK
You can opt out of other third party’s cookies here: http://bit.ly/1kWunFq
This is only
an example!
20.
21. Increase bids for users who have visited your
site the optimum number of times to purchase
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
22. KLM might find that most of
their users visit at least 5 times before booking
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
They could
increase bids
if the user
searching has
visited >5
times
23. 1. Analyse your Path Length report in Google Analytics:
What is the
optimum number
of interactions?
24. 2. Create this RLSA list in Google Analytics under the Admin then Audiences tab:
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
25. 3. Click the red +Audience button, then choose which AdWords account you want this RLSA accessible
from:
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
26. 4. You’ll see Google’s pre-defined audience options, but you need to click ‘Create New’:
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
27. 5. Go to the Conditions tab, and then choose the number of sessions the user must have had, and that
they have zero transactions:
Conditions:
Sessions
= more than 5
AND
Transactions = 0
28. Remember to use ‘AND’ not
‘or’ if you want the users on
your remarketing list to be
qualified by both of the
conditions you have set.
29. 6. Choose your list membership duration:
This is how many days
users will remain on
your remarketing list.
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
30. 7. Apply the list within the AdWords Audiences tab, to your existing ad groups:
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
31. 8. Choosing the bid only setting when you apply this list:
This means
ads will show to
anyone searching,
as well as your
audience
More information on Target and Bid and Bid Only settings:
http://bit.ly/2kQtm3r
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
32. 9. Set a bid adjustment for your RLSA audience so your bids are adjusted
when this audience are searching using your keywords:
What should
your bid
adjustment be
set at?
http://bit.ly/1SWVWZO
(Credit Periscopix)
33. Always apply the audience to
the ad groups and let it gather
conversion data before you set
bid adjustments.
34. Generate awareness via Facebook ads,
then move these users closer to purchase by bidding
on broader keywords in search, with bespoke ad text
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
35. Tony & Guy could run Facebook ads for awareness,
and then use RLSAs to reach these users when they
are searching for new hairstyle ideas on Google
36. 1. Target new audiences on Facebook:
Remember to
use UTM tagging
on the
Facebook ads:
http://bit.ly/2dkhHL1
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
37. 2. Create your RLSA list in Google Analytics based on the UTM tags you attached
to your Facebook ad URLs
Traffic source:
• Campaign
• Medium
• Source
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
38. 3. Create a new AdWords campaign and ad groups, bidding on generic keywords:
These
keywords
will reach
users further
up the path to
purchase
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
39. 4. Create custom ad text designed for these users who are higher up the path to purchase and still in
research mode:
Think about
how the
ad message
can move them
closer to
purchase
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
40. 4. Apply the RLSA list within the audiences tab, choosing the ‘target and bid’
setting:
This means
ads will only
show when
the searcher
is on your
RLSA list
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
41. Use RLSAs & Dynamic Search Ads together to
show ads for your entire product inventory, if the
searcher is a regular customer
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
42. Amazon could show text ads for any of the products
on it’s site, but only if the user searching
is a regular customer
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
43. Create this list in the same way as before, but choose ‘transactions per user’ is more than 5 for
example. Then apply this list as target and bid on your DSA campaign.
Conditions:
• Transactions
per user = >5
• List duration
= 4 weeks
Apply this as
target & bid on
your Dynamic
Search Ads
campaign
44. Let Google do the hard work for you,
by using Smart Lists
You need
>500
transactions
per month
& 10,000 daily
pageviews
Smart Lists
work best on
ecommerce
accounts
The list
considers:
location, device,
browser,
referrer,
duration,
If not, they’ll
optimise based
on similar
businesses
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
45. H&M could apply a Smart List to existing search &
shopping ad groups with a positive bid adjustment if
the Smart List conversion rate is higher than average
46. This is a
pre-defined list
Create this RLSA list:
Apply it as
bid only to your
existing ad
groups then
set bid
adjustments
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
47. Show users who engaged with your email marketing
specific ad text when they are searching on Google
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
48. The Body Shop could show bespoke ad text
when the user searching previously arrived on their
site via a particular email campaign
49. Create this RLSA list:
Traffic source:
• Campaign
• Medium
• Source
Apply this
list as
target & bid on
new ad groups
with custom
ad text
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
50. Increase bids for users who clicked a promotional
ad but didn’t convert
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
51. Boots could increase bids for users
who clicked their promotional ad but didn’t convert
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
52. Conditions:
• Ad content
• Transactions
Create this RLSA list:
Apply this list
as bid only
on existing
ad groups
53. Increase bids if the user searching has generated
a high conversion value for you historically
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
54. Ikea could increase bids when they know the
user searching is someone who spends more than
average when they purchase
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
56. Increase your bids when the person searching is
similar to your existing customers
They
include
people with
similar
characteristics
Google
automatically
Create Similar
Audiences The larger the
original list,
the better
they work
Based on
browsing
activity in the
last 30 days
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
57. HEMA could use similar audiences of their
existing customers as a bid adjustment on their
existing campaigns
58. Find this RLSA list:
This is a
pre-defined list
that will appear
automatically
Apply this as
bid only on
existing ad
groups
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
59. Upsell on products you wouldn’t
normally bid on, because you know the user
has already purchased something related from you
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
60. Pandora might not usually advertise
jewellery boxes, unless the user searching has
recently purchased some jewellery from them
61. Create this RLSA list:
Conditions:
Transactions > 1,
and set the list
duration for 30
days
Apply this as
target & bid on
new ad groups
of your target
keywords
62. Increase bids on users searching for brands
that are similar to other brands they have purchased
from you in the past
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
63. ASOS could increase bids on other sports brands, if
they know the user searching has previously bought
something from them by another sports brand
This could be
applied across
their search and
shopping
campaigns
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
64. Create this RLSA list:
Conditions:
• Product brand
contains
Apply this as
bid only on
existing ad
groups
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
65. Increase bids for users who completed a micro goal,
but not your main macro goal
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
66. ING could increase bids for users who used
their mortgage calculator, but didn’t make
an appointment with their mortgage advisors
67. Conditions:
• At least 1
micro-goal
• No macro-
goals
Create this RLSA list:
Apply this as
bid only on
existing ad
groups
69. RLSA audiences work with Conversion Optimiser
and other automated bidding strategies
Conversion
Optimiser
Target CPA,
& ROAS will override
manual bid adjustments &
automatically
adjust your bids for
RLSA audiences
you apply
Enhanced CPC
will make bid adjustments
on top of any adjustments
you have already set.
Avoid audience
overlap
on any ad groups
using automated
bidding if you
are applying
multiple RLSAs
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
70. Remember that RLSA bid adjustments stack up,
just like other bid adjustments
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
71. Test your list durations
The maximum
list duration
for RLSAs is
180 days
Use the time
lag report and
consider your
average sales
cycle
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
72. How to get to your Time Lag Report in Google Analytics:
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
73. Your lists need at least 1000 members
You might not
be able to use
them for low
traffic pages
@Tara_Dee_West / @EtchUK
74. You can have up to 2,000 audiences per
Google Analytics account
Over the last few years, the search landscape has been evolving…
It’s no longer all about targeting with keywords…
It now includes a lot more ‘people based marketing’ tactics
One of the very first steps that AdWords took towards people based marketing was the introduction of RLSAs back in 2013
And since then, we’ve seen RLSAs go from strength to strength, with lots of new functionalities and features…
And since then, we’ve seen RLSAs go from strength to strength, with lots of new functionalities and features…
The biggest update to the functionality of RLSAs has been their integration with the Google Analytics remarketing code - Despite this being a relatively quiet announcement from Google, the impact of this update was huge!
It meant that advertisers could use almost all the data in their Google Analytics account for RLSAs, instead of being bound by the standard AdWords RLSA code which are largely based on targeting by page views
It’s the opportunities that this update gave us that I’m going to be talking about today…
I’ll go over tactics and examples for using RLSAs with the GA code, and give some handy set-up tips and tricks
Now you know the basics of RLSAs let’s get started in a bit more detail…
Now you know the basics of RLSAs let’s get started in a bit more detail…
Who here already knows what RLSAs are?
Do any of you already use them?
RLSAs are basically like lists of users who have visited your website, which you can then layer onto your search campaigns to dictate:
what your bid should be if someone searching has previously visited your site
what keywords should trigger your ads if the person searching has previously visited your site
what ad text they would see if they’ve previously visited your site
The key is to understanding what they are is to remember that unlike traditional display remarketing where you follow the user around online and push your display ads to them, RLSAs still require the user to be searching using the keywords you are bidding on. They do not ‘push’ search ads in front of people simply because they have previously visited your site. The user must still be searching on Google and using the keywords you’re bidding on.
The key is to understanding what they are is to remember that unlike traditional display remarketing where you follow the user around online and push your display ads to them, RLSAs still require the user to be searching using the keywords you are bidding on. They do not ‘push’ search ads in front of people simply because they have previously visited your site. The user must still be searching on Google and using the keywords you’re bidding on
Why should you use RLSAs?
The main benefit is that they allow you to capitalise on your existing relationships with your website visitors
These people are pre-qualified for you; you know when they visited your site, how many times, and what pages they looked at.
This information is invaluable, and using RLSAs you can use this information to tailor your search campaigns based on what you know about the user
The result is some highly relevant, highly targeted campaigns which often have really high conversion rates
As I said, the integration of GA and RLSAs means you can now create lists based on almost all the data in Google Analytics, from traffic source to transaction value
So why would you use Google Analytics remarketing code instead of AdWords remarketing code?
And It’s easier than ever before to set it the code up
Just go to the Admin tab, and then tracking info, and data collection.
Toggle the switch next to remarketing to say ‘on’
That’s it!
If you want to use RLSA lists based on users of your app, you’ll need to customise the GA code on your site, which you can learn about here https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2444872?hl=en
Describe how you’re using remarketing
Describe the third parties which serve your ads
Provide links on how to opt out
Now we’re going to move on to some examples of tactics for using RLSAs
For the first couple of tactics I’ll go into detail on how to set them up, and then those set-up instructions should be applicable to all the other tactics too
IMAGE:http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-287726324/stock-photo-soccer-field-with-the-text-tactics.html?src=IPAxilBX6JFgX0YhlYbxuw-1-94
Many transactions occur after a user has visited your site more than once (maybe they’ve been comparison shopping for example)
You can look at the optimum number of times most users visit your site before making a conversion, and increase your bids when they have reached that level of visits because you know they are more likely to convert that time.
For example KLM might know that their users visit their site at least 5 times on average before booking
So they could increase bids if the user searching is someone who has visited their site at least 5 times,
Because they know that person is likely to be close to purchasing
Analyse your Path Length report to see what the optimum number of sessions before conversion is
Create this RLSA list in Google Analytics under the Admin then Audiences tab:
Click the red +Audience button, then choose which AdWords account you want this RLSA accessible from:
Create new
Conditions tab
Sessions >5
Transactions = 0
Choose your membership duration
Apply the list within the audiences tab to your existing ad groups
Choose bid only – means ads will show to anyone searching with your KWs, but when the searcher is also on your RLSA lists your bids will be adjusted
Set the bid adjustment you’d like to use when members of this audience are searching using the KWs you’re bidding on
It’s a sanity check, because although in theory your GA data has shown that people who visit 5 times or more convert more, it’s good to apply the list without any bid adjustments and see this for yourself, and then add bid adjustments once you’ve confirmed it’s the case.
This applies to all bid adjustment RLSA tactics
Facebook is a great platform for generating interest in your products or services amongst an audience who may not even realise they want them yet!
You can run a campaign on Facebook and generate lots of cost effective traffic, and then use RLSAs to bid on more general search terms that they might be using to search, and show bespoke ad copy based on their stage in the purchase process
For example Tony&Guy could run Facebook ads to their target demographic with inspiration for new hair styles
Some of this audience will click through to the site
They might not be ready to actually book a hair cut / colour yet, but just be looking for inspiration
Tony &Guy would track these users using UTM tags on the end of their Facebook ads, so they can identify the traffic from this particular campaign
Then when those users are searching on Google for terms that T&G might not unusually bid on, like ‘hair cut inspiration’ they can bid on them but only in instances where the user has visited their site as a result of the Facebook campaign
These text ads could have bespoke messaging too – prompting the user to book a consultation with a stylist for hair cut inspiration
Egg this ad prompts them to make a free consultation appointment
Some consumers are creatures of habbit.
Even if they can find the same product cheaper on other websites, they’d rather buy it from the site they know and trust.
You can capitalise on this behaviour by combining RLSA lists and Dynamic Search Ads to always show ads for this particular customer type, regardless of what they are searching for and whether you already have search ads set-up for them.
They might not normally bid on their entire product inventory, but if the person searching is Amazon could use dynamic search ads, layered with RLSAs to show text ads whenever I’m searching on Google for something that matches a product on their website, because they know I make regular purchases from them so even if the product is cheaper elsewhere and not something they usually bid on because it doesn’t usually sell, they can bid on it because they know I’m likely to buy it from them anyway
For this list you want to say the number of transactions has been at least 5, or whatever number you want them to have made, and then say the list duration is 4 weeks for example, or however long you want those 5 transactions to have taken place over.
Very rarely would I say trust Google to do the work for you, but I’ve seen good results for Smart Lists as RLSAs when they have been used properly.
They work best on ecoms sites
You need 500+ ecoms transactions a month and 10k daily page views
If you don’t reach this, Google will use data from similar businesses to create your smart lists, which is why it’s important to remember this and use them properly otherwise it’ll be based on irrelevant data and you’ll get rubbish results
The data it optimises on includes device, location, browser, page depth, session duration, referer etc
For example H&M might find that because they have a lot of conversion data, smart lists could work well for them.
They could create the list an then apply it to existing campaigns,
Setting a positive bid adjustment if the audience has a higher conversion rate than their standard campaign
Smart lists are a pre defined option on the first screen after you click to create a remarketing list, so they are super easy to make!
It doesn’t matter what you set the list duration for as Analytics updates the list daily depending on performance
If you’re testing promotional ad copy in your search ads, you can increase bids or specifically target users who clicked your promotional ad copy but didn’t convert
For example, Boots were offering a discount on their Mac Jacobs Daisy perfume and provide the user with a code in the ad copy
If a user clicks the ad but doesn’t convert, they could either increase bids when this user is searching on the brand again, or create a campaign specifically to reach only these users which would have bespoke ad copy and landing pages relating to the offer
The list could also be applied to their shopping campaigns
To create this list, go to the Google Analytics Audience section as you normally would for creating a remarketing list, and choose the ‘custom’ option
Then under the ‘Conditions’ tab, select:
Ad Content = whatever your promo code / messaging was
Transactions = <0
Time on site = >30 (this makes sure they didn’t just leave really quick because maybe they clicked by accident or it’s not what they’re looking for!)
Hit apply!
For example Waitrose could increase their bids when the user searching spends more than average usually
It’s also a great way to keep your high value customers away from competitors because they might search for a generic term like ‘online grocery shopping companies’ and you can make sure you’ve got the best visibility when they search and could find a competitor ad
Create this list under ecommerce
Remember to change the default ‘user’ option to session as you want revenue in a single session, rather than cumulative for a user
Hayma (I hope I pronounced that right!) could use similar audiences
Smart lists are a pre defined option on the first screen after you click to create a remarketing list, so they are super easy to make!
It doesn’t matter what you set the list duration for as Analytics updates the list daily depending on performance
If you know someone’s purchase history, you can make pretty well informed guesses about what they might purchase next!
RLSAs allow you to advertise on the products that you maybe wouldn’t always advertise on, because they have low conversion rates for example, because you know the user searching has already purchased a related product from you
For example Pandora might not usually bid on silver cleaning kits,
but they could use RLSAs to still bid on these items when the user searching is someone who has recently bought a silver bracelet from them
Create this under the conditions tab again, choosing product as the criteria, and then whatever the product is that you’re basing it on, in this case silver bracelet.
Apply the list to an ad group about silver cleaning cloths, using the target and bid setting, so the ads only show IF the user is on the remarketing list
This applies to ecommerce sites who sell multiple brands…
Because you can create lists based on the brands people have bought in the passed, you can adjust bids on their future searches.
For example ASOS sell lots of different petite clothing brnds
They could increase their bids on anyone searching on their petite brands, if they know the user has previously purchased from one of their other petite brands, because they’re more likely to buy from a petite brand again
Create this list under ‘conditions’ and choose ‘product brand’ as the criteria
Who knows what I mean by a Macro goal and a Micro goal?
Perfect
Okay, so a Macro goal is a really valuable goal on your site, like filling in a contact form or completing a transaction, whereas a micro goal is an action on your site that isn’t as valuable, for staying on the site more than 5 minutes or viewing an important page
You can increase bids for people searching who completed a micro goal, such as viewing a key page or staying on the site for over ten minutes, but who have not yet completed your macro conversion (like purchasing or signing up)
Because they’ve completed a micro goal, it’s an indication that they are more likely to go on and complete a macro goal, and aren’t one of the people who have simply changed their mind
This means the user is more qualified, because they completed a micro goal which shows a stronger likelihood of the conversion being completed
If you don’t have a mico goal being tracked such as a whitepaper download or a mortgage calculator, then use a target time on site as a goal, for example anyone that spends more than 3 minutes on your Services page could be considered to have completed a micro goal and expressed interest.
Create this list under the conditions tab again
Select the micro goal so the user has completed it at least once
Select the macro goal so there are zero completions
Make sure you’ve changed to users rather than sessions or hits, because the user might have performed the goal in another session so it doesn't matter about a particular session, it matters overall as a user
In this next section I’ll share some of the common questions I get asked about RLSAs, or things I wish I had know before I used them!
Using RLSAs with conversion optimiser
If you apply an RLSA list to an ad group using conversion optimiser, target CPA, or target ROAS bidding strategies, it will use the predicted performance of the list audience to make bid adjustment accordingly and ignore any manual bid adjustments you’ve set.
If you apply RLSAs to an ad group using enhanced CPC, the enhanced CPC bid adjustments will occur on top of any manual RLSA bid adjustments you have applied.
If you’re applying multiple RLSA lists to an ad group which uses an automated bidding strategy that I have mentioned, then make sure that there is no overlap on your lists, otherwise the automated strategy gets confused!
If in doubt, only apply one list per ad group if you are using one of these features
Remember to consider that RLSA bid adjustments behave just like all other bid adjustments and stack on top of each other,
So if you have location, device or scheduling bid adjustments, Google will start with the lowest bid adjustment and multiply your base bid by that, then they’ll take whatever the result it and apply your next lowest bid multiplier to that (not your original base bid), until they eventually apply the highest bid multiplier to the already high new bid.
The most your bid will ever be increased by is 900% even if the multipliers would have it increase further
You can use lists with longer durations, but Google will make those users not eligible on the lists once 180 days is reached
This shows you how many days after first visiting your site users normally convert.
You can use lists with longer durations, but Google will make those users not eligible on the lists once 180 days is reached
You can use lists with longer durations, but Google will make those users not eligible on the lists once 180 days is reached
Get started today!
Even if you don’t have time to come up with a full blown RLSA strategy, create the lists and apply them to your campaigns so they can start gathering performance data
Then you when you do have time, they’re ready to go!