Building Smart Audiences in GA4 for Retargeting Campaigns
Estimated Reading Time: 3 Mins 2 Sec
Retargeting is one of the most powerful ways to re-engage users who have interacted with your brand. But to make it work, you need to target the right audience — not just any past visitor. That’s where Google Analytics 4 (GA4) comes in with its advanced audience-building features.
In this blog, we’ll explore how you can build smart audiences in GA4 that help improve your retargeting performance and boost conversions.
Why Retargeting Needs Smart Audiences
In traditional setups, marketers often rely on broad retargeting lists — like "all website visitors" or "cart abandoners."
But GA4 allows you to go deeper:
You can build audiences based on specific user behavior, engagement level, conversion likelihood, or even predicted actions (thanks to machine learning).
These audiences can be synced with Google Ads, giving you high-quality segments for better ROI.
How to Build Audiences in GA4
Step 1: Go to Admin > Audiences
In your GA4 property, navigate to Admin > Audiences under the "Property" column and click “New audience.”
Step 2: Choose a Template or Create a Custom Audience
You can start with suggested templates like:
Recently active users
Purchasers
Users who started checkout but didn’t finish
Or click “Create a custom audience” to define your own.
Step 3: Define the Conditions
This is where GA4 becomes powerful. You can build conditions using:
Events (e.g. view_item, add_to_cart, purchase)
Page location (e.g. visited specific URLs)
Session duration
Device category
Source/medium
Example:
Create an audience for users who:
Viewed a product page
Added to cart
Did not complete purchase in the last 7 days
This group is perfect for a dynamic retargeting campaign in Google Ads.
Use Predictive Audiences
GA4 also supports predictive audiences based on machine learning. If your property meets eligibility (enough traffic and events), you can create audiences like:
Users likely to purchase in the next 7 days
Users likely to churn
These predictive segments can be gold for:
Targeting high-value users
Preventing drop-offs
Share Audiences with Google Ads
Once your audience is created:
Make sure GA4 is linked to your Google Ads account.
Go to Admin > Product Links > Google Ads and confirm the link.
GA4 audiences will automatically become available in Google Ads for use in search, display, and YouTube campaigns.
Tips for Smart Retargeting
Segment by intent: Use actions like "started checkout" or "spent more than 2 minutes" to find high-intent users.
Exclude recent buyers: Avoid annoying those who just converted.
Combine audiences with ad creatives: Tailor your ad message to match the stage in the customer journey.
Test predictive audiences: Let Google’s machine learning help you identify high-probability converters.
Final Thoughts
Building smart audiences in GA4 helps you retarget the right users — not just anyone who landed on your site. With behavioral conditions, event-based rules, and predictive analytics, you can make your retargeting more efficient and more profitable.
Need help setting up GA4 audiences or syncing with Google Ads? Contact us now!
