How to Set Up the Google Ads Remarketing Tag with Google Tag Manager

To set up Google Ads remarketing with Google Tag Manager, you add two tags in GTM: the Google tag (with your Google Ads tag ID, such as AW-123456789) and the Google Ads Remarketing tag (with only the number, 123456789, as the conversion ID). Both fire on all pages. Then you test in Preview mode, publish the container, and build audiences of website visitors in Google Ads.

The setup moved around in the Google Ads interface: the tag no longer sits where many older tutorials show it. This guide follows the current screens, explains why the conversion ID field trips people up, and shows which audiences to build once the tag is live.

Quick steps

1. Install Google Tag Manager on every page of your site.
2. In Google Ads, go to Tools > Data manager > Google tag and copy your tag ID (AW-...).
3. In GTM, add a Google tag with that ID, triggered on all pages.
4. Add a Google Ads Remarketing tag with the conversion ID: the number only, without AW-. Trigger it on all pages.
5. If you have visitors from the EEA or UK, set up consent mode.
6. Test both tags in Preview mode, then Submit and Publish.
7. In Google Ads, create website visitor segments and use them in your campaigns.

How remarketing works

When someone visits your site, the Google tag and the remarketing tag record that visit for that person's browser or Google account, including which pages they saw. Google Ads then groups those visitors into audience segments you define, such as "viewed the e-bikes page in the last 30 days".

When the same person later browses a site that shows Google ads, watches YouTube, or searches on Google, your campaign can show them an ad, because they are in your segment. That is remarketing (also called retargeting): ads for people who already know you, which is why they usually convert better than ads to strangers.

Chrome still supports third-party cookies after Google dropped its plan to remove them, but browsers like Safari and Firefox block them, and privacy settings and consent choices cut lists further. So your audience will always be smaller than your traffic. That is normal.

Step 1: Install Google Tag Manager on your site

If GTM is already on your site, skip to Step 2.

1. In Google Tag Manager, create an account (usually your business name) and a container named after your website, with Web as the platform. One account can hold several containers, for example a web container and, later, a server container for server-side tracking.
2. GTM gives you two snippets: one for the <head> and one to place right after the opening <body> tag.

Adding the snippets on WordPress

You could paste the snippets into your theme's header.php, but I don't recommend it:

• Theme updates overwrite the file and remove your code.
• Many page builder layouts and "blank canvas" templates don't load the theme header at all, so the snippet never appears on those pages.

A code snippet plugin is safer. Header Footer Code Manager, WPCode and similar plugins all work the same way:

1. Add a new snippet named GTM head, set it to site wide, location header, and paste the first snippet.
2. Add another named GTM body, site wide, and paste the second snippet. If the plugin has a "body open" location, use it; otherwise the footer works, since that snippet is only a fallback for visitors with JavaScript turned off.
3. Clear any caching plugin, so visitors get the new code.

On Shopify, Wix, Squarespace and similar builders, use the platform's own GTM or custom code settings.

Check that GTM works

Click Preview in GTM, enter your site's address, and connect. If Tag Assistant opens your site and shows Connected, the container is installed correctly. You can also use GTM's built-in installation test, which shows a tick when it finds the container.

Step 2: Find your Google tag ID in Google Ads

In older versions of Google Ads you found the remarketing tag in Audience manager. Now it lives in Data manager:

1. In Google Ads, open Tools and go to Data manager.
2. Under connected products, open Google tag. A new account may say no data until the tag is installed.
3. Click Manage. Your tag ID is shown at the top, in the format AW-123456789.
4. Copy it.

The number after AW- is your conversion ID. You'll need both forms in the next steps.

Step 3: Add the Google tag in GTM

1. In GTM go to Tags > New.
2. Name it, for example Google tag - Google Ads.
3. Tag configuration: choose Google Ads > Google tag (in some containers it's listed simply as Google tag).
4. Tag ID: paste the full ID, AW-123456789.
5. Trigger: Initialization - All Pages, so it loads before other tags. All Pages also works.
6. Save.

The Google tag is the base: it loads Google's tracking library and collects page views, so Google Ads can build audiences by page.

Step 4: Add the Google Ads Remarketing tag

1. Tags > New, name it Google Ads - Remarketing.
2. Tag configuration: Google Ads > Google Ads Remarketing.
3. Conversion ID: paste the ID, then delete the AW- prefix, so only the number is left: 123456789.

This is where most people get stuck. If you leave AW- in the field, GTM shows a warning that it cannot detect whether a Google tag is in your container, and the tag may not link to your Google tag properly. Use the number only.

4. Conversion label: leave it empty. Labels are for conversion actions, not remarketing.
5. Send dynamic remarketing event data: leave it off for a normal website. It is for online stores that use a product feed, so ads can show the exact products a visitor viewed. If you run Shopping or a store with a Merchant Center feed, that is a separate setup with product IDs.
6. Trigger: All Pages.
7. Save.

If you also track Google Ads conversions in this container, add a Conversion Linker tag on all pages as well. It keeps the ad click information in first-party cookies, so conversions are attributed correctly.

Step 5: Consent mode for visitors in Europe

If you have visitors from the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, Google requires you to collect consent and pass it on with consent mode v2. Two signals matter for remarketing:

• ad_user_data: whether user data can be sent to Google for advertising.
• ad_personalization: whether the person can be added to remarketing lists and see personalised ads.

Without proper consent signals, your lists from those visitors stop growing. The usual way to set this up is a cookie consent platform with a GTM template (Cookiebot, CookieYes, Complianz, iubenda and others), which sets the defaults before your tags fire and updates them when the visitor chooses.

Step 6: Test, then publish

1. Click Preview in GTM and open your site.
2. In Tag Assistant, select the Container Loaded or page view event and check Tags Fired. You should see both Google tag - Google Ads and Google Ads - Remarketing.
3. Open two or three different pages and check that both fire on each one.
4. Back in GTM, click Submit, add a version name such as Google Ads remarketing, and Publish.

Preview mode only runs in your browser. Until you publish, the tags are not live for anyone else, and no audience will grow.

After publishing, the status in Google Ads Data manager can take a few hours to change from no data to active.

Step 7: Build your remarketing audiences

Once the tag collects data, Google Ads creates some default segments automatically, such as All visitors. For anything more useful, build your own:

1. Go to Tools > Shared library > Audience manager > Your data segments.
2. Click + and choose Website visitors.
3. Choose the segment type:
   • Visitors of a page: people who viewed pages that match a rule, for example a URL that contains /e-bikes.
   • Visitors of a page who also visited another page.
   • Visitors of a page who did not visit another page: the most useful one, for example viewed a product but never reached the thank-you page.
   • Visitors of a page with a specific tag: based on a particular tag or event.
4. Set the membership duration: how long someone stays in the segment after their last visit. The default is 30 days; match it to how long people take to decide.
5. Choose whether to prefill with people from the last 30 days, if that option is available, and save.

Example for an e-bike shop:

How big does a list need to be?

Since late 2025, Google's minimum is 100 active users in the last 30 days for remarketing lists on Search, Display and YouTube alike. Before that, Search and YouTube needed 1,000. A list below the minimum can be added to a campaign but won't serve yet.

Where to use your remarketing lists

• Display campaigns: the classic remarketing format, with image ads on sites and apps in Google's Display Network.
• YouTube and Demand Gen: video and image ads on YouTube, Gmail and Discover.
• Search: add the list in observation mode to see how past visitors perform and bid higher for them, or in targeting mode to only show search ads to past visitors.
• Performance Max: add segments as an audience signal to guide the campaign.

Always exclude people who already converted, unless the campaign is meant for them, and use frequency caps on Display so the same person doesn't see your ad 30 times a day. Being followed around the internet by one ad annoys people more than it convinces them.

Remarketing traffic usually converts better than new traffic, so judge it by its own cost per sale or ROAS, not mixed in with prospecting campaigns.

Remarketing restrictions

Google's personalised advertising policies limit remarketing in sensitive categories. For example, advertisers promoting health conditions, treatments or other sensitive topics generally can't use their own website visitor segments or customer lists, and nobody can target people under 18 with personalised ads. If your business is in one of these areas, check the policy before building lists, or your campaigns may be limited or disapproved.

Common problems and fixes

Frequently asked questions

Do I need both the Google tag and the remarketing tag?

Google recommends both. The Google tag provides page data for your website visitor segments, and the remarketing tag adds visitors to your lists.

What is the conversion ID for the remarketing tag?

The number in your Google Ads tag ID. If the tag ID is AW-123456789, the conversion ID is 123456789.

Where is the remarketing tag in Google Ads now?

In Tools > Data manager > Google tag. Older guides send you to Audience manager, where it used to be.

Do I need dynamic remarketing?

Only if you run an online store with a product feed and want ads to show the exact products people viewed. For lead generation and service sites, standard remarketing is enough.

How long until my remarketing list fills?

It starts collecting as soon as the published tags fire. A list needs at least 100 active users in the last 30 days before it can serve, so smaller sites may need a few weeks.

Can I use GA4 audiences for remarketing instead?

Yes. If GA4 is linked to Google Ads, audiences you build in GA4 can be shared with Google Ads. Many advertisers use both: GA4 for audiences based on engagement and events, and the Google Ads tag for page-based lists.

Is remarketing allowed for every business?

No. Sensitive categories such as health have restrictions under Google's personalised advertising policies, and personalised ads can't target people under 18.