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Alexander Todosuik
Alexander Todosuik

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Google Ads: How to Use RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads) 2026

RLSA lets you adjust bids and ads for users who have already visited your website.
This targeting layer turns your search campaigns into precision tools.

What RLSA Does

Standard search: Ads show based on keyword match only.
RLSA layer: Additionally filters by whether the user has visited your site (or specific pages).

This means you can:

  • Bid higher for past visitors searching your keywords (they already know you)
  • Show different ad copy to people who abandoned a cart vs. new users
  • Target keywords you would never bid on normally -- but only for your existing audience

RLSA Bid Adjustment Strategy

Visitors in last 30 days searching your keywords: +30-50% bid adjustment.
They searched before. They know your brand. Conversion probability is significantly higher.

Cart abandoners searching your keywords: +50-80% bid adjustment.
Highest intent segment. They were one step from converting.

Past converters searching your keywords: Depends on your product.
For SaaS: Exclude them (reduce wasted spend). For consumables: Include with bid boost.

Setting Up RLSA

  1. Create remarketing audiences in Google Ads (or import from Google Analytics 4)
  2. Let audiences accumulate: Search RLSA requires 1,000+ users on the list
  3. Apply audience to existing search campaigns as "Bid adjustment" (not "Target and bid")
  4. "Bid adjustment" = you still reach all searchers, just bid differently for your list members
  5. "Target and bid" = you ONLY reach searchers who are on your list (narrows volume significantly)

Combining RLSA with Customer Match

Upload your email list as Customer Match. Apply to search campaigns.
Result: Different bids/ads for existing customers vs. unknown searchers.
Works without cookies -- based on signed-in Google accounts.


RLSA, remarketing, and Google Ads audience targeting strategy: yositeup.com

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