How customer lifecycle goals detect customer segments

Customer lifecycle goals help you prioritise specific customer segments in Performance Max, Search and Shopping campaigns. Learn more About customer lifecycle goals.

Depending on the lifecycle goal and bid mode that you use, there are different ways to enable Google to detect which customers are in your desired segments. The different approaches can be used in combination with one another. Note that Google auto-detection will always be used by default in the new customer acquisition goal.

On this page

• New customers detected by Google
• New customers from an uploaded audience list
• New customers from a conversion tracking tag
• Conversions from existing customers

Customer segment detection by lifecycle goal and bid mode

**High-value win-back mode and high-value new customer mode both use the same customer list, i.e. ‘High-value existing customers’. As a result, if you’ve already set up one of these modes, your ‘High-value existing customers’ list will be automatically applied to the other mode as well, once enabled. This is because both modes rely on a list of high-value existing customers to reach the desired customer segment, although the list is used differently in each mode. In high-value new customer mode we use your high-value existing customer list to predict which new customers are likely to be high value, whereas in high-value win-back mode we use your high-value existing customer list, in combination with your ‘Lapsed customers’ list, to understand which lapsed customers are high value.

Google auto-detection

This is automatically used when you select the new customer acquisition goal. If your Google Ads conversion tracking is set to track purchases, Google can automatically create an audience list based on up to the last 540 days of campaign activity and tracked purchases. This is the easiest method to distinguish new customers from existing customers but is less comprehensive because users can remove cookies and opt out.

Customers from an audience list

You can also designate audience lists via Customer Match (CRM and CDP connectors through Google Ads Data Manager, conversion-based customer lists, GA4 audiences and/or direct upload) or by using tag-based remarketing lists, if applicable. This allows you to define customer segmentation based on up to date information that has been audited by you. Follow the steps below to assign your audience lists to your lifecycle goals:

After you’ve created your audience list, follow the steps below to select your list.

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Goals icon .
2. Click the Conversions drop-down in the section menu.
3. Click Summary.
4. In the left 'Conversions summary' menu, click Edit in the 'Customer acquisition' section or 'Customer retention' section.
5. You’ll find your available audience lists that you’ve uploaded in the 'Existing customers definition' or 'Lapsed customers' box, or you can search for your audience list by typing the list name in the search field and selecting the box beside the correct list.
6. Select up to 5 audience lists.
7. Click Apply.

How customer segment is defined in reporting

Refer to measuring your lifecycle goals campaigns to learn more about how customer segmentation is defined in your reporting.