If your dynamic remarketing campaign isn't working or hasn't been performing as expected, there could be problems with your feed, tag, campaign setup or remarketing lists. Check out the list below with common issues and troubleshooting pointers to find and fix any potential issues with your setup.
Before you begin
If you're running dynamic remarketing campaigns using the retail business type, you can find retail-specific troubleshooting information in Common issues with feeds for dynamic remarketing.
- Understand policy review. Before your dynamic remarketing ads can show, your ads will need standard ad and remarketing list review, and your products will also need to be reviewed. Products are only sent for review if the campaign is live. If your ads aren’t showing yet, make sure that your campaign is enabled first, and that the products have been sent for review. Learn more about policy review for dynamic remarketing
- Fix tag and list issues. If the dynamic remarketing list isn’t populating, you’ll need to make sure that the global site tag and optional event snippets are implemented correctly. You may also need to create a new campaign so that the remarketing list can be automatically generated. Learn more about how to fix tag and list issues
- Fix ad issues. If your ads aren’t displaying the way that you want, check your ad templates. There could be missing or incorrect information that you'll have to change in order for your ad to show as you want it to. Learn more about how to fix issues with dynamic ads
- Fix campaign setup issues. There are settings for dynamic remarketing campaigns that can change how your ads run. In the page menu on the campaign overview screen you can click on the "Settings" tab to view your campaigns and change various settings such as the name, goal, languages and bidding. Learn more about how to fix set up issues for dynamic remarketing campaigns
Instructions
All issues with remarketing, including those for dynamic remarketing, are shown as 'Status' alerts. To check for potential issues and fixes with dynamic remarketing:
- Sign in to your Google Ads account.
- From the workspace bar at the top, select display campaigns.
Note: If you prefer to use the navigation panel on the left, click Change view in the top left of your Google Ads account.
- Click Overview on the menu on the left.
- The 'Status review' card will show up to two alerts and display the number of additional alerts, if any.
- Click on an individual alert or click VIEW at the bottom of the card to see the full list of alerts.
- In the full list of alerts, click on an issue to expand it for more information. This includes a description of the issue, a suggested solution, a list of items that the issue affects and a link to learn more in addition to the option to email yourself the solution.
- If you clicked on an alert to access the full list, that alert will automatically be expanded
It’s recommended to check your alerts frequently, since issues with dynamic remarketing are reported as alerts in the 'Status review' card as well.
Common issues for dynamic remarketing
Restrictive targeting
| Alert message | Your ad group's ads aren't reaching people |
| Solution |
Reach can be limited under the following circumstances:
If your ad group reaches too few people, it won’t show ads. For example, if your ad group targets audiences, placements and keywords at the same time, you may not find many people who match all of those targeting methods at once. Try removing some of those targeting methods and adding them as Observations instead. Learn more about "Targeting" and "Observation" settings |
| Best practice | Use the reach estimates tool to estimate potential reach. |
Disapproved ads
| Alert message | All ads in your ad group are disapproved |
| Solution |
If there are policy issues, follow the links provided in the alerts to determine how to fix them for each of your ads. Once you edit your ads, they'll be sent for review again. For example, your ad may contain inappropriate content, misrepresent you or your product, solicit personal information or violate a trademark. Learn more about fixing disapproved ads |
Bids too low
| Alert message | The bids in your ad group are too low to show your ads |
| Solution |
Increase your bids to improve your chances of showing ads to potential customers. For example, new competition or shifts in market trends could require a higher bid than what you’ve been using. Adjust your bid in "Campaign settings". Learn more about estimating your results with bid, budget and target simulators |
| Best practice | Use the bid simulator to find the optimal bid amount for your business goals. |
Not enough people targeted
| Alert message | Your ad group targeting isn't reaching enough people |
| Solution |
Expand your reach by changing your ad group targeting or remarketing lists. For example, building a campaign around brand new remarketing lists may not be enough to start a campaign. Widen the lists’ targeting or supplement your campaign with larger remarketing lists to meet the requirement. Click on GO TO TARGETING in the alert card to view and change your settings. |
Disabled remarketing lists
| Alert message | Your ads can’t run because your ad group is targeting or excluding one or more disabled audience lists |
| Solution |
Remove these inactive audience lists and target only valid audience lists. For example, if you deactivate a list directed at summertime buyers during autumn, you'll still need to remove that list from every ad group and campaign that it’s associated with. Click on GO TO TARGETING in the alert card to view and change your targeting settings. |
Audience list not big enough
| Alert message | Your ad group is targeting audience lists with fewer than 100 active users |
| Solution |
If your audience lists have fewer than 100 active users, you may need to wait for your lists to accumulate additional users, particularly if the list is new. If you’re using multiple types of targeting or exclusions, you can adjust your ad group targeting to increase potential reach. If you think that there may be an issue with your list rules, check your audience list rules to make sure that they're working as intended. Click on GO TO AUDIENCE LISTS in the alert card to view and change your remarketing lists. Learn more about creating a website remarketing list |
