Free · Upload a CSV · No signup
By Benchmarketing Research Team Reviewed by Performance Marketing Editorial Reviewed March 2026 · observations Q1 2023 – Q4 2024Cross-type averages · Google Ads Remarketing · 2026
11.5%
RLSA CTR, search remarketing
RLSA and Customer Match dramatically outperform Display formats on CTR and CVR because they intercept high-intent moments - users actively searching or browsing familiar platforms. Display remarketing wins on CPM efficiency and reach.
| Type | Format | CTR | CPC | CVR vs. Cold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RLSA (Search) | Text ads | 11.5% | $3.10 | 3.8x |
| Display Remarketing | Banner | 0.42% | $0.38 | 2.4x |
| YouTube Remarketing | Video | 0.31% | $0.24 | 2.1x |
| Dynamic Remarketing | Product banner | 0.58% | $0.42 | 3.1x |
| Customer Match | Text/Shopping | 9.8% | $2.95 | 4.2x |
Source: Google Ads benchmark reports. CVR vs. cold is the uplift factor relative to equivalent non-remarketing campaigns.
Not all remarketing audiences are equal. Recency and depth of engagement are the strongest predictors of conversion rate. Bid aggressively on high-intent, recent audiences and conservatively on older, shallower ones.
| Audience | Recency | CVR | Recommended Bid Adj. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cart Abandoners | <24h | 8.2% | +50% |
| Product Page Viewers | 1–7d | 3.4% | +20% |
| Category Browsers | 7–30d | 1.8% | +10% |
| General Site Visitors | 30–90d | 0.9% | +5% |
| Past Purchasers | 90–180d | 4.6% (upsell) | +30% |
Bid adjustments are recommendations based on median CVR differences. Apply to RLSA campaigns via audience bid modifiers or set as observation + adjustment layers.
Remarketing audiences convert 3–5x cold traffic
Users who have already visited your site, viewed products, or added to cart have demonstrated intent. They simply did not convert on the first visit. Remarketing catches them in subsequent sessions with lower CPCs - because audience targeting is more efficient than broad keyword targeting.
Frequency capping prevents ad fatigue
Showing the same ad too often damages CTR and brand perception. For Display remarketing, cap frequency at 5–7 impressions per user per week. For RLSA, frequency is naturally capped by search behavior. Without frequency caps, CPMs rise while CTR falls - a double inefficiency.
Customer Match unlocks highest-value audiences
Customer Match lets you target existing customers or CRM lists directly on Google. These audiences achieve 4.2x CVR vs. cold traffic because they already know your brand. Customer Match is most powerful for upsell, cross-sell, and win-back campaigns.
Dynamic remarketing shows the exact product viewed
Dynamic remarketing automatically pulls product data from your feed to show users the exact products they viewed. This personalization drives 3.1x CVR uplift. Setup requires a product feed connected to Google Merchant Center or a dynamic remarketing tag with custom parameters.
Segment by intent depth. Tailor the creative. Cap the frequency.
Segment audiences by intent depth (cart vs. browse)
Create distinct audience lists for: cart abandoners (highest intent), product page viewers, category browsers, and general site visitors. Apply higher bid adjustments and more personalized creative to deeper-intent segments. A single "all site visitors" list leaves conversion value on the table.
Cap frequency to prevent creative fatigue
Set Display remarketing frequency caps at 5–7 impressions per user per week. Above this threshold, CTR drops while impression costs hold steady - a pure efficiency loss. In Google Ads, set frequency caps at the campaign or ad group level under "Additional Settings."
Tailor creative to the audience's stage
Cart abandoners respond to urgency (limited stock, expiring offer). Product page viewers respond to social proof (reviews, ratings). General visitors respond to brand value propositions. Generic "Come back!" creative performs 40–60% worse than contextually relevant messaging.
Exclude converters from acquisition campaigns
Always add your recent converters as a negative audience to your prospecting and cold-traffic campaigns. Continuing to pay acquisition CPCs to reach existing customers wastes budget and can frustrate users who see irrelevant ads after purchase. Set converter exclusions for 30–90 days post-conversion.
Test Customer Match for high-LTV audiences
Upload your email list of high-value customers (top 20% by LTV) to Customer Match. Use these lists to bid aggressively for repeat purchase or upsell on Search. Customer Match audiences achieve 4.2x CVR vs. cold - they know your brand and have purchased before. This is the highest-ROI remarketing list available.
RLSA stands for Remarketing Lists for Search Ads. It lets you adjust bids, tailor ad copy, or exclusively target users who have previously visited your site when they search on Google. Unlike Display remarketing (which interrupts users on other sites), RLSA captures users who are actively searching again - hence the dramatically higher CTR (11.5%) and CVR (3.8x uplift).
Every statistic on this page traces to a named source below. Benchmarketing does not publish anonymous "studies show" figures. Rows labeled Benchmarketing are our own aggregated, curated benchmark data.
No account needed. At most one email a week, only when something moves.
Export a Google Ads Remarketing report and see your numbers plotted against the ranges on this page.
Get started freeInvite-only right now · 14-day free trial when you join
These benchmarks are drawn from a multi-source benchmark cohort aggregated across industries and regions, covering the period Q1 2023 – Q4 2024. Figures on this page come from the Benchmarketing benchmark dataset: thousands of curated benchmark observations spanning channels, industries, and US metro areas, refreshed on a published schedule. Every statistic traces to a named source — no anonymous “studies show.” Data is sourced from:
The Benchmarketing 4-Band Method reads every marketing metric against four percentile bands — P25 (bottom quartile), median, P75 (top quartile), and elite (top ~10%) — for a specific industry and channel, instead of a single cross-industry average. Averages blend brand and non-brand campaigns, $500/month and $500,000/month accounts, and unrelated industries into a number almost nobody actually has.
Benchmarks reflect median values across large sample sets. Your industry, business model, and account maturity will cause variation. Use P25/P75 ranges to understand realistic distribution.
Read full methodologyWritten by
Benchmarketing Research Team
Data & Analytics
Reviewed by
Performance Marketing Editorial
Senior Review
Last updated
Reviewed March 2026
Observation period: Q1 2023 – Q4 2024
Google Ads Benchmarks
Full channel overview
Display Ads Benchmarks
Banner ad performance data
CTR Benchmark
Click-through rate by channel
CPC Benchmark
Cost per click data
CPA Benchmark
Acquisition cost data
Google Search Benchmarks
Search campaign comparison