The Complete Guide to Display Dynamic Remarketing with GA4

Dynamic remarketing is the difference between showing a generic brand ad to everyone and showing the exact pair of running shoes a user left in their cart five minutes ago.

For eCommerce brands, travel sites, and listing businesses, this is often the highest-ROI campaign type available. It closes the loop on abandoned intent by automatically generating ads based on the specific products or services a user interacted with on your site.

This guide is a practical, step-by-step manual on implementing Display Dynamic Remarketing using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) as your data engine for Google Ads.

What Display Dynamic Remarketing in GA4 Really Means

Standard remarketing targets users who visited your site. Dynamic remarketing targets users based on what they saw.

When implemented correctly, GA4 sends specific event data (like User X viewed Product ID 123) to Google Ads. Google Ads then matches that ID against your product or business feed to automatically populate the ad with the right image, title, and price.

The Workflow:

User views a product (GA4 captures view_item with item_id).
GA4 passes this data to Google Ads.
Google Ads matches item_id to your product feed.
An ad is dynamically generated for that exact product.

Prerequisites Checklist

Before building campaigns, make sure these foundations are in place:

GA4 property installed and collecting data
Active Google Ads account
GA4 ↔ Google Ads account linking completed
Ads personalization enabled in GA4 link settings
Supported vertical selected (Retail, Travel, Jobs, Real Estate, Education, Custom)
Product IDs on your site match feed IDs exactly

Required GA4 Events for Dynamic Remarketing

Dynamic ads depend on funnel-level signals. These events are mandatory:

1. view_item

Trigger: Product detail page view

Why it matters: Core signal that tells Google which product to show in ads.

2. add_to_cart

Trigger: Item added to cart

Why it matters: Indicates high intent and powers aggressive remarketing.

3. view_item_list

Trigger: Category or search results page view

Why it matters: Captures category-level interest.

4. purchase

Trigger: Successful transaction

Why it matters: Used for exclusions and cross-sell logic.

Required Parameters (With Examples)

Events must include contextual parameters to work dynamically.

item_id – Must exactly match the product ID in your feed
item_location_id – Used for non-retail verticals
value – Product or order value
currency – ISO currency code (USD, GBP, INR)

Implementation Example (JavaScript / GTM)


// Using gtag.js (JavaScript snippet)
gtag("event", "view_item", {
  currency: "USD",
  value: 99.99,
  items: [
    {
      item_id: "SKU_12345",
      item_name: "Stan Smith Sneakers",
      item_category: "Shoes",
      price: 99.99,
      quantity: 1
    }
  ]
});


// Using Google Tag Manager (Recommended)
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
window.dataLayer.push({
  event: "view_item",
  ecommerce: {
    currency: "USD",
    value: 99.99,
    items: [
      {
        item_id: "SKU_12345",
        item_name: "Stan Smith Sneakers",
        item_category: "Shoes",
        price: 99.99,
        quantity: 1
      }
    ]
  }
});

Common Mistake: Using mismatched IDs (e.g., 123 in GA4 and US-123 in the feed). These must be identical.

How GA4 Shares Data with Google Ads

You do not need manual exports or complex audience rules.

Once GA4 is linked to Google Ads and Ads Personalization is enabled, GA4 automatically shares event-level data. Google Ads uses this to build auto-generated dynamic remarketing lists.

GA4 Audiences: Manual segmentation (e.g., High-Value Users)
Dynamic Attributes: Raw product data used to render ads

Step-by-Step: Enable Display Dynamic Remarketing

1. Link GA4 to Google Ads

Admin → Product Links → Google Ads Links
Link your Google Ads account
Enable Personalized Advertising

2. Enable Google Signals

Admin → Data Collection
Turn on Google Signals
Acknowledge policy requirements

3. Validate Events in DebugView

Admin → DebugView
Trigger a product view
Confirm view_item contains items and item_id

4. Confirm Data in Google Ads

Tools & Settings → Audience Manager
Open GA4 data source
Verify events and parameters are received

How Ads Are Actually Shown

Once data flows correctly:

Merchant Center feed supplies product assets
Responsive Display Ad provides layout
Google injects product image, title, and price dynamically
Ads appear on GDN, YouTube, and Gmail

Common Mistakes & Fixes

ID mismatch: Standardize IDs via feed rules or data layer
Missing value: Always send value and currency
Consent blocking: Check Consent Mode configuration
Wrong vertical: Use vertical-specific parameters

How to Measure Success

GA4: Analyze conversion rate and revenue by remarketing traffic.

Google Ads: Focus on ROAS, Conversion Value / Cost, and View-through Conversions.

Final Checklist & Pro Tips

GA4 ↔ Google Ads linked with personalization ON
Google Signals enabled
Required events firing with items array
Feed IDs perfectly aligned
Responsive Display campaign connected to feed

Pro Tips:

Exclude recent purchasers (last 7 days)
Apply frequency caps (5–7 impressions/day)
Use sale price attributes for automatic “Price Drop” badges

Dynamic remarketing is not optional anymore. When implemented correctly with GA4, it becomes one of the most profitable channels in your entire media mix.

The Complete Guide to Display Dynamic Remarketing with GA4