Paid Advertising

RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads)

Definition — RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads)

RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads) allows advertisers to customize their Google Search Ads campaigns for people who have previously visited their website, enabling different bids, ad copy, and keywords for past visitors who search related queries. For SaaS companies, RLSA enables aggressive bid adjustments for warm audiences showing purchasing signals through keyword search combined with prior website engagement.

Quick Answer

What is RLSA?Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA) is a Google Ads feature that allows you to apply audience modifications to your search campaigns when targeted users search for your keywords. Unlike Display retargeting (which shows ads on other websites), RLSA affects the search ads that appear when your website visitors later search on

What is RLSA?

Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA) is a Google Ads feature that allows you to apply audience modifications to your search campaigns when targeted users search for your keywords. Unlike Display retargeting (which shows ads on other websites), RLSA affects the search ads that appear when your website visitors later search on Google. You can: bid more aggressively for visitors who have shown high-intent behavior (e.g., pricing page visits), show different ad copy for returning visitors (Welcome back: your free trial is still waiting), or target keywords too broad for cold audiences when showing to past visitors (where broader queries are more relevant given the prior visit context).

RLSA Strategy for SaaS

Valuable RLSA applications for SaaS: (1) Trial abandoner re-engagement: 20-30% bid increase for users who started a trial but did not convert, combined with ad copy referencing the trial and reducing friction, (2) Pricing page visitors: aggressive bid uplift (25-50%) for users who visited pricing but did not sign up; they are high-intent and worth paying more to recapture, (3) Demo attended, did not convert: separate RLSA list for demo completers who did not sign up, with targeted follow-up ad copy offering a next step, (4) Competitive query targeting for previous visitors: bid on broad competitor comparison keywords only for users who have already visited your site (too broad/expensive for cold audiences, but appropriate for warmer audiences already aware of your product).

Frequently Asked Questions

How large does an RLSA list need to be to use in Google Ads?

RLSA requires a minimum audience size of 1,000 users to use in Search campaigns (compared to 100 for Display). For SaaS companies with moderate website traffic, building RLSA lists to 1,000+ can take 30-60 days for lower-traffic pages like pricing or demo pages. Combine related page visitor lists (pricing page + demo page + free trial page visitors all in one list) to reach the 1,000 user minimum faster. Once lists are populated, adjust the membership duration (30-90 days by default, up to 540 days in Google Ads) to match your typical sales cycle length.

Should I use RLSA in Target or Observation mode?

Observation mode (recommended first): add RLSA audiences in Observation mode first. This shows ads to all searchers as usual AND tracks performance separately for RLSA audience members, allowing you to see whether audience members convert at higher rates without limiting reach. Use this data to determine appropriate bid adjustments. Target mode: add audiences in Target mode only to restrict ad delivery exclusively to audience members. Use Target mode only when you have tested in Observation mode and confirmed that the audience converts well enough to justify restricting reach (for example, showing pricing competitor keyword ads ONLY to previous visitors who showed high intent).

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Related Terms

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Demand generation is a marketing strategy that creates awareness and interest in a SaaS product among potential buyers before they are actively searching for solutions. It drives pipeline by creating demand rather than capturing it.
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Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is a digital advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked, rather than paying for ad impressions. For SaaS companies, PPC (primarily through Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads) is a core demand generation channel for capturing high-intent buyers at the bottom of the funnel.
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Cost Per Click (CPC) is the amount an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their digital ad. In Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads, CPC is determined by auction dynamics, keyword competition, Quality Score, and bid strategy. For SaaS companies, monitoring CPC trends helps manage PPC efficiency and identify opportunities to improve ad quality and reduce acquisition costs.
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Cost Per Lead (CPL) is the average cost of generating one lead from a paid advertising campaign or marketing channel, calculated by dividing total ad spend by total leads generated. For SaaS companies, CPL is a primary paid marketing efficiency metric, though it must be evaluated alongside lead quality (conversion to trial, demo, and closed revenue) to be meaningful.
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