How to use shared audiences?

Shared audiences allow advertisers to reuse and apply remarketing lists and audience segments across multiple Google Ads campaigns or even across multiple accounts (if they’re linked through a manager account). This helps ensure consistent targeting, improve efficiency, and scale audience-based marketing strategies without needing to recreate audiences for each campaign or account.

Shared audiences typically include:

• Remarketing lists (e.g., past website visitors, cart abandoners)

• Customer match lists (email/phone uploads)

• App users

• Custom audiences

• YouTube viewers

• Similar audiences (when applicable)

Step-by-Step Guide to Use Shared Audiences

1. Create Your Audience List (Remarketing List or Custom Segment)

Before sharing, you need to create the audience in Google Ads or Google Analytics (if using GA4).

In Google Ads:

1. Go to Tools & Settings > Shared Library > Audience Manager

2. Click Segments → Choose the list type:

   • Website visitors

   • App users

   • Customer list (CSV upload)

   • YouTube users

   • Custom segments (based on interests, keywords, URLs)

3. Set the audience membership duration and define the rules (e.g., people who visited /checkout but not /thank-you).

4. Save the audience list.

2. Share Audiences Across Campaigns or Accounts

Option A: Within the Same Account

Once you’ve created an audience in Audience Manager, you can apply it to any campaign or ad group in the same account.

To apply to a campaign:

1. Go to the desired campaign or ad group

2. Click Audiences

3. Click the pencil icon to edit

4. Choose from your remarketing lists, custom segments, or other shared audiences

5. Apply the audience to Observation or Targeting mode

Option B: Share Across Multiple Google Ads Accounts (via Manager Account / MCC)

If you manage multiple Google Ads accounts (e.g., ZARA India, ZARA UAE, ZARA Singapore), you can share audience lists between them using a Manager account.

To set up audience sharing:

1. Sign in to your Manager Account (MCC)

2. Go to Tools & Settings > Setup > Access and security

3. Go to the Manager account settings

4. Under “Audience manager account,” select the account where the audiences are stored

5. Link client accounts that need to use the audience lists

6. Once linked, shared audiences will appear in the Audience Manager of the receiving accounts

This lets you use the same audience (e.g., “Cart Abandoners – ZARA India”) across different country accounts without recreating them.

3. Apply Shared Audiences to Campaigns

To use a shared audience:

1. Open the target campaign or ad group

2. Click on Audiences from the left-side menu

3. Click Edit Audience Segments

4. Choose from Remarketing and similar audiences, Customer lists, Custom segments, etc.

5. Add the desired shared audience

6. Choose Targeting (narrow reach to audience only) or Observation (collect data and adjust bids based on audience performance)

7. Save changes

4. Monitor and Optimize

After applying shared audiences:

• Monitor performance in the Audiences tab

• Use bid adjustments to prioritize high-performing audiences

• Segment campaign data by audience to see which lists drive more conversions

• Adjust audience durations, targeting rules, or exclusions based on performance

Examples

ZARA Example

ZARA creates a remarketing audience called “Viewed Women’s Winter Jackets” in their India account. They share this audience with the UAE and UK Google Ads accounts via their MCC. Now, all regional campaigns for winter apparel can target users who previously viewed jackets on Zara.com.

They apply the audience to:

• A Display Campaign with Targeting mode (show ads only to the list)

• A Search Campaign in Observation mode (monitor audience impact and adjust bids)

• A YouTube campaign that plays video ads for users who viewed jackets but didn’t purchase

Skechers Example

Skechers collects a customer list of people who bought running shoes in the last 6 months and uploads it as a Customer Match audience. They then share this list across all global campaign accounts through their MCC setup.

They use this list to:

• Upsell new collections of running shoes

• Create similar audiences to find new users with similar online behavior

• Exclude past buyers from first-time buyer promotions to avoid wasting budget

Best Practices for Using Shared Audiences

• Always label shared audiences clearly (e.g., “Abandon_Cart_India_30d”) for easy identification

• Use audience exclusions to avoid retargeting users who already converted

• Set audience membership durations carefully based on buying cycles

• Combine shared audiences with ad customizers or IF functions for personalized messaging

• Use Custom Segments to define new interest-based shared audiences (e.g., “Users interested in sustainable fashion”)

Conclusion

Shared audiences in Google Ads are a vital tool for advertisers managing multiple campaigns or accounts. They let you build consistent, scalable targeting strategies that reach the right users with the right message across regions, languages, and channels. For global brands like ZARA and Skechers, shared audiences help streamline remarketing, cross-market promotion, and efficient segmentation—leading to better ROI, reduced manual work, and smarter ad personalization.