- Runs Google Ads and uses Klaviyo for email
- Suspects that the budget is going to customers who would have purchased anyway
- Wants to know what Customer Match is and how it connects to Klaviyo
- Wants to know which setting in Google Ads actually changes the bidding
Without a customer list, Google cannot always identify who has already shopped with you. As a result, your budget may end up being spent on customers who would have purchased anyway, rather than acquiring new ones.
That is the difference Customer Match makes. By providing Google with your customer list, Google can distinguish existing customers from new ones. This allows you to let your budget chase growth instead of repeat purchases you would have received regardless.
Google can also identify new customers on its own without a list, but Google recommends supplementing with Customer Match lists to improve accuracy.
A customer list can be used in three ways in Google Ads:
- Exclude: Keep existing customers, such as those who have just made a purchase, out of a campaign.
- Observe: Monitor how a group of customers performs without changing the reach of your campaign.
- Target: Show ads to the list. This requires the account to meet Google's requirements.
In addition, there is the goal of customer acquisition, which uses the list to distinguish new from existing customers when Google bids.
The brand must set up the connection itself. Klaviyo requires that the Google account used to log in is a direct administrator on the brand's own Google Ads account. Agency access via a manager account does not count.
- In Klaviyo: Go to Integrations, search for Google Ads, and select Connect.
- Log in with the Google account that is a direct administrator on the Google Ads account.
- Accept the permissions, and select the Google Ads account to be connected.
- Select a Klaviyo list or segment, and choose the Google audience it should be linked to.
- Confirm that you are only sending profiles that have consented to advertising.
Good to know:
- It is a 1:1 connection. One Klaviyo list or segment corresponds to one Google audience.
- Profiles must have an email address or a phone number. Anonymous visitors cannot be added.
- It can take up to 48 hours, before the audience is populated in Google Ads.
- The audience will be smaller than the list in Klaviyo. Only profiles linked to a Google account will be included.
Once the connection is live, you can see how many conversions come from new customers. However, bidding does not change automatically. This step makes the difference:
- Check that the customer list has arrived in Audience Manager.
- Select the campaign, and go to Edit and then "Update customer acquisition".
- Choose to optimize for new customers and bid higher for them.
- Repeat for the campaigns intended to acquire new customers.
You have three options:
- Bid higher for new customers: This is our standard. The campaign can still reach existing customers, but it prioritizes new ones.
- Bid only on new customers: The campaign is limited to new customers, and volume may decrease. This is a deliberate choice, never an automatic one.
- Bid the same for new and existing customers: Nothing changes here.
If you skip this step, you will end up with a live connection and an overview of new customers, but an account that still bids too high on existing customers.
- Not all accounts have full access. All accounts with a good policy history can observe and exclude using Customer Match. According to Google, the "Targeting" setting and manual bid adjustments require at least 90 days of history and over 50,000 USD in total spend. Always check Google's current terms.
- Use only your own customer data. It must be data that you have collected yourself.
- Memberships expire. Google removes profiles from the audience up to 540 days after they were last added or updated.
- A connection does not guarantee a result. It provides Google with what it needs to distinguish new from existing customers. What the bidding delivers depends on the campaign.
DVISIONMEDIA's approach
We don't just create the connection. We ensure that the setting in Google Ads that actually changes the bidding is applied to the campaigns intended to acquire new customers, and by default, we choose to bid higher on new customers rather than only bidding on them. The brand creates the connection in Klaviyo themselves, and we guide them through it so it is live before the campaigns are set up. This is part of the approach we build into our work with Google Adsand throughE-COM OS. Also read about how we structure campaigns in Performance Max Structure, and about the same challenge on Meta at Advantage+ Shopping Cannibalization.
1. What is Customer Match in Google Ads?
Customer Match allows you to upload your own customer data so that Google can match it to Google users. It can be used to exclude, observe, or target a list.
2. Can I connect Klaviyo to Google Ads?
Yes. Klaviyo has an integration that connects a list or a segment to a Google audience. The brand must set up the connection themselves as a direct administrator on the Google Ads account.
3. Does the connection change my bidding?
No, not on its own. The connection provides an overview of new customers. Bidding only changes when you enable "Customer Acquisition" on your campaigns.
4. Should I bid higher on new customers or only bid on new customers?
Our standard approach is to bid higher on new customers. Bidding only on new customers limits the campaign and can reduce volume, so that is a deliberate choice.
5. Why is my Google audience smaller than my Klaviyo list?
Because only profiles linked to a Google account can be matched. It can also take up to 48 hours for the audience to be populated.
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