Google Ads - Audiences (via GA4)

The goal is to send your ClickPatrol events to Google Analytics 4, build an audience in GA4 based on those events, and share the audience with Google Ads for targeting or exclusion.

Important check #

In order to build Google Ads audiences this way you need the following steps completed:

• Implement ClickPatrol Tag in Tag Manager
• Implement Event Trigger in Tag Manager
• ClickPatrol events sent to GA4 as custom events (for example ClickPatrol_legitimate and ClickPatrol_suspicious, or a single ClickPatrolEvent with a status parameter)
• GA4 property linked to your Google Ads account
• Personalized advertising and Google signals enabled on the link

Link GA4 to Google Ads #

If GA4 is not yet linked to Google Ads:

• Open GA4 and go to Admin.
• In the Property column, click Product links > Google Ads links.
• Click Link and select the Google Ads account to connect.
• Ensure Enable Personalized Advertising is turned on. This is required for audiences to be shared with Google Ads.
• Leave Enable Auto-Tagging on.
• Click Submit.

Initial data sync can take up to 24 hours.

Build the audience in GA4 #

• Open GA4 and go to Admin > Audiences.
• Click New audience > Create a custom audience.
• Name the audience clearly, for example CP Legitimate 30d.
• Under Include users when, click Add new condition.
• Search for your ClickPatrol event (for example ClickPatrol_legitimate) and select it.
• If you use a single event with a status parameter, add a parameter filter: status exactly matches legitimate.
• Set Membership duration (for example, 30 days).
• Click Save.
• Repeat for CP Suspicious 30d, selecting ClickPatrol_suspicious or filtering on status exactly matches suspicious.

Verify the audience in Google Ads #

GA4 audiences are exported automatically to linked Google Ads accounts, but it can take up to 48 hours for a new audience to appear and start populating.

• In Google Ads, go to Tools > Shared library > Audience manager.
• Filter the segment list by Source: Google Analytics (GA4) and Firebase.
• Confirm CP Legitimate 30d and CP Suspicious 30d are listed.

Use the audience #

• Use CP Legitimate for targeting or as a seed for Similar Segments and lookalikes.
• Use CP Suspicious as an exclusion. Add it as a negative audience on your campaigns, or at account level under Shared library so new campaigns inherit the exclusion by default.

Notes #

• Membership duration in Google Ads can be extended up to 540 days. GA4 has its own retention window per audience.
• Audiences need at least 100 active users in the last 30 days before they are eligible to serve on Search, Display, or YouTube.
• If an audience does not appear in Google Ads after 48 hours, verify that Personalized Advertising is enabled on the GA4 to Google Ads link and that Google signals is turned on in GA4 data collection settings.