Advanced Guide to Dynamic Remarketing on Shopify Plus with GTM & Google Ads for Retail Brands

Dynamic remarketing is a powerful performance tool for eCommerce merchants on Shopify Plus, enabling the delivery of personalized ads that feature products users previously viewed or engaged with. Leveraging Google Tag Manager (GTM) with Google Ads dynamic remarketing allows for a scalable, tag-based implementation that’s ideal for Shopify Plus merchants in the retail vertical.

1. Why Dynamic Remarketing for Retail?

Retail businesses benefit from dynamic remarketing by:

• Serving tailored product ads based on users' on-site behavior.
• Boosting ROI by targeting warm audiences.
• Leveraging Google’s product recommendation engine with minimal manual effort.

With Shopify Plus, access to the theme files and checkout.liquid allows advanced customization, including dynamic data layer pushes critical to remarketing accuracy.

2. Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• A Google Ads account with dynamic remarketing enabled for the Retail vertical.
• A Google Merchant Center account linked to Google Ads.
• Shopify Plus with access to edit theme files and checkout templates.
• Google Tag Manager installed on your Shopify store.
• Your product feed successfully submitted and approved in Merchant Center.

3. Setup Overview

Here’s a high-level roadmap:

1. Enable dynamic remarketing in Google Ads.
2. Configure GTM with custom tags and triggers.
3. Modify Shopify Plus theme to push product data to the data layer.
4. Implement the view_item event using a Google Ads event tag.
5. Validate with Google Tag Assistant and real-time GTM Preview.

4. Step-by-Step Implementation

Step 1: Enable Dynamic Remarketing in Google Ads

1. In Google Ads, go to Tools > Shared Library > Audience Manager.
2. Click Audience sources > Google Ads tag > Set up tag.
3. Choose Collect data on specific actions people take on your website.
4. Select the Retail business type.
5. Save the tag configuration (you’ll later deploy it via GTM).

Step 3: Push Product Data to Data Layer

For dynamic remarketing to function, product data must be made available in the page-level JavaScript object. In Shopify, this can be achieved via Liquid templating.

In your product template (product.liquid or product.json.liquid), insert a custom data layer push script like:

<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'view_item',
  'ecomm_prodid': '{{ product.id }}',
  'ecomm_pagetype': 'product',
  'ecomm_totalvalue': {{ product.price | money_without_currency }},
  'items': [{
    'id': '{{ product.id }}',
    'google_business_vertical': 'retail'
  }]
});
</script>        

Repeat this logic for collection, cart, and purchase pages, adjusting ecomm_pagetype and item structure accordingly.

Step 4: Create the Google Ads Event Tag in GTM

Create Tag

1. In GTM, click Tags > New > Tag Configuration > Google Ads Remarketing.
2. Select Use dynamic values.
3. Under Event, choose Custom and name it "view_item".
4. Manually add parameters. Example tag configuration:

gtag('event', 'view_item', {
  'value': 998.55,
  'items': [
    {
      'id': 1234,
      'google_business_vertical': 'retail'
    },
    {
      'id': 45678,
      'google_business_vertical': 'retail'
    }
  ]
});
        

Note: These values must be dynamically populated. Use GTM variables to map them from the data layer.

Add Variables

Define the following Data Layer Variables in GTM:

• ecomm_prodid → DLV - ecomm_prodid
• ecomm_totalvalue → DLV - ecomm_totalvalue
• items → DLV - items

Then modify your tag to dynamically reference those:

gtag('event', 'view_item', {
  'value': {{DLV - ecomm_totalvalue}},
  'items': {{DLV - items}}
});        

Step 5: Set Up the Trigger

Create a trigger that fires when a view_item event is pushed:

• Trigger Type: Custom Event
• Event Name: view_item
• Trigger fires on: All Custom Events

Attach this trigger to the Google Ads event tag.

Step 6: Preview, Debug, and Publish

1. Use GTM’s Preview mode to ensure the data layer values are correctly passed.
2. Use Google Tag Assistant or Google Ads Tag Diagnostics to validate firing.
3. Once verified, Publish your GTM container.

6. Additional Tips for Retail Success

• Use enhanced conversions and audience segmentation for better attribution.
• Set up conversion linker and Google Ads conversion tracking in GTM for complete funnel visibility.
• Monitor product ID mismatches between Merchant Center and the tag via diagnostic tools.

Conclusion

Implementing dynamic remarketing for a retail store on Shopify Plus using GTM and Google Ads gives your brand the power to re-engage high-intent users with tailored product ads. With proper data layer configuration and tag setup, your remarketing campaigns can dynamically adapt to user behavior and drive incremental conversions at scale.

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