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If you’re confused about why your audiences from Google Analytics 4 aren’t syncing with Google Ads or are stuck at zero users, this article will walk you through what could be causing the problem.
In this article, you’ll find multiple explanations, from common setup errors to more technical consent and tagging issues that can prevent GA4 audiences from populating in Google Ads.
First, I would like to say that the number of users in GA4 audiences usually won’t match what you see in Google Ads. GA4 might track a visitor, but that doesn’t always mean Ads can recognize or use that same user for targeting.
However, if your GA4 audience shows thousands of users and your Ads audience is empty or tiny, that usually points to a misconfiguration. Below are the most frequent causes of this problem:
1. Google Ads isn’t properly connected to GA4
One of the most frequent issues is forgetting to link your Google Ads account to GA4 properly. Go to Admin > Google Ads Links in GA4 and make sure the correct Ads ID is linked and personalized advertising is enabled.
If you just linked GA4 with Google Ads, you’ll need to wait up to 48 hours before audiences begin to appear in Ads.
2. The audience criteria might be too narrow
If your audience only includes visitors who completed a rare action, it may be too small for Ads to display. Try broadening the filters or waiting for more users.
3. Google Signals are not enabled
Google Signals collection is required for remarketing features to work. In GA4, go to Admin > Data Collection and confirm that Signals is turned on. Don’t forget to review where data collection is allowed. Certain countries might be excluded from data collection. If your main region is excluded, that’s likely the problem.
4. Consent Signals are not sent correctly
Simulate giving cookie consent, and check whether ad_user_data and ad_personalization signals are being marked as “granted.” If they’re stuck as “denied”, visitors won’t be added to Ads audiences, even though they may still appear in GA4. In this case, your Consent Mode implementation needs fixing.
5. NPA-tagged data is blocking the audience
Events or user-scoped custom dimensions can be marked as NPA (non-personalized ads). If an audience includes these, it won’t qualify for ad use. Look for the “NPA” badge under Admin > Audiences or Admin > Custom Definitions.
You can remove the NPA tag or create a new audience without those properties (if this doesn’t violate the privacy policy).
6. Data sharing with Google Ads is disabled
Check if data sharing with Google Ads is activated. Go to your data stream (Google Tag settings).
Under “Manage data use across Google services”, make sure ad-related services are selected. If not, enable them.
Conclusion
Identifying why your GA4 audiences aren’t showing up in Google Ads can be tricky, especially with so many possible technical factors involved. The key is to check each area step by step – from audience definitions to consent mode settings – and ensure everything is configured correctly.
