Retargeting
Retargeting is an online advertising strategy that shows targeted ads to people who have previously visited your website or interacted with your brand, encouraging them to return and convert.
Retargeting (also called remarketing) is a digital advertising technique that serves ads specifically to people who have already visited your website. When someone visits your site but doesn't convert, a small piece of code (a "pixel") places a cookie in their browser. This allows ad platforms to show your ads to that specific person as they browse other websites, social media, or search engines.
They're a much warmer audience than someone who's never heard of you. Retargeting keeps your brand in front of them and encourages them to return and complete their purchase or inquiry. Retargeting can be segmented based on behavior.
In practice
- An e-commerce store retargets cart abandoners with ads showing the exact products they left behind, recovering 15% of abandoned carts
- A SaaS company shows a case study video ad to people who visited their features page but didn't sign up, resulting in a 22% lower cost-per-trial than cold traffic campaigns
- A travel agency retargets people who searched for specific destinations with personalized package deals, achieving a 5x return on ad spend
- A B2B company runs sequential retargeting: first showing brand awareness ads, then testimonials, then a limited-time offer, guiding prospects through the funnel over 30 days
Not sure how this applies to you?
A senior engineer walks your site, your search presence and the way enquiries reach you, then writes down the three things worth fixing first. You keep the document either way.