Most people don’t buy or enquire on their first visit to a website. Retargeting keeps your business in front of people who’ve already shown interest, so you’re not relying on them remembering you later.
We build retargeting campaigns across Google and Meta that bring warm visitors back, whether that’s people who viewed a product, started a form or read a service page without getting in touch.
How retargeting works
When someone visits your website, a tracking tag (such as the Meta Pixel or Google’s tag) can add them to an audience, as long as they’ve accepted cookies. You can then show ads to that audience as they browse Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or websites in Google’s display network. Because these people already know who you are, retargeting ads usually cost less per enquiry than ads aimed at complete strangers.
Who we retarget, and with what message
- People who viewed a service page but didn’t enquire. Show them reviews, examples of your work or a clear reason to get in touch now.
- People who started a form or booking and didn’t finish. A simple reminder often brings them back.
- Shoppers who viewed or added products to the basket. Show them the products they looked at.
- Past customers, for repeat services, seasonal work or new products.
- People who engaged with your social media or watched your videos.
The message changes depending on how close someone was to buying. Someone who read one blog post needs a different ad from someone who got halfway through a booking.
Retargeting without annoying people
We’ve all been followed around the internet by the same ad for weeks. Good retargeting avoids that by limiting how often people see the ads, stopping once someone has enquired or bought, and refreshing the creative so it doesn’t get stale.
How retargeting fits with your other campaigns
Retargeting works best alongside campaigns that bring new people to your site in the first place, such as Google Ads, Meta Ads or SEO. It relies on proper conversion tracking, so we can see which retargeting ads bring people back to enquire and stop the ones that don’t.
Frequently asked questions about retargeting
Is retargeting the same as remarketing?
Yes, more or less. Google tends to call it remarketing, and most other platforms call it retargeting. Both mean showing ads to people who’ve already interacted with your business.
How much traffic do I need for retargeting to work?
You need enough website visitors to build an audience worth advertising to. If your site gets very few visitors, it’s usually better to start with campaigns that bring in new traffic first.
Does retargeting work with cookie consent rules?
Retargeting audiences are built from visitors who accept cookies, so your audience will be smaller than your total traffic. That’s normal, and it still works well for most businesses.
Want to talk about retargeting for your business? Get in touch and we will put together a plan that fits.
