When users visit your website but leave without converting, how do you bring them back? That’s where retargeting ads come in. Retargeting is a marketing strategy for re-engaging users who have previously interacted with your site but didn’t make a purchase or complete a desired action.
From a marketer’s perspective, it’s about reminding potential customers of a product or service they were interested in but didn’t purchase for a number of reasons
These highly effective PPC campaigns allow you to reconnect with potential customers, keeping your brand top-of-mind and increasing the chances of conversion.
Key Takeaways:
- The purpose of retargeting ads is to gently remind users to complete their purchase or contact you.
- Retargeting ads increase conversion rates, achieve a higher ROI and improve brand recall.
- Combining retargeting and remarketing creates a powerful full-funnel strategy that increases conversions and customer loyalty.
Read on to learn more about what retargeting ads are, how they work and how they can benefit your marketing efforts with the expert PPC team at Wildcat Digital.
What is a Retargeting Ad in PPC?
A retargeting ad in PPC is a form of online advertising that targets users who have previously interacted with your website or app but didn’t complete a desired action, such as making a purchase, submitting a lead generation form or giving you a call. These ads are designed to remind or encourage these potential customers to return and complete their actions.
Retargeting ads work by using tracking technologies like cookies or pixels to identify users who have visited your site. Once identified, they are shown tailored ads as they browse other websites or social media platforms, keeping your brand visible and helping to increase the likelihood of conversion.
Benefits of Running Retargeting Ads
Now you know what retargeting ads are, here’s just a few reasons why you should be using them:
Increased Conversion Rates
Retargeting helps you re-engage users who have already interacted with your brand, making them more likely to convert. These users are familiar with your offering, so reminding them of your product or service increases the chances they’ll follow through on their original intent.
Higher ROI
Since you’re targeting an audience that has already expressed interest in your business, the cost of converting these individuals is typically lower compared to attracting new visitors. As a result, retargeting ads often lead to a higher return on investment (ROI) for your advertising spend.
Brand Recall
Retargeting keeps your brand at the front of users’ minds by continually reminding them of your products or services. This consistent exposure increases brand awareness and reinforces the connection between your offering and the user’s needs, even if they initially left your website without purchasing.
Reach a Hotter Market
Unlike other marketing methods that might cast a large net to find a few individuals interested in your specific product, retargeting campaigns only target consumers who have already visited your website. They have already shown interest in your brand by coming to your website, so they are much warmer and further into the sales funnel. As such, tailor your specific messaging, ad copy, CTA, and corresponding landing page to this audience.
How Retargeting Ads Work
Retargeting, in technical terms, involves tracking visitors who have previously visited your website and displaying ads for the products or services they viewed. This strategy works across various channels, including social media, display networks, and email.
The purpose of retargeting ads is to gently remind users to complete their purchase or contact you. To identify and target users across the web with these ads, a third-party cookie from a retargeting ad service is stored in their browser. It’s called “third-party” because the cookie is saved in the domain of the retargeting service, not the website the user visited.
Retargeting Ad Platforms and Tools
There are several retargeting ad platforms and tools available that help businesses effectively reach their target audience by showing ads to users who have previously interacted with their website or app. Here are some of the most popular platforms and tools for running retargeting ads:
Google Ads
Google Ads is one of the most powerful and widely used platforms for retargeting. It allows you to reach users who have visited your website across millions of websites that are part of the Google Display Network. Google Ads offers a variety of retargeting options, such as:
- Standard Remarketing: Show ads to users who have visited your site but didn’t convert.
- Dynamic Remarketing: Display ads that feature the exact products or services users viewed on your site.
- Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA): Show targeted search ads to users who have previously visited your website when they perform related searches.
Facebook and Instagram Ads (Meta)
Facebook, which also includes Instagram, provides robust retargeting capabilities through its Ads Manager platform. By using the Meta Pixel, you can track visitors to your website and retarget them with ads on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Audience Network. Facebook also allows for dynamic product ads, which automatically show users the products they interacted with while browsing your site.
LinkedIn Ads
For B2B businesses, LinkedIn offers excellent retargeting capabilities. By using the LinkedIn Insight Tag, you can track visitors to your website and retarget them with ads. LinkedIn allows you to segment your audience based on job title, company, industry, and more, enabling highly targeted ads for professionals and decision-makers.
X Ads
X (Twitter) allows you to retarget users who have visited your website using X Pixel. You can create tailored audiences based on specific interactions, such as people who visited your site, watched a video, or engaged with your tweets. Retargeting on Twitter can help you stay top-of-mind for users as they engage with content on the platform.
Bing Ads
Bing Ads allows businesses to re-engage users who have previously interacted with their website or app by showing them tailored ads as they browse other websites or use Microsoft services like Bing, Outlook, or MSN. Microsoft Ads offers powerful retargeting features to help you reach potential customers and drive conversion
Retargeting Methods
There is more than one method of retargeting – here are some of the most common:
Pixel-Based Retargeting
Pixel-based retargeting is one of the most common methods used in PPC advertising. A small piece of JavaScript code (pixel) is placed on a website, which tracks visitors and allows advertisers to show targeted ads to them as they browse other websites or social media platforms.
- Best for: Targeting users who have visited your website but left without converting.
- Platforms: Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Microsoft Ads, LinkedIn Ads, X Ads.
List-Based Retargeting (CRM Retargeting)
List-based retargeting uses customer data (such as email addresses or phone numbers) to re-engage users through custom audience targeting. Advertisers upload a contact list to platforms like Facebook or Google Ads, and the system matches the users to their online profiles to serve them targeted ads.
- Best for: Retargeting known leads, previous customers, or newsletter subscribers.
- Platforms: Facebook Custom Audiences, Google Customer Match, LinkedIn Matched Audiences.
Dynamic Retargeting
Dynamic retargeting personalises ads by displaying products or services that a user has previously viewed. Instead of showing a generic ad, the system dynamically generates an ad featuring the exact items the user interacted with.
- Best for: E-commerce, real estate, travel, and industries with multiple product listings.
- Platforms: Google Ads (Dynamic Remarketing), Facebook Dynamic Ads.
Search Retargeting (RLSA – Remarketing Lists for Search Ads)
Search retargeting allows advertisers to target users who have visited their website when they perform related searches on Google or Bing. This helps re-engage high-intent users with tailored search ads.
- Best for: Targeting users who are still in the research phase and comparing options.
- Platforms: Google Ads (RLSA), Microsoft Ads.
Social Media Retargeting
Social media retargeting allows businesses to show ads to past website visitors or engaged users on social media platforms. These ads can appear in feeds, stories, or even within messaging apps.
- Best for: Building brand awareness and nurturing potential customers through social engagement.
- Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, Pinterest.
Video Retargeting
Video retargeting focuses on users who have watched or interacted with video content from your brand. These users can be retargeted with follow-up ads on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, or display networks.
- Best for: Engaging users who consume video content but haven’t converted yet.
- Platforms: YouTube Ads, Facebook Video Ads, TikTok Ads.
Email Retargeting
Email retargeting allows advertisers to serve ads to users who have interacted with previous email campaigns. This can be done through pixel tracking in emails or by retargeting users who opened but didn’t click on the CTA.
- Best for: Re-engaging users who showed interest but didn’t take action.
- Platforms: Facebook Custom Audiences, Google Ads Customer Match.
Retargeting vs Remarketing
Alongside retargeting, you might have also heard about remarketing, but what’s the difference?
Retargeting – Recap
Retargeting is a form of online advertising that displays targeted ads to users who have visited a website or interacted with a brand but did not complete a desired action.
How it Works:
- Uses tracking pixels (cookies) to collect user data.
- Ads are shown across display networks, social media, and search engines.
- Focuses on bringing users back to complete a conversion.
Best For:
- Driving users back to a website.
- Recovering abandoned shopping carts.
- Boosting brand awareness and recall.
Popular Retargeting Platforms:
- Google Ads (Display & RLSA)
- Facebook & Instagram Ads
- Microsoft Ads
- LinkedIn Ads
- X Ads
Remarketing
Remarketing focuses on re-engaging existing customers or leads through personalised email campaigns or targeted ads. It primarily works by leveraging first-party data, such as email lists and past purchase history.
How it Works:
- Uses email marketing or direct ads based on user interactions.
- Targets existing customers or those who have engaged before.
- Encourages repeat purchases, cross-sells, or upsells.
Best For:
- Reconnecting with existing customers.
- Sending special offers or abandoned cart reminders via email.
- Strengthening customer loyalty and increasing lifetime value (LTV).
Popular Remarketing Platforms:
- Email Marketing (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot)
- Google Customer Match
- Facebook Custom Audiences
Which One Should You Use?
- Use Retargeting if: You want to re-engage website visitors with paid ads and boost conversions.
Use Remarketing if: You want to nurture existing leads/customers through emails and direct communication.
Use Both for Maximum Impact! Combining retargeting and remarketing creates a powerful full-funnel strategy that increases conversions and customer loyalty.
How to Manage Ad Spend With Retargeting Ads
Retargeting ads can be incredibly effective, but if not managed properly, they can quickly drain your ad budget without delivering the best ROI. Managing retargeting ad spend efficiently requires smart audience segmentation, bid optimisation, and continuous testing. To ensure you’re getting the most out of your retargeting campaigns, here’s how you can control ad spend while maximising conversions.
1️. Define Your Retargeting Goals
- Before spending a single penny, identify your objectives:
Increase conversions
Boost brand awareness
Encourage repeat purchases
Each goal requires different bidding strategies, audience segments, and ad creatives.
2️. Segment Your Audience for Higher Efficiency
Instead of retargeting all visitors, divide them into segments:
- High-intent users: People who added products to their cart but didn’t buy.
- Product viewers: Users who browsed a specific category.
- Engaged visitors: Users who spent time on your site but didn’t convert.
- Existing customers: People who have purchased before and might buy again.
Why Does it Matter?
Focusing ad spend on high-intent users reduces wasted budget and increases ROI.
3️. Set Frequency Caps to Avoid Overexposure
Showing the same ad too many times can annoy users and lead to ad fatigue.
- Best practice: Set a frequency cap (e.g., 5-10 impressions per user per week) to avoid wasted spend and maintain engagement.
4️. Optimise Bidding Strategies
Use the right bidding model to manage costs effectively:
- Manual CPC (Cost-Per-Click): Good for controlling bids manually.
- Enhanced CPC: Lets Google adjust bids to improve conversions.
- Target CPA (Cost-Per-Acquisition): Sets bids to meet your desired cost per conversion.
- ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Ideal for e-commerce businesses aiming for profitability.
Best Approach
Start with manual CPC to control costs, then switch to smarter bidding strategies such as Target CPA or ROAS as you collect data.
5️. Exclude Low-Quality Audiences
To avoid unnecessary ad spend, exclude:
- Users who already converted (unless running upsell campaigns).
- People who bounced immediately (low engagement).
- Visitors from irrelevant locations.
Test & Optimise Regularly
Continuously A/B test:
- Different ad creatives (images, videos, carousel ads).
- Call-to-action (CTA) buttons.
- Audience segments.
- Landing pages.
Track key metrics:
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): Higher means better engagement.
- Conversion Rate: Are users actually buying after clicking?
- ROAS: Is your retargeting campaign profitable?
How to Measure Retargeting Ad Success
Running retargeting ads is great, but how do you know if they’re actually working? To ensure you’re getting the best return on investment (ROI), it’s crucial to track the right performance metrics and analyse your campaign results. Here’s how you can measure the success of your retargeting ads effectively.
1️. Define Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Before diving into the data, establish clear objectives. Are you aiming to:
Increase conversions? - Improve brand awareness?
- Reduce cart abandonment?
Your KPIs will depend on your goal, and tracking the right metrics ensures you measure what truly matters.
2️. Track Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR = (Clicks / Impressions) × 100
- A high CTR means your ads are engaging and relevant. If your CTR is low, test different:
Ad creatives (images, videos, carousels). - Call-to-action (CTA) buttons.
- Headlines and ad copy.
Benchmark:
A good CTR for retargeting ads is typically 0.7% – 2%, depending on the platform.
Learn more about click through rates in PPC in our dedicated blog, What is Click Through Rate in PPC?
3️. Monitor Conversion Rate (CVR)
CVR = (Conversions / Clicks) × 100
This metric tells you how many users complete a desired action after clicking your ad. If your CVR is low:
- Optimise your landing page.
- Ensure ad messaging matches the landing page offer.
- A/B test different CTAs.
Benchmark:
Retargeting ads usually have 2-3x higher conversion rates than standard display ads.
4️. Analyse Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA)
CPA = Total Spend / Conversions
If your CPA is too high, you may be spending too much to acquire a single customer. Lower CPA by:
- Refining audience segmentation (focus on high-intent users).
- Adjusting bidding strategies (use Target CPA or ROAS).
- Excluding low-value audiences (bounce visitors, non-relevant users).
Benchmark:
CPA varies by industry, but retargeting ads often have lower CPA than prospecting ads.
5️. Measure Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
ROAS = Revenue Generated / Ad Spend
This is the most important metric for e-commerce businesses. A ROAS of 4:1 means you’re earning $4 for every $1 spent. If your ROAS is low:
- Improve ad targeting (focus on users closer to conversion).
- Offer incentives (discounts, free shipping).
- Use Dynamic Retargeting Ads (show products users viewed).
Benchmark:
A ROAS of 3-4x is considered good, but the goal varies by industry.
6️. Check Frequency & Ad Fatigue
Frequency = Total Impressions / Unique Users
Showing the same ad too many times can annoy users and lead to ad fatigue. If frequency is too high:
- Rotate different ad creatives.
- Set frequency caps (limit impressions per user per week).
- Exclude users who have already converted.
Best Practice:
Keep frequency between 5-10 impressions per week per user.
7️. Track Bounce Rate & Time on Site
If users click your ad but leave immediately, your landing page may not match their expectations.
- Ensure fast-loading pages (under 3 seconds).
- Match ad copy with landing page.
- Simplify checkout or lead forms.
Goal:
A bounce rate below 50% and an average session duration of 30+ seconds is ideal.
Learn more about these metrics in our detailed blog about PPC KPIs and Metrics, What are the Main KPIs of PPC?
How to Get Started With Ad Retargeting Campaigns – Our Top 5 Tips
Retargeting is one of the most effective methods for re-engaging previous visitors and converting them into customers. However, if you are new to retargeting, it’s crucial to set up your campaigns strategically to prevent wasted ad expenditure. Here are our top 5 tips to launch a high-performing retargeting campaign!
1- Define Your Retargeting Goals
Before setting up your campaign, decide what you want to achieve:
- Recover abandoned carts (e-commerce).
- Generate more leads (B2B and service-based businesses).
- Increase brand awareness (for visitors who didn’t engage).
- Upsell or cross-sell to existing customers.
Why Does it Matter?
Having clear goals helps you choose the right audience, bidding strategy, and ad creatives.
2- Segment Your Audience for Maximum Impact
Not all website visitors are the same. Instead of retargeting everyone, create audience segments based on behaviour:
- Cart Abandoners – Show them a special discount to complete their purchase.
- Product Viewers – Remind them of what they browsed with dynamic ads.
- Lead Form Visitors – Nurture them with educational content or testimonials.
- Past Customers – Promote upsells, new arrivals, or exclusive offers.
How?
Use tools like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or Microsoft Ads to build custom audiences based on website activity.
3- Choose the Right Retargeting Platform
Different platforms work best for different businesses:
- Google Display Network (GDN) – Great for showing banner ads across millions of websites.
- Facebook & Instagram Ads – Perfect for engaging users on social media.
- Microsoft Ads (Bing) – Ideal for B2B and an older audience segment.
- LinkedIn Ads – Best for retargeting professionals and B2B decision-makers.
- TikTok & YouTube Ads – Effective for video-based retargeting.
Pro Tip:
Start with Facebook & Google Ads, then expand to other networks as you scale.
4- Optimise Your Ad Creatives for Engagement
Retargeting ads should feel personal and compelling, not annoying. Follow these best practices:
- Use dynamic retargeting to show the exact product users viewed.
- Add urgency (e.g., “Limited stock available” or “Offer ends soon”).
- Include social proof (customer reviews, testimonials).
- Keep CTAs clear (e.g., “Complete Your Order” instead of just “Shop Now”).
5- Set Frequency Caps & Monitor Performance
- Don’t annoy your audience! Set frequency caps to prevent overexposure.
- Best practice: Show ads 5-10 times per user per week.
- Track key metrics
Pro Tip:
Regularly A/B test different ad creatives, CTAs, and audiences to optimise performance.
Get Started With Retargeting Ads With Wildcat Digital
Retargeting ads are a game-changer for businesses looking to recover lost traffic, boost conversions, and maximise ROI. At Wildcat Digital, we specialise in crafting highly effective retargeting campaigns that bring customers back to your website and drive action.
How Wildcat Digital Can Help You
- Personalised Retargeting Strategies – Whether you want to target cart abandoners, past customers, or content viewers, we create tailored campaigns for your business.
- Advanced Audience Segmentation – We use first-party and third-party data to pinpoint the most valuable prospects.
- Compelling Ad Creatives – Eye-catching visuals, persuasive copy, and strong CTAs designed to convert.
- A/B Testing & Continuous Optimisation – We refine your campaigns in real-time, testing different creatives, bidding strategies, and audience segments for maximum performance.
- Transparent Reporting & Insights – Get clear, easy-to-understand analytics so you can see exactly how your ads are performing.
Contact Us Today
Whether you’re looking to increase sales, reduce cart abandonment, or improve brand awareness, Wildcat Digital has the expertise and proven strategies to help you succeed.
Book a free consultation today and let’s start turning lost visitors into loyal customers!
Masilda Hysi
PPC Account Manager
