Retargeting
Quick definition
Retargeting, also called remarketing, is a form of advertising that shows ads to people who have already interacted with a brand, for example by visiting a website, viewing a product or opening an email, to encourage them to return and complete an action. The two terms are often used interchangeably, although some marketers use "retargeting" for ads and "remarketing" for re-engagement by email, and some platforms prefer one term over the other.
How retargeting works
A site or app records a visit, typically through a tracking tag, pixel or SDK, and adds the visitor to an audience, subject to consent and privacy rules. An ad platform can then show ads to that audience on other sites, apps or social feeds. Audiences are usually segmented by behavior, such as people who viewed a product but did not buy.
Common use cases
- Reminding visitors who abandoned a cart or checkout.
- Promoting related products to previous buyers.
- Encouraging visitors who read a pricing page to start a trial or book a demo.
- Re-engaging lapsed customers or app users.
Things to watch
Retargeting audiences are small and already familiar with the brand, so results often look strong in a platform report, but some of those buyers might have returned without seeing an ad. Frequency matters too: showing the same ad too many times can annoy people and waste spend.
Privacy regulations and browser or platform changes can limit which visitors can be added to audiences, so audience sizes can differ from website traffic.
Example
An online shop tags its product pages and builds an audience of visitors who added an item to their cart in the last seven days but did not buy. It runs an ad featuring that item to this audience only.
Related marketing terms
Related KPIs
Related tools
Meta Ads UTM Builder
MarketingTags the landing-page links of your Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or Threads ads so analytics can separate retargeting traffic from other paid social. It does not build audiences.
Google Ads URL Builder
MarketingTags the landing-page links of your Google Ads campaigns, including remarketing ones, so analytics can tell them apart from other traffic. It does not create audiences or lists.