People rarely buy on their first visit to a website. They compare prices, read reviews, get pulled back into work and simply forget about your online store or offer. Remarketing gives you a way to remind exactly those people who already know about you. In this article, you’ll learn how it works, where to set it up and what to watch out for so you don’t start annoying people.
What remarketing is
Remarketing (often also called retargeting) is a form of online advertising that specifically targets people who have already visited your website but didn’t take the action you hoped for — they didn’t buy, didn’t fill out the form, didn’t call.
You can show them an ad again:
- on Facebook and Instagram, on the Google Display Network or on YouTube,
- featuring the product they viewed,
- with a perk they can still take advantage of,
- or just with a reminder that they “forgot” about you.
How remarketing works
The principle is simple. Your website has a small piece of code installed — a pixel or tag from Google or Meta. When a visitor agrees to marketing cookies, the code remembers that they were on your website and which pages they saw.
From these people, you then create an audience in the ad platform — a group that will be shown your ad. It might be, for example, “everyone who visited the Web Design page in the last 30 days” or “people who added an item to the cart but didn’t buy.” The ad then appears to them when they’re on other websites, on YouTube or on social media.
Why remarketing works
- You’re reaching people who already know you and have shown interest.
- It tends to be cheaper than reaching completely new people, because the audience is smaller and more precise.
- It supports decision-making — it reminds people of you while they’re still deciding.
- It improves the return on your advertising as a whole, because it gets more out of a first visit that cost more to win.
Examples of remarketing in action
- Abandoned cart in an online store: A customer added a product to the cart but didn’t complete the order. Show them an ad with that product and a prompt to finish — feel free to add a bonus, such as free shipping.
- Services: Someone looked at your page about custom kitchens? Show them references, photos of finished projects or the benefits of working with you.
- Blog content: People read your article? Offer them a related guide, a consultation or a newsletter that takes the topic further.
- B2B: A visitor looked at your price list but didn’t get in touch. Show them a case study from their industry and an invitation to a short call.
How to do it step by step
- Ad account — Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager or both, depending on where your customers are.
- Tracking codes on your website — the Google tag or Meta pixel, ideally deployed through Google Tag Manager. If you’re new to it, our article Getting started with Google Tag Manager will help.
- A cookie banner with consent — in the EU, you may only use remarketing for people who have agreed to it. For Google Ads, this also involves Consent Mode. Learn more about tracking in this new environment in our article on the end of third-party cookies.
- Remarketing audiences — split people by behavior: product viewers, abandoned carts, blog readers, customers.
- A campaign with tailored creative — different copy and images for each audience. Someone who abandoned their cart needs a different message than someone who read an article.
Online stores can go even further with dynamic remarketing, where the ad automatically shows exactly the products the person viewed. For this, you need a product feed, for example from Google Merchant Center.
What to watch out for
- Don’t chase people for too long. Set a reasonable audience duration based on how long people take to decide — shorter for everyday goods, say 14 to 30 days, longer for pricier services.
- Watch the frequency. The same ad ten times a day won’t persuade anyone — it’ll annoy them.
- Exclude people who have already bought. Nothing irritates people more than an ad for something they bought yesterday.
- Personalize your creative. Don’t use the same banner you use for new audiences.
- Measure results. Track how many orders remarketing brought in and at what cost, not just the number of impressions.
How to tell whether remarketing really makes money
Remarketing often looks better in reports than it really is. It reaches people who already know about you, and some of them would have bought even without the ad. So don’t just watch the conversions the ad platform credits to itself.
- Compare the cost per order from remarketing with your other campaigns.
- Watch whether your total revenue is growing, not just the numbers in your ad account.
- If you have enough data, try switching off part of your remarketing for a few weeks and see whether the number of orders changes.
If you’re wondering whether remarketing makes sense for your business, read our article When it pays to invest in remarketing.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between remarketing and retargeting?
In practice, the two terms are used as synonyms. Google traditionally talks about remarketing, while other platforms tend to say retargeting. The principle is the same: you reach people who have already been in contact with you.
Do I need visitor consent for remarketing?
Yes. In the EU, visitors must agree to marketing cookies; otherwise, you can’t add them to a remarketing audience. That’s why you need a properly set-up cookie banner.
Does remarketing work with low traffic?
It does, but an audience has to reach a certain minimum size before ads start showing at all. On small websites, create broader audiences, such as all visitors, and don’t split them into groups that are too small.
How much does remarketing cost?
You set the budget yourself and pay according to the model you choose, usually per click or per impression. Since the audience is smaller, remarketing often doesn’t require large amounts. What matters more is measuring how much one order costs you.
Want remarketing that doesn’t feel pushy?
Remarketing gives you a second chance at a first impression. People already know about you — now you just need to win them over, with a light touch. If you want campaigns that use audiences sensibly and run in an account that’s yours, check out our Google Ads services.
