Retargeting campaigns

Why Retargeting Works

The simple truth is most people don't convert on their first visit. They get distracted, they're researching competitors, or they just aren't ready. Retargeting works by capitalizing on familiarity and timing. Seeing your brand again keeps you top-of-mind and builds trust. When they *are* ready to make a decision, you're the first solution they think of. This is the 'Mere-Exposure Effect' in action--people develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.

Retargeting also lets you be hyper-relevant. You're not just showing a generic ad; you can tailor your message based on the user's specific behavior. Someone who visited your pricing page can be shown an ad about your 14-day trial. Someone who abandoned a shopping cart can be shown the exact product they left behind, maybe with a small discount. This level of personalization is impossible with broad, top-of-funnel advertising and is why retargeting ad spend often generates significantly higher returns.

Three real examples

According to HubSpot, the average CTR for retargeting ads is 0.7%, which is about 10x higher than the average for non-targeted display ads (0.07%).

The step-by-step playbook

1. 1

   Step 1: Install Your Tracking Pixels

   Before you can retarget anyone, you need to track them. Install the Meta Pixel (for Facebook/Instagram), Google Ads tag, and LinkedIn Insight Tag on every page of your website. This is a small snippet of code that builds your audience lists.

2. 2

   Step 2: Define Your Core Audiences

   Don't just target 'all website visitors'. Create specific audience segments based on behavior. Good starters: 'All Visitors - 30 days', 'Visited Pricing Page - 14 days', 'Signed up but didn't activate - 7 days', 'Abandoned Cart - 7 days'.

3. 3

   Step 3: Choose Your Channels

   Start with one or two channels where your audience is most active. For B2C, this is often Facebook and Instagram. For B2B, LinkedIn and Google's Display Network are strong choices. Your audience data will tell you where to focus.

4. 4

   Step 4: Create Segmented Ad Creatives

   Create different ads for different audiences. The ad for someone who visited your pricing page should be different from one for a blog reader. For the pricing page visitor, show a testimonial or a trial offer. For the blog reader, promote a related webinar or ebook.

5. 5

   Step 5: Write Direct-Response Ad Copy

   Your copy should be clear, concise, and have a single call to action (CTA). Acknowledge their prior visit subtly. For example: 'Still thinking about {Your Product}? Start your free 14-day trial today and see how it works.'

6. 6

   Step 6: Set a Starting Budget and Launch

   You don't need a huge budget to start. Begin with $20-$50 per day per campaign. Set your campaign live and let it run for at least 3-5 days to gather initial data before making any changes. The algorithms need time to learn.

7. 7

   Step 7: Monitor Key Metrics

   Track Click-Through Rate (CTR), Cost Per Click (CPC), and most importantly, Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) or Return On Ad Spend (ROAS). Are you getting signups or sales at a profitable price? That's the ultimate test.

8. 8

   Step 8: Optimize and A/B Test

   After a week, start optimizing. If an ad has a low CTR, test new creative or copy. If an audience is too expensive, refine its definition or lower the bid. Always be testing one variable at a time to know what's working.

Template: 'Pricing Page Visitor' Ad Copy

Here's a simple, effective ad copy template for retargeting users who viewed your pricing page but didn't sign up for a trial.

[Headline]
On the fence? Try {Your Product Name} free for 14 days.

[Body]
Saw you checking out {Your Product Name}. Take the next step and see how teams at {Well-Known_Customer_1} and {Well-Known_Customer_2} use it to {Achieve_Benefit_X}.

No credit card required. Get all features and unlimited support from day one.

[CTA Button]
Start My Free Trial

What to Ask Before You Start

• What is the minimum number of monthly website visitors I need for this to be effective? (Hint: at least 1,000)
• Which user actions on my site signal the highest intent to buy?
• What is my allowable Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) for a new trial or customer?
• Do I have the resources to create different ad visuals for different audiences?
• What is the natural consideration period for my product? Should my retargeting window be 7, 30, or 90 days?

Focus on your allowable CPA. If you don't know this number, you can't measure if your campaigns are profitable.

Recommended tools

Prices are indicative and change - check the vendor before buying.

Do it faster with AI Prompts

Mistakes that kill this play

• ×Not excluding converters. Don't show 'sign up' ads to people who have already signed up. It's a waste of money and a bad user experience.
• ×Running only one generic ad. Your message to a blog reader should be different from your message to a pricing page visitor.
• ×Setting the frequency cap too high. Showing the same person your ad 20 times a day is annoying. Start with a cap of 3-5 impressions per day per user.
• ×Ignoring the landing page. The post-click experience matters. Send users to a page that's highly relevant to the ad they just clicked, not just back to your homepage.
• ×Using too short of a time window. For complex B2B products with long sales cycles, a 7-day retargeting window is too short. Match the window to your customer's consideration phase.
• ×Focusing only on CPC/CTR. The only metric that truly matters is your return. A campaign with a high CPC can still be wildly profitable if it's converting high-value customers.
• ×Giving up too early. Ad algorithms need time and data to optimize. Don't kill a campaign after 48 hours because it's not profitable yet. Let it run for at least a week.

Your First 7 Days

• Day 1: Install and verify your ad pixels (Meta, Google, LinkedIn) on your website using their official guides or Google Tag Manager.
• Day 2: Create your first two audience segments in your chosen ad platform: 1) All website visitors in the last 30 days, and 2) Visitors to your pricing page in the last 14 days.
• Day 3: Write the ad copy and headlines for each of your two audiences. Use the AI prompts to generate ideas.
• Day 4: Design the creative for your ads. Create at least two different visual variations for each audience to set up an A/B test from the start.
• Day 5: Build the campaigns in your chosen ad platform. Set a daily budget, configure your audiences, upload your creative/copy, and set your conversion goals.
• Day 6: Launch your campaigns. Double-check that everything is active and tracking correctly. Monitor for any immediate red flags like an unusually high CPC.
• Day 7: Review the first full day of data. Look at CTR and CPC, but don't make any major changes yet. Let the campaigns gather more data.

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