Glossary · Marketing, CRM & Growth
Retargeting
Overview
What retargeting is
Retargeting, also called remarketing, is a paid advertising strategy that re-engages people who have already interacted with your business. Instead of paying to reach cold strangers, you show ads only to a defined audience of past website visitors, app users, video viewers, or email subscribers who did not take the action you wanted.
The terms retargeting and remarketing are often used interchangeably. Historically, retargeting referred to serving ads based on browsing behavior, while remarketing described re-engagement via email; today most platforms, including Google, use the label remarketing for both.
How it works
A small tracking snippet, such as the Meta Pixel or a Google Ads tag, records visitors and drops them into an audience list. When those users browse other sites, apps, or social feeds within an ad network, the platform serves them your ads. Lists can be segmented by pages viewed, cart abandonment, or time since the visit.
Dynamic remarketing takes this further by automatically showing the exact products or services a person looked at. Advertisers typically set a membership duration (for example, 30 or 90 days) and frequency caps to avoid over-serving the same person. Privacy changes and cookie restrictions have made first-party data and server-side tracking increasingly important.
Why it matters
Most first-time visitors leave without converting, and retargeting gives you a cost-effective way to stay in front of people who already showed intent. Because the audience is warm, retargeting campaigns often deliver stronger conversion rates and lower cost per acquisition than prospecting to cold audiences.
It works best as part of a full funnel rather than in isolation, since it depends on existing traffic and audience volume. Watch for ad fatigue and diminishing returns, and pair retargeting with fresh top-of-funnel campaigns to keep the audience pool replenished.
Where we use it
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How our team puts Retargeting to work in real projects.
FAQ
Retargeting — common questions
Is retargeting the same as remarketing?
In practice they mean the same thing: showing ads to people who already engaged with your brand. Some marketers distinguish retargeting (ad-based) from remarketing (email-based), but Google and most platforms use the terms interchangeably.
Which platforms support retargeting?
The most common are Google Ads (Display, Search, and YouTube), Meta (Facebook and Instagram), LinkedIn, Microsoft Advertising, and TikTok. Each uses a tracking pixel or tag to build audiences from your site visitors.
Does retargeting still work with cookie restrictions?
Yes, but it is changing. Third-party cookie limits and privacy features have reduced reach, so advertisers increasingly rely on first-party data, server-side tracking, and platform conversion APIs to keep audiences accurate.
Keep exploring
Related terms
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