Surely this has happened to you countless times. You visit a website, browse the products, and even place a few in your cart. Then you leave without paying. From that point on, you start seeing ads featuring the very items you had in your cart on just about every site you visit.
That’s remarketing. You’re being remarketed to by the brands you visited in the past few days. It’s an ingenious way to get prospects to come back and complete their purchases, and it’s one of the best ways to reach the majority of website visitors who leave without taking action.
It’s totally normal to feel confused by marketing strategies. Sometimes, even your best efforts don’t lead to big payoffs. So, let’s break down what remarketing is, how it works, and five techniques you can start using today.
Remarketing: What We’ll Cover
- What Is Remarketing?
- How Does Remarketing Work?
- Why Remarketing Works
- How to Start Your First Remarketing Campaign
- 5 Display Remarketing Techniques to Try
What Is Remarketing?
Remarketing (also called retargeting) is the practice of showing targeted ads to people who have already interacted with your business, usually by visiting your website without becoming a customer. Display remarketing shows those ads as images or banners on other websites, apps, and social media platforms as people browse.
Most people who visit your website won’t buy, call, or fill out a form on their first visit. In the past, the only option businesses had was crossing their fingers and hoping some of those visitors would come back. Remarketing lets you proactively stay in front of them.
You can also remarket to your existing customers to encourage repeat purchases, upsells, and referrals. Once you know who your target audience is, you can tailor your ads to each group.
How Does Remarketing Work?
When someone visits your website, a small piece of tracking code (like the Google tag or the Meta Pixel) adds them to a remarketing list. Later, as they browse other sites, your ads appear in front of them as a reminder.
For example, if you browsed a website that sells tea, that tea company may show up often in ads on the other websites you visit and in your social media feeds. That’s remarketing in action.
Your ads can show up in a few main places:
- Google Display Network: Millions of websites and apps that partner with Google, plus YouTube and Gmail. Google Display ads let you use creative imagery to bring potential customers back to your website.
- Social media: Facebook and Instagram, through Meta’s ads platform.
- Customer lists: You can also upload your own customer email lists to Google Ads (Customer Match) and Meta to reach existing customers.
You’re in control of who sees your ads. When someone makes a purchase, you can automatically remove them from your remarketing list so they stop seeing ads for something they already bought.
One thing to keep in mind: privacy settings, cookie consent rules, and browser tracking restrictions can shrink your remarketing lists. That makes your own customer data, like email lists, more valuable than ever.
Why Remarketing Works
The average ecommerce website converts only about 3.65% of its visitors (Adobe). That means roughly 96% of potential customers leave without buying. And among shoppers who add something to their cart, about 70% abandon it before checking out (Baymard Institute).
Mobile plays a big role, too. Consumers completed 56.4% of online holiday transactions on mobile devices in 2025 (Digital Commerce 360), but smartphone shoppers still convert at a lower rate than desktop shoppers. People browse on their phones, get distracted, and leave. Remarketing helps you bring them back when they’re ready.
Here’s why remarketing is worth it:
- You’re reaching warm leads. These people already know who you are and showed interest in what you offer.
- It builds brand awareness. Seeing your business again and again keeps you top of mind.
- It’s cost-effective. You have full control over your budget, bids, and audiences, and you’re spending money on people who are more likely to convert.
- It can grow your audience. Remarketing lists can help ad platforms find new people who are similar to your best visitors and customers.
How to Start Your First Remarketing Campaign
Because Google’s advertising platform is so robust, it’s a great place to create your first remarketing campaign. Here are some best practices to follow:
- Install your tracking tags. Add the Google tag (and the Meta Pixel if you plan to advertise on Facebook and Instagram) to your website so you can start building your remarketing lists.
- Choose your bidding strategy. Google’s Smart Bidding options, like Maximize Conversions or Target CPA, automatically adjust your bids. You can also manage bids manually. Experiment with both to see which provides the best results.
- Focus on conversions. Create ads with clear calls to action to increase the chances of turning previous visitors into customers.
- Think about timing. Some businesses benefit from focusing on their most recent visitors, while others see great results from re-engaging older visitors. You can set how long people stay on each list.
- Review your analytics. Keep an eye on who is interacting with your remarketing ads and adjust your campaigns based on what’s working.
Using remarketing alongside your email marketing can increase your conversions even more.
5 Display Remarketing Techniques to Try
1. Select the Pages You Want to Retarget
Do you already know which products or services are your top sellers? Then those pages should be on your list to target in your display remarketing strategy. You can create different ads based on the specific pages people viewed on your website.
You can do the same for seasonal products, which sell more during certain times of the year, like bathing suits in the summer. You may have a goal to boost traffic to those pages during the warmer months.
2. Segment Your Display Remarketing Campaigns
If you have an email campaign, you already know how effective segmenting can be. Not all customers are the same, and they’re not all looking for the same thing.
For this reason, segment your display remarketing campaigns based on user intent. You can learn this by looking at how long visitors stay on your site, how many pages they view, and which pages they view.
Each segmented group should have its own call to action. Keep a close eye on conversion rates to see which campaigns need tweaking.
3. Use Varying Ad Sizes and Copy
Ad networks offer many different ad sizes and placements. Google’s responsive display ads automatically adjust your images and text to fit available spaces, which helps your ads show up on more sites. Pair them with a few custom-designed ads in popular sizes and test different headlines and copy.
This strategy will broaden your reach while boosting traffic and conversions.
4. Focus on Shopping Cart and Conversion Abandons
You have a much better chance of converting someone who made it to your shopping cart or contact form than someone who never got past the first product page.
For these visitors, your ads act as a reminder of the items or services they already showed interest in. It’s always best to focus on your warm and hot leads over people who have yet to show real interest in your product.
5. Give Coupons to Repeat Visitors
Another way to get prospects to come back after abandoning a product page or shopping cart is to offer discounts and coupons.
For instance, you can include a discount in the ad you show to this segment to get them to return. You can do the same for repeat visitors and past customers to keep them coming back, upsell them, or cross-sell related products. Eventually, they may grow into loyal customers, increasing their lifetime value. Just don’t offer discounts so often that customers learn to abandon their carts on purpose to get one!
Bonus Tip: Set Frequency Caps and Ad Schedules
Nobody wants to feel followed around the internet. Google lets you set a maximum number of times someone sees your ad in a day or week, and you can choose to show ads only during certain hours. This keeps your remarketing helpful instead of annoying.
Build Your Reputation and Visibility
Spreading the word about your brand isn’t difficult when you have a solid strategy in place. Besides using display remarketing, you should also have a local SEO plan in the works. Want to see remarketing for a specific industry? Here’s how to get more dental patients with remarketing ads.
If you’re ready to start targeting all the potential customers who leave your website but don’t have time to set up a remarketing campaign, we can help. Our online marketing and reputation management solutions are designed to boost your revenue, grow your customer base, and improve your overall visibility. Schedule a call or learn more about RebelFish Local to get started!