Stop 06 · Paid Advertising (PPC)Topics · 10/12

Retargeting / Remarketing

In short

Most people leave a website without buying. Retargeting shows ads to those visitors later, gently reminding them of what they looked at.

Showing ads specifically to people who already interacted with your brand (visited your site, added to cart) — typically far more efficient than cold targeting since intent is already established.

The blob behind a sweet shop counter holds up a tray of diamond-shaped sweets with a warm smile.

Think of it like this

The sweet shop uncle who remembers

You asked about kaju katli last week but didn't buy. Today you pass by and uncle smiles, 'Fresh kaju katli came this morning!'. You buy a box. He remembered politely, without chasing you down the road.

Watch it happen

How a visitor ends up on a retargeting list

Visitor

Your site

Ad platform

views /shoes/runner-x

1/5A visitor browses a pair of shoes and adds them to cart.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Audience lists

Group visitors by what they did: viewed a product, added to cart, or bought already.

Time windows

Someone who visited yesterday is warmer than someone from two months ago. Use shorter windows for hotter offers.

Frequency caps

Seeing the same ad 20 times feels creepy. Limit how often each person sees it.

Exclude buyers

Remove recent buyers so you don't advertise the shoes they already bought.

See it in code

Walk through the code

1// Runs when the user taps "Add to cart"2gtag("event", "add_to_cart", {3  currency: "INR",4  value: 2499,5  items: [{ item_id: "RUNNER-X", item_name: "Runner X" }],6});

1/3Sends a standard event name that ad tools understand.

A Google tag event that marks a visitor as a cart adder. Meta's Pixel has a similar AddToCart event. Show a consent banner where the law requires it.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Showing the same ad to visitors for months.

Do this instead

Use time windows like 7 or 30 days, and refresh the creative often.

Oops

Retargeting people who just bought.

Do this instead

Exclude recent buyers, or show them something different like accessories.

Your mission

Plan three retargeting audiences

~20 min

Quick check

Customers complain your ads 'follow them everywhere'. What should you change first?

Go deeper

1Design a retargeting funnel for a hypothetical e-commerce cart-abandonment scenario.
2Learn how a retargeting pixel/tag technically tracks visitors for later ad targeting.
3Understand basic privacy considerations and disclosure requirements around retargeting.