Skip to main content

Hey there! Free trials are available for Standard and Essentials plans. Start for free today.

What Is Retargeting?

If you sell stuff online, you know advertising plays a critical role in driving people to your website. But what if they aren’t ready to buy when they first find you?

Hero image for What Is Retargeting?

If you run a small business and sell stuff online, you know advertising plays a critical role in driving people to your website. But what if they aren’t ready to buy when they first find your store? Or if they get distracted before they complete a purchase?

It turns out that 97% of people who visit your site for the first time leave without buying anything, and then they’re lost forever. Unless you can bring them back.

Retargeting campaigns remind your website visitors of your products and services after they leave your website without buying. After visiting specific pages, it allows you to retarget them and show your visitors relevant visual or text ads when they visit other websites. Retargeting campaigns could be done with the help of Google Ads, Facebook retargeting, LinkedIn Ads and other retargeting advertising platforms. Serious marketers today use retargeting as a vital tool to connect with their customers and increase their sales and customer loyalty.

97% of people who visit your site for the first time leave without buying anything, and then they’re lost forever. Unless you can bring them back.

Before someone decides to buy your product or service, they need to feel like they know you. A good marketing rule of thumb to help customers make up their mind about purchasing is to ensure they hear your message at least 7 times. Retargeting builds visibility for your brand, allowing you to reach an audience that has already expressed interest in your products.

Plus, it’s a lot more cost-effective than other types of advertising. And when you create retargeting ads in Mailchimp, we’ll automatically generate thousands of ads that display in the right place at the right time, with no added fees from us.

When should you use retargeting campaigns?

  • Retargeting is meant to be a long-term marketing strategy for businesses that already have a following. If your website gets at least 100 monthly visitors, Google remarketing ads are definitely for you.
  • Promoting bestsellers. Retargeting ads are a simple, effective way to showcase your top-selling products. And promoting items your current customers love can even help convert visitors into customers and increase ROI for your ads.
  • Introducing new collections. People who are interested in your brand and visit your site are a great audience to target when you’re launching a new product collection. Your retargeting ads will catch their eye wherever they go online, creating a clear path back to your store so they can check out what’s new. This can be done with display campaigns using Google AdWords or through a Facebook retargeting campaign.
  • Moving inventory. As an online seller, you’ve probably dealt with slow-moving inventory at one time or another. Retargeting ads are a low-budget, low-effort way to showcase surplus products from your store to potential customers.
  • Building brand awareness. Most people need to feel they know you before they decide to buy your product or service, and retargeting ads keep your brand top of mind for potential customers who aren’t ready to purchase when they first visit your site.

Retargeting vs remarketing campaigns

"Retargeting" and "remarketing" are pretty similar as they mean to achieve the same goals:

  • Target audiences who already visited your site and are aware of your brand
  • Engage and target people who are most likely to make a purchase
  • Help start building a lasting connection with the customers through brand awareness and recognition

The differences between retargeting vs. remarketing are in the tactics used to accomplish these goals.

Retargeting primarily uses paid ads to target audiences who have visited your website or social media profiles.

Remarketing primarily uses email to target people who have already done business with your brand.

That’s where Google remarketing ads come in. It’s a powerful new marketing channel in Mailchimp that helps you convert website visitors into customers after they’ve left your store.

How retargeting works

Our retargeting ads use the Google Display Network to reach more than 90% of people on the internet across more than 2 million sites through display ads.

Once a visitor browses your site, they will start to see your ads while reading an article, listening to music, or visiting other stores online. Your ads will remind them of all the cool stuff you have to offer and bring them back to your site when they have decided to make a purchase.

In just a few clicks, you can automate ads that recapture sales in the background, while you focus on other important parts of your business.

Where retargeting fits into your marketing strategy

You need more than one marketing channel to ensure none of your customers fall through the cracks. According to Google, combining retargeting with the other advertising you already do can help you sell 50% more stuff. In Mailchimp, you have all the tools you need to create integrated campaigns under one roof.

According to Google, combining retargeting ads with the other advertising you already do can help you sell 50% more stuff.

Drive traffic to your website with an email, Facebook ad, or Instagram ad. Then, when someone leaves without buying, you can retarget them with an ad (or, if your Shopify store is connected to Mailchimp, a product retargeting email).

Once they make a purchase and you collect their email address at checkout, send a welcome or first-purchase automation to keep them engaged with your brand.

What is Retargeting?: FAQ

What is an example of retargeting?

Before you can begin creating your own remarketing ads, it is important to familiarize yourself with how retargeting marketing works. An example of retargeting marketing might include sending a follow-up email to a subscribed customer who has recently made a purchase on your online store. Another form of retargeting marketing includes using social media, such as Facebook ads, to retarget users who have previously visited your website or viewed products on your eCommerce store.

Retargeting campaigns are useful to help with moving outdated inventory, introducing new products or services, or even offering exclusive offers and discounts to those who have previously purchased from you.

What is retargeting and why is it important?

Retargeting is the process of targeting users who have previously accessed a website, browsed an eCommerce store, or made a purchase online. Oftentimes, once you finalize a sale, your interaction with the shopper ceases. However, with retargeting ads, you can attempt to attract the attention of those who have previously visited your website using various methods ranging from traditional newsletters and social media platforms to exclusive landing pages or special offers.

Retargeting is not only useful to help bring visitors back to your website, but it can also help with boosting brand awareness. When an online user is exposed to your logo or promotional advertisement repeatedly, they are much more likely to remember your business and what it represents. Using retargeting ads can help boost online visibility while maximizing your reach among any demographics and target audience.

How many types of retargeting ads are there?

Fortunately for those who are involved with digital marketing today, there are virtually endless types of retargeting ads available, with your own creativity and imagination being the only limitation. Whether you are interested in launching email marketing and Google ads or if you are thinking of using social media platforms for retargeting purposes, you have many different opportunities when it comes to retargeting marketing. Some of the most common types of retargeting ads used today include:

  • Segmented users in sales funnels: Target users based on the type of products or pages they have viewed using a direct sales funnel. You can also use direct sales funnels to gain valuable insight into the type of information or products visitors are searching for while browsing your site or eCommerce store.
  • Buyer persona: Targeting specific buyer personas is one of the most popular methods of retargeting marketing, regardless of the market you intend to reach. Targeting specific demographics based on age, gender, location, interests, and even previous online purchases can help with honing in on an audience with a genuine interest in your own brand.
  • Social media custom audiences: Social media provides excellent tools for managing and launching retargeting ads, especially with Facebook custom audiences. Facebook custom audiences provide the ability to upload logs of contact information and emails to include within any campaign(s) launched using the platform.
  • Cross-channel marketing: If you want to connect with users across numerous social media platforms and websites they frequent simultaneously, you can do so with cross-channel marketing tactics in your next retargeting marketing campaign. Cross-channel marketing is extremely beneficial for brand visibility and for boosting brand awareness across a variety of websites and social platforms.

Ready to get started? Head to the ad builder to set up your retargeting campaign in a few quick clicks.

Share This Article