Remarketing

Remarketing (often called retargeting) is a digital marketing strategy where you target users who have already interacted with your brand, website, or mobile app, but haven't performed the desired action (e.g., purchase, inquiry, registration).

In simple terms: This is a way to "follow" your potential customers around the web by showing them ads after they've left your site to bring them back.

How does remarketing work?

The process is relatively simple:

• Visitor enters your website.
• Cookie is placed in the user's browser, anonymously identifying them as part of your audience.
• Visitor leaves the site without purchasing or performing another action.
• When this user visits other websites, uses apps (like Facebook, YouTube) or searches on Google, your advertising networks (e.g., Google Ads, Meta Ads) recognize the cookie.
• The user is shown your ad, created specifically for them, to remind them of your brand and incentivize them to return.

Types of remarketing

There are several main types:

• Standard banner remarketing: The classic type where users see banners on sites from advertising networks.
• Dynamic remarketing: The most effective and widespread type for e-commerce. The ad automatically shows the exact products the user viewed on your site or added to their cart but didn't buy.
• Social media remarketing: Mainly on Facebook and Instagram (through Meta Ads). Allows you to target users who visited your site with specific ads in their social feeds.
• Email remarketing: You send automated emails to users who have forgotten products in their cart (called "Cart Abandonment Emails").
• Search remarketing: When someone has visited your site and subsequently searches on Google, your ad can appear with specific text targeted at them.

Why is remarketing so effective? (Advantages)

• Significantly increases conversion: The audience already knows you and shows interest. The chance they will convert is much higher.
• Improves brand recognition: Constantly seeing your brand and products creates trust and recall.
• High return on investment (ROI): Since you're targeting "warm" and interested users, the cost of customer acquisition (CAC) is usually lower.
• Opportunity for personalized messages: You can create different ad messages for different audiences (e.g., for those who viewed a specific product, for those with a full cart, for those who reached a specific page).

Important warnings and best practices

Remarketing is a powerful tool, but it can easily become annoying and even creepy if not used properly.

• Avoid "stalking": Showing the same ad 30 times to the same person annoys them rather than convincing them. Use frequency capping to limit the number of impressions.
• Segment your audience: Don't show the same ad to everyone. Create different lists:
  
  • Visitors to a specific product category.
  • Users who added a product to cart but didn't complete the purchase.
  • Users who reached the contact page but didn't fill out the form.
• Create expiration for ads: After some time (e.g., 30 or 60 days), the user may have already purchased the product or completely lost interest. Remove them from the audience to avoid wasting money unnecessarily.
• Be creative: Change your ads, offer promotions (e.g., "Complete your purchase now and get 10% off!") for greater effectiveness.

Summary:

Remarketing is a strategy for bringing back lost customers that works by placing a digital "mark" (cookie) on users who visited your site, and then showing them personalized ads in other parts of the internet to direct them back to you and complete the desired action. This is one of the most profitable tools in digital marketing.