Retargeting.

Retargeting—long known as “remarketing” on Google—shows ads specifically to people who are already familiar with your business. Someone who visited your bathroom renovation page and then closed it will see an ad from you a few days later on Instagram or another website. For businesses where customers take longer to make a decision, this is often the most obvious way to bring potential customers back, because these people have already seen your offer.

How Retargeting Works

The foundation is a target audience based on your own data. On Meta, this is called a Custom Audience. According to Meta, you can create such target audiences from your own sources—such as your website, customer lists, or app—as well as from interactions on Facebook and Instagram. According to Meta, an active Meta Pixel is required to create a website Custom Audience. You determine which page visits count and how many days someone remains in the target audience.

Google now refers to this same principle as "segments based on first-party data." According to Google, this allows ads to be shown to previous visitors on the Display Network, on YouTube, or during a subsequent Google search. According to Google, lists from a lead form can also be used as segments there.

What Your Business Should Keep in Mind

Obtain consent before tracking begins. According to Section 25 of the TDDDG, storing information on a user’s device or accessing it is permitted only with consent, unless it is strictly necessary for the explicitly requested service. In its Terms of Service for Business Tools, Meta requires that you verifiably obtain the necessary consent in countries such as those in the EU. According to its own help center, Google requires consent signals for remarketing in the EEA. If in doubt, consult your data protection advisor to determine whether your cookie banner adequately addresses this requirement.

Segment your audiences by intent. Someone who has visited your contact page is closer to making an inquiry than someone who has read a guide. By segmenting your audiences, you can show each group a message tailored to them and direct them to the appropriate landing page.

Exclude people who have already made an inquiry. According to Meta, you can exclude certain people when creating a target audience. In projects, we often see that without this exclusion, part of the budget goes to people who already have an appointment with you.

Frequently Asked Questions About Retargeting

Is retargeting the same as remarketing? In everyday terms, yes. Google used to refer to it as remarketing, but now calls it “segments based on first-party data.” At Meta, the same concept is implemented through Custom Audiences.

Why is my retargeting audience so small? If the pixel doesn't load until consent is given, anyone who declines will be missing from the audience. According to Meta, events from some iOS users may also be missing. And with few visitors to the website, the audience is inevitably small.

Is retargeting possible even without website visitors? Yes. According to Meta, you can also create audiences based on interactions on Facebook and Instagram—for example, with your videos or your Page. You don't need tracking on your website to do this.

Our article " Meta Ads Costs" explains how retargeting fits into the overall funnel of ads and landing pages as a reminder step, and what it costs on Meta. We handle the implementation in Ad Management.