Are you looking for ways to grow your small business? Want to know how remarketing can assist your growth plans?

 

QuickSprout share their guide to remarketing in this infographic.

Here’s a summary of what you’ll learn:

• What remarketing is
• Why remarketing is important
• Why you should use remarketing
• Tips for creating remarketing lists
• Remarketing campaign strategies to implement

Check out the infographic for more detail.

 

In today’s competitive digital landscape, one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal is remarketing. This strategy allows you to re-engage with individuals who have already shown an interest in your products or services, keeping your brand top-of-mind and driving them further along the conversion funnel.

In this post, we’ll dive deep into remarketing, covering what it is, why it’s so effective, and how you can leverage it to grow your business.

What Remarketing Is

For small businesses looking to maximize the effectiveness of their digital marketing efforts, remarketing is a key strategy.

To put it simply, remarketing involves reaching out to users who have previously interacted with your business but have not completed a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or submitting a contact form.

These users are already aware of your brand and have shown interest, making them prime candidates for re-engagement.

Let’s break down remarketing in more detail, focusing on its relevance for small businesses and how you can implement it effectively.

How Remarketing Works

Remarketing uses cookies and tracking pixels to monitor the behavior of users on your website. When someone visits your website, a small piece of code, known as a “pixel” or “cookie,” is dropped into their browser.

This code tracks their movements on your site and stores information, such as the pages they visited, the products they viewed, and how long they stayed. Based on this data, you can create targeted ads that are shown to these users as they browse other websites, use search engines, or scroll through their social media feeds.

Remarketing allows you to re-engage these users with personalized ads, reminding them of the products or services they viewed, and encouraging them to complete their purchase or take another action.

The Types of Remarketing

There are several types of remarketing, and choosing the right one for your small business depends on your goals. Here are the most common types:

• Standard Remarketing: This is the most basic form, where you display ads to users who have visited your website. These ads appear across the Google Display Network or other ad networks as the user browses different sites.
• Dynamic Remarketing: This type goes a step further by personalizing the ads based on what products or services users viewed on your site. For example, if someone browsed a particular product page, they would later see ads showcasing that exact product, sometimes with added incentives like discounts or free shipping.
• Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA): RLSA allows you to target past visitors when they are searching for products or services on Google Search. It’s particularly effective for reminding people who are still in the consideration phase of the buying process about your offerings, ensuring your brand stays visible at critical moments.
• Video Remarketing: This strategy targets users who have interacted with your YouTube videos or ads. It allows you to serve video or display ads to them as they watch other videos on YouTube or browse sites on the Google Display Network.
• Email List Remarketing: You can upload your customer email lists to Google Ads or Facebook Ads and show ads to users associated with those email addresses as they browse online. This is a great way to re-engage customers who have interacted with your brand via email but may not have visited your website recently.

Why Small Businesses Should Use Remarketing

Remarketing is particularly advantageous for small businesses for several reasons:

• Affordable and Efficient: Unlike broader digital marketing campaigns, remarketing targets a specific audience—those who have already interacted with your website or digital content. Because these users are already familiar with your brand, the cost per click (CPC) is often lower than traditional ads aimed at cold audiences. This is especially important for small businesses with limited marketing budgets, as it allows for a more efficient allocation of resources.
• Higher Conversion Rates: Remarketing taps into an audience that is already interested in your offerings, significantly increasing the likelihood of conversion. In fact, studies have shown that remarketing campaigns can increase conversion rates by 150%, making them a high-ROI option for small businesses.
• Personalization at Scale: Remarketing enables you to create highly targeted and personalized ads based on user behavior. For example, if someone visits your website and looks at specific products without purchasing, you can display ads that showcase those exact products. This level of personalization builds trust and makes the user feel understood, improving the chances of conversion.

How Small Businesses Can Implement Remarketing

To get the most out of remarketing, small businesses need to approach it strategically.

Here are the key steps to setting up a successful remarketing campaign:

Set Clear Goals

Before diving into remarketing, it’s essential to define your goals. Are you looking to drive more sales, increase sign-ups, or bring back users who abandoned their shopping carts? Understanding your objectives will help you design more targeted and effective remarketing campaigns.

For example, if your goal is to recover abandoned carts, your ads should focus on reminding users of the products they left behind, potentially offering an incentive to complete the purchase.

Install Tracking Pixels and Cookies

To start remarketing, you’ll need to install tracking pixels or cookies on your website. This is usually provided by the platform you’re using, such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads. These tracking codes monitor user behavior and ensure that you can serve ads to users based on their previous actions on your site.

If you’re unfamiliar with coding, most platforms offer step-by-step guides to help you install the tracking code correctly, or you can hire a developer for a quick setup.

Create Customized Remarketing Lists

One of the most powerful aspects of remarketing is the ability to create customized lists based on user behavior. Here are some examples of lists that can be highly effective for small businesses:

• Website Visitors: Target anyone who has visited your website but hasn’t converted.
• Product Page Viewers: Segment users who have viewed specific product pages. If you sell different categories of products, you can create separate lists for each category and show personalized ads for each.
• Cart Abandoners: This is one of the most valuable segments for eCommerce businesses. These are users who added products to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase.
• Returning Visitors: These are users who have visited your website multiple times. Since they are clearly interested, showing them more in-depth content, like customer testimonials or product reviews, might push them to convert.

Craft Compelling Ad Copy and Visuals

For small businesses, it’s essential that remarketing ads stand out and make a strong impression. Consider the following when creating your ads:

• Ad Copy: Since the audience has already shown interest in your brand, focus on reinforcing the value of your products or services. Use persuasive language, and if possible, include a call-to-action (CTA) that encourages users to return to your site, such as “Get 10% off if you purchase today!”
• Visuals: High-quality images or videos are essential for engaging users. If you’re doing dynamic remarketing, ensure the product visuals are clear, and consider highlighting any promotional offers.

Experiment with Dynamic Remarketing

For small businesses in eCommerce, dynamic remarketing can be a game-changer. Instead of serving generic ads to all users, dynamic remarketing creates personalized ads that feature the exact products or services users interacted with on your website. For example, if someone browsed through a specific product category but didn’t make a purchase, dynamic ads will automatically show them images of the exact products they viewed.

This type of personalization boosts engagement, as users are more likely to click on an ad that’s relevant to their previous browsing experience. If you can, add elements of social proof, such as customer reviews or star ratings, to increase trust.

Remarketing Platforms Small Businesses Should Consider

There are several platforms that make it easy for small businesses to get started with remarketing. Here are a few you should consider:

• Google Ads: Google Ads is one of the most popular platforms for remarketing, as it allows you to reach users across the vast Google Display Network, which includes millions of websites and YouTube. Google Ads also supports dynamic remarketing, giving you the ability to create personalized ads for your audience.
• Facebook Ads: Facebook offers robust remarketing options through its Custom Audiences feature. You can target users who have visited your website, engaged with your Facebook page, or interacted with your app. Facebook also supports dynamic ads, which can automatically display products that users viewed on your site.
• Instagram Ads: Since Facebook owns Instagram, you can extend your remarketing efforts to Instagram using the same Custom Audiences feature. Instagram’s visual-first platform is particularly useful for businesses that want to showcase high-quality product images or lifestyle content.
• LinkedIn Ads: If you’re a B2B business, LinkedIn can be an excellent platform for remarketing. You can retarget users who visited your website or engaged with your company’s LinkedIn page, allowing you to stay top-of-mind for potential leads.

Monitor and Optimize Campaigns

Once your remarketing campaigns are live, the work isn’t over. It’s essential to continuously monitor performance and optimize your campaigns for better results. Use metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per acquisition (CPA) to assess how well your ads are performing.

If a particular campaign isn’t yielding the desired results, experiment with different ad creatives, adjust your targeting, or refine your audience lists.

Conclusion

Remarketing is a powerful strategy that enables small businesses to re-engage potential customers, boost conversions, and maximize their marketing spend.

By understanding how it works and implementing personalized campaigns, small businesses can stay top-of-mind with users who have shown interest in their brand and significantly increase their chances of converting these users into paying customers.

With the right tools and strategies, remarketing can become a cornerstone of your digital marketing efforts, driving both growth and profitability.

Why Remarketing Is Important

For small businesses, effective marketing often comes down to how well you can reach your target audience and convert them into loyal customers. Remarketing is one of the most powerful tools for achieving this goal, as it allows you to reconnect with people who have already expressed an interest in your brand.

But why is remarketing so important, and what makes it especially critical for small businesses? Let’s dive into the core reasons why remarketing is essential and explore how small businesses can leverage it to grow and succeed.

Capitalizing on Warm Leads

Remarketing enables you to focus on users who are already familiar with your brand, making them “warm leads.”

These are individuals who have visited your website, browsed your products, or engaged with your content in some way but haven’t yet taken a desired action. Unlike cold leads (users who have never interacted with your brand), warm leads are already partway through the customer journey and are much more likely to convert.

For small businesses with limited marketing budgets, focusing on warm leads is a much more efficient use of resources. Instead of casting a wide net and hoping to attract attention, you’re targeting users who are already interested.

This increases your chances of converting visitors into paying customers.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Segment your audience based on the specific actions they’ve taken. For example, you can create remarketing lists for users who have viewed a product page, added items to their cart, or spent a significant amount of time on your site. By creating tailored ads for each segment, you can offer personalized messages that address their unique interests or concerns, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Boosting Brand Recall

Brand recall is a key element of successful marketing. When customers are continually exposed to your brand, they are more likely to remember it when they are ready to make a purchase. Remarketing helps keep your brand top-of-mind by displaying ads to users across multiple platforms, including search engines, social media, and third-party websites.

For small businesses, this is a critical advantage. Since you may not have the same level of brand recognition as larger competitors, keeping your business in front of potential customers helps level the playing field. The more often users see your ads, the more familiar they become with your brand, which builds trust and encourages them to take action.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Use consistent branding across all remarketing ads to reinforce brand recall. Make sure that your logo, color schemes, and messaging are uniform across platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram. Consistency helps reinforce the association between your brand and the product or service you’re offering, making it easier for customers to remember you.

Increasing Conversion Rates

One of the most compelling reasons why remarketing is important for small businesses is its ability to significantly increase conversion rates. Users who are exposed to remarketing ads are more likely to convert than those who aren’t. In fact, statistics show that remarketing can lead to a conversion rate increase of up to 150%.

Why does remarketing have such a high conversion rate? Because it focuses on users who are already interested in your brand. These users have likely moved through the awareness and consideration stages of the customer journey, and with a well-timed ad, you can encourage them to take the final step—whether that’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or booking a consultation.

Tip for Small Businesses:

Use remarketing to target specific conversion goals. For example:

• Product Purchase: Target users who abandoned their shopping cart by reminding them of the items they left behind and offering a special incentive, like a discount or free shipping.
• Newsletter Sign-Up: If someone visited your blog but didn’t sign up for your email list, you can display ads that highlight the benefits of subscribing, such as receiving exclusive content or promotions.
• Service Inquiry: For users who viewed your services page but didn’t make a booking, remarketing ads can provide a gentle nudge with testimonials or case studies to build trust.

Reducing Cart Abandonment

Cart abandonment is a major challenge for eCommerce businesses, with studies showing that up to 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned. Remarketing is a powerful tool for addressing this issue by re-engaging users who left your site before completing their purchase. These users often need a small push to finalize their decision, and remarketing allows you to deliver that nudge.

Remarketing ads can remind users of the items they left in their cart, often with an added incentive like a limited-time discount or free shipping. This urgency can help bring them back to your site and complete their purchase, reducing cart abandonment rates and boosting sales.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Create a specific remarketing campaign for users who abandon their cart. To make your ads even more effective, consider implementing dynamic remarketing, which allows you to show users the exact products they left behind. Personalized ads that reflect their previous browsing behavior increase the chances of conversion.

Improving Customer Retention

Remarketing isn’t just about acquiring new customers—it’s also a highly effective strategy for retaining existing ones. For small businesses, customer retention is critical because it’s often more cost-effective to retain a customer than to acquire a new one. Remarketing can help keep your brand in front of past customers, encouraging repeat purchases and ongoing engagement.

For example, you can use remarketing to show personalized ads to past customers who haven’t visited your site in a while, reminding them of the benefits of your products or services. You can also use remarketing to cross-sell or upsell, suggesting complementary products based on their previous purchases.

Tip for Small Businesses:

Segment your remarketing lists to target different customer behaviors. For example:

• Repeat Purchases: Target users who bought a consumable product and may need to reorder it soon.
• Cross-Selling: Show ads for related products based on previous purchases, such as accessories or add-ons.
• Loyalty Programs: Encourage existing customers to join a loyalty program or take advantage of exclusive offers.

Enhancing Personalization

One of the reasons why remarketing is so effective is that it allows for a high level of personalization. Instead of serving generic ads to a broad audience, remarketing enables you to show ads that are tailored to individual users based on their specific interactions with your website.

For small businesses, this level of personalization can significantly improve engagement and conversion rates. Personalized ads speak directly to the user’s needs and interests, making them more relevant and persuasive. When users feel that an ad is directly addressing their preferences or solving a problem they have, they’re more likely to click and convert.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Leverage dynamic remarketing to show highly personalized ads. This is particularly useful for eCommerce businesses, where you can display the exact products a user viewed or added to their cart. Even if you’re a service-based business, you can personalize ads based on the services users have shown interest in, offering targeted promotions or content.

Cost-Effective Marketing

For small businesses with limited marketing budgets, remarketing is one of the most cost-effective digital marketing strategies. Remarketing typically results in a lower cost-per-click (CPC) compared to traditional display or search ads aimed at cold audiences. Since you’re targeting users who are already familiar with your brand, they’re more likely to engage with your ads, making each ad impression more valuable.

Additionally, the ability to create segmented remarketing lists means you can focus your budget on users who are more likely to convert, further improving your return on investment (ROI). By narrowing down your audience to those who have already interacted with your brand, you can optimize your ad spend and avoid wasting money on users who are less likely to engage.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Use remarketing in combination with other targeting methods to maximize cost-effectiveness. For example, you can set frequency caps to avoid showing the same ad too many times to the same user, which helps reduce ad fatigue. You can also prioritize users who have shown higher intent, such as those who spent a lot of time on your site or added items to their cart.

Creating a Multi-Touchpoint Strategy

Remarketing allows you to build a multi-touchpoint strategy, which is critical for converting potential customers. The buying journey for most customers isn’t linear; it often involves multiple interactions with your brand across various channels before they make a decision. Remarketing helps ensure that your brand is present at these different touchpoints, from initial awareness to the final purchase decision.

For small businesses, being able to guide customers through their buying journey without losing them is crucial. Remarketing enables you to show ads at the right time, whether users are browsing social media, searching on Google, or visiting other websites. This continuous engagement helps push them closer to conversion.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Diversify your remarketing channels. Instead of focusing on just one platform (e.g., Google Ads), implement remarketing across multiple platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. This will help you reach your audience at various stages of their customer journey, increasing the chances of conversion.

Conclusion

Remarketing is a game-changer for small businesses because it enables you to target an already interested audience, improve conversion rates, and stretch your marketing budget further.

By focusing on warm leads, boosting brand recall, and offering personalized ads, small businesses can significantly increase their chances of success. Remarketing not only helps in acquiring new customers but also plays a key role in retaining existing ones, driving repeat business, and fostering brand loyalty.

With a well-thought-out remarketing strategy, small businesses can compete effectively in the digital marketplace and achieve sustained growth.

Why You Should Use Remarketing

For small businesses operating in a competitive market, it’s essential to use marketing strategies that deliver the best return on investment (ROI). Remarketing is one of those strategies. But beyond being cost-effective, it allows you to engage with potential customers who have already shown interest in your brand.

In this section, we’ll explore several reasons why small businesses should use remarketing and provide tips for maximizing its impact.

Highly Targeted Advertising

Remarketing offers a level of precision that few other marketing tactics can match. Rather than casting a wide net and hoping to catch the attention of new audiences, remarketing focuses on users who have already visited your website, interacted with your ads, or engaged with your content. These users are pre-qualified, meaning they’ve already demonstrated some level of interest in your business.

For small businesses with limited advertising budgets, this targeted approach is especially valuable. Instead of spending money on broad outreach efforts that may or may not reach relevant audiences, you can direct your resources toward re-engaging warm leads—those most likely to convert.

Tip for Small Businesses:

Segment your remarketing lists based on user behavior and intent. Create different lists for:

• Website Visitors: Target users who visited specific pages (e.g., product pages or services).
• Cart Abandoners: Target users who added products to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase.
• Engaged Users: Target users who have spent a significant amount of time on your site but haven’t taken any further action.

By segmenting users based on their interaction with your business, you can tailor your messaging and create more relevant ads that speak to their specific needs.

Improved Conversion Rates

Remarketing allows small businesses to re-engage users who may have been close to converting but didn’t complete the process. Often, people need several touchpoints with a brand before they make a purchase decision. By showing relevant ads to users who are already familiar with your brand, you increase the likelihood that they will return to your site and convert. Remarketing serves as a reminder and encourages people to revisit your site with fresh motivation to act.

Studies have shown that users who see remarketing ads are 70% more likely to complete a purchase than those who don’t. This makes remarketing an incredibly powerful tool for increasing conversion rates and, by extension, boosting your revenue.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Leverage dynamic remarketing to show personalized ads. Dynamic remarketing displays specific products or services that users have previously viewed on your site. For example, if a user looked at a particular pair of shoes on your eCommerce store but didn’t purchase them, you can display ads featuring that exact product. This level of personalization increases the relevance of your ads and the likelihood of conversion.

Cost-Effective Marketing

One of the biggest advantages of remarketing is that it’s cost-effective, especially for small businesses with limited budgets. Remarketing campaigns tend to have a lower cost-per-click (CPC) than traditional pay-per-click (PPC) or display advertising. This is because you’re targeting a smaller, more qualified audience, meaning there’s less competition for ad placements.

Moreover, remarketing improves your ad spend efficiency by focusing on users who are already familiar with your brand, making them more likely to engage with your ads. Since the audience is smaller and more targeted, you’re not wasting ad dollars on cold leads or broad audiences that may not convert.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Set frequency caps in your remarketing campaigns to control how often users see your ads. Too many impressions can lead to ad fatigue, which can have a negative impact on engagement. By limiting the frequency, you ensure that users aren’t overwhelmed by your ads and are more likely to engage positively when they do see them.

Increased Brand Awareness and Recall

In today’s competitive digital landscape, small businesses often struggle with brand recognition. Remarketing helps solve this problem by continually exposing your audience to your brand. Even if a user doesn’t immediately click on your ad, repeated exposure keeps your business top-of-mind. When they are ready to make a purchase, they’ll be more likely to remember your brand over a competitor’s.

For small businesses, building brand awareness is crucial for long-term growth. Remarketing allows you to do this without spending a large portion of your budget on general awareness campaigns. By serving targeted ads to an audience already familiar with your brand, you increase the chances that they’ll choose you when they’re ready to convert.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Create multi-channel remarketing campaigns to increase brand visibility across various platforms. For example, use Google Ads to display remarketing ads on third-party websites while also running remarketing campaigns on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This ensures your audience sees your brand in multiple places, enhancing brand recall.

Reduced Cart Abandonment

Cart abandonment is a common problem, especially for eCommerce businesses, but remarketing can help address it effectively. Many users add items to their shopping cart only to leave the site without completing the purchase. Remarketing ads can serve as a gentle reminder to these users, encouraging them to return to the site and complete the transaction.

For small businesses, reducing cart abandonment can have a significant impact on revenue. Remarketing provides an opportunity to bring back these potential customers by showing them the products they left behind or offering them a special incentive, such as a discount or free shipping.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Use timely remarketing messages to create a sense of urgency. For example, if someone abandons their cart, you can show them ads that say, “Complete your purchase now and get 10% off!” or “Limited stock available—don’t miss out!” These ads create a feeling of scarcity and encourage users to act quickly.

Higher Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Remarketing isn’t just about acquiring new customers—it’s also a powerful tool for customer retention. By using remarketing to target past customers, you can encourage repeat purchases and build long-term relationships. For example, if someone has purchased from you before, you can show them remarketing ads promoting complementary products, upgrades, or special offers.

For small businesses, increasing Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is crucial for growth. Remarketing helps by keeping your brand in front of existing customers and encouraging them to engage with your business over time, leading to more repeat purchases and a stronger customer relationship.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Create remarketing campaigns for existing customers that promote special deals, loyalty programs, or new products based on their past purchases. This not only increases CLV but also helps foster brand loyalty.

More Personalized Marketing

In today’s digital age, consumers expect personalized experiences. Remarketing allows you to deliver on this expectation by tailoring your ads to the specific behaviors and interests of your audience. Instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach, you can show personalized ads that speak directly to what a user has viewed or expressed interest in on your site.

Personalization is especially important for small businesses because it helps differentiate you from larger competitors. While large brands may have bigger budgets, small businesses can use remarketing to offer a more personalized experience, which can lead to stronger customer relationships and better conversion rates.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Incorporate customer data into your remarketing campaigns. For example, if you have access to email marketing data or customer purchase history, use that information to show relevant ads. Personalized product recommendations or targeted promotions can greatly increase the effectiveness of your remarketing efforts.

Effective Multi-Stage Sales Funnel Engagement

Remarketing isn’t just about closing sales; it can be used at multiple stages of the sales funnel to guide users through their journey.

For small businesses, this multi-stage engagement is crucial because it helps nurture leads who aren’t ready to convert immediately. With remarketing, you can target users at different points of the funnel—whether they’re just becoming aware of your brand or considering making a purchase.

By delivering the right message at the right stage, you can help move users further down the funnel. This is particularly useful for service-based businesses where the sales cycle might be longer, and users need more touchpoints before making a decision.

Tip for Small Businesses:

Design funnel-specific remarketing campaigns. For example:

• Top of the Funnel: Target users who have visited blog pages or informational content with ads that offer more educational resources.
• Middle of the Funnel: Show users who viewed product or service pages ads that highlight customer testimonials, case studies, or competitive advantages.
• Bottom of the Funnel: For users who added items to their cart or viewed pricing information, deliver ads that offer time-sensitive discounts or promotions to encourage them to finalize their purchase.

Measurable and Optimizable Results

One of the key advantages of remarketing is that it offers measurable and trackable results, allowing small businesses to continuously optimize their campaigns. By analyzing metrics like click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and return on ad spend (ROAS), you can gain insights into which ads and strategies are working best. This allows you to make data-driven decisions that improve the effectiveness of your campaigns over time.

For small businesses, this ability to measure and optimize is invaluable. It allows you to get the most out of your marketing budget by focusing on strategies that yield the best results.

• Tip for Small Businesses: Use A/B testing to compare different versions of your remarketing ads. Test different ad copy, visuals, and calls-to-action (CTAs) to determine what resonates most with your audience. Over time, these insights will help you create more effective campaigns that drive better results.

Conclusion

Remarketing is an incredibly valuable tool for small businesses looking to maximize their marketing efforts. By leveraging remarketing strategies, you can target highly engaged audiences, improve conversion rates, reduce cart abandonment, and build long-term customer relationships.

When implemented correctly, remarketing can be both cost-effective and highly impactful, helping your small business stand out in a competitive market.

Tips for Creating Remarketing Lists

Creating effective remarketing lists is crucial to the success of your remarketing campaigns.

These lists allow you to segment your audience based on specific behaviors, ensuring that your ads are highly relevant and personalized to their needs. For small businesses, remarketing lists are an essential tool to maximize ad spend by focusing on users who are more likely to convert.

Here, we’ll delve into essential tips and strategies for building and optimizing your remarketing lists, so you can make the most of this powerful marketing tool.

Segment Your Audience Based on User Intent

Not all website visitors are equal. Some may be browsing out of curiosity, while others are much closer to making a purchase. To make your remarketing efforts as effective as possible, it’s important to create remarketing lists based on the specific behaviors and actions users take on your site.

By segmenting users based on intent, you can tailor your messaging to match where they are in the customer journey.

For example:

• Product Viewers: Create a list for users who have viewed specific product or service pages but didn’t take further action.
• Cart Abandoners: These users are very close to converting but left before completing the purchase. This group is highly valuable and should be targeted with ads that remind them of the items they left behind or offer them an incentive to complete the sale.
• Content Consumers: If you have blog posts or resource pages, target users who have engaged with your content but haven’t yet made a purchase.

Pro Tip:

• Use Google Analytics or the analytics tool built into your ad platform to track specific behaviors and create custom remarketing lists based on those actions. This segmentation will enable you to deliver more personalized and relevant ads, which ultimately leads to higher conversion rates.

Leverage Time-Based Segmentation

Another critical aspect of creating remarketing lists is understanding how long ago a user interacted with your site. A user who visited your site yesterday will have different motivations and levels of interest compared to someone who visited a month ago.

By segmenting users based on the recency of their interaction, you can adjust your messaging to reflect their current level of engagement.

• Recent Visitors: Target users who visited your site within the last 7 days with ads that encourage them to take action quickly, as their interest is likely still high.
• Long-Term Visitors: Users who visited your site 30-90 days ago may need a stronger incentive to return, such as a discount offer or an announcement of a new product.

Pro Tip:

• Create separate remarketing lists based on the timeframe since the user’s last interaction with your site. For example, you could create three lists: one for users who visited in the last 7 days, one for users from 7-30 days ago, and one for 30+ days. Tailor your ads based on how fresh their memory of your business is. The more recently they’ve visited, the more specific and action-driven your message can be.

Exclude Low-Value Segments

While it’s tempting to target everyone who has visited your site, some users may not be worth the ad spend. For example, users who bounced from your site after viewing only the homepage for a few seconds are likely less valuable than those who engaged with multiple pages or products.

By excluding these low-value users from your remarketing lists, you can focus your budget on more qualified leads.

Pro Tip:

• Use bounce rates and session duration as metrics to filter out low-value traffic. For instance, if a user spent less than 5 seconds on your site and didn’t view any products or services, it’s a good idea to exclude them from your remarketing campaigns. This will help you avoid wasting budget on users who are unlikely to convert.

Create Separate Lists for Different Stages of the Sales Funnel

Each customer goes through different stages of the sales funnel, from awareness to consideration to decision-making. Your remarketing lists should reflect these stages, allowing you to deliver tailored messages to users based on their specific needs at each step.

• Awareness Stage: For users in the awareness stage, target those who have viewed your blog, read articles, or engaged with your social media profiles. The goal here is to nurture their interest and keep your brand top-of-mind as they move toward considering a purchase.
• Consideration Stage: These users have viewed your product or service pages but haven’t yet taken action. Show them ads that highlight benefits, customer testimonials, or comparisons to competitors to help them make a decision.
• Decision Stage: Users who added items to their cart or visited your pricing page are ready to buy but may need a final push. Deliver time-sensitive offers, like discounts or limited-time promotions, to encourage them to complete the transaction.

Pro Tip:

• Design unique ad creatives for each stage of the funnel. For instance, awareness stage ads can be more educational, while decision-stage ads can focus on urgency and action.

Use Dynamic Remarketing for Personalized Ads

Dynamic remarketing takes personalization to the next level by showing users ads featuring the exact products or services they viewed on your site. This type of ad is particularly effective for eCommerce businesses, as it allows you to showcase items that a user expressed interest in but didn’t purchase.

Dynamic ads can display real-time information, such as product images, prices, and availability, which increases the relevance and appeal of the ad. This level of customization encourages users to return to your site and complete the purchase.

Pro Tip:

• To implement dynamic remarketing, make sure your website is properly tagged to track product views, cart activity, and other user actions. You’ll need to integrate tools like Google Ads or Facebook Ads to serve dynamic ads based on the products a user interacted with on your site.

Use Email Lists for Remarketing

In addition to website-based remarketing, you can create remarketing lists based on your email subscribers or customer database. This strategy allows you to target existing customers or subscribers with specific ads that encourage repeat purchases, cross-sells, or upsells.

For example, if a customer recently purchased a product, you could show them ads for complementary items or services. Or, if a subscriber hasn’t opened your emails in a while, you could use remarketing ads to re-engage them with your brand.

Pro Tip:

• To build remarketing lists from your email database, upload your list to platforms like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or LinkedIn Ads. Use these lists to target your existing customers or subscribers with tailored offers or content that encourages them to return to your site or engage with your business.

Leverage Cross-Platform Remarketing

Your audience isn’t limited to just one platform, so your remarketing efforts shouldn’t be either. Cross-platform remarketing allows you to reach users across multiple channels, such as Google Display Network, Facebook, Instagram, and even YouTube.

By being present on multiple platforms, you increase your chances of staying top-of-mind as users move between different online environments.

Pro Tip:

• Create consistent messaging and design for your ads across different platforms, but tailor the format and style to fit each one. For example, a remarketing ad on Facebook might focus on a visually engaging carousel of products, while a YouTube ad could be a short video that reinforces the same message.

Combine Remarketing with Lookalike Audiences

While remarketing focuses on users who have already interacted with your business, lookalike audiences help you reach new customers who share similar characteristics with your existing audience. Combining these two strategies allows you to expand your reach while still maintaining a high level of relevance.

For example, after creating a remarketing list of your past customers, you can use platforms like Facebook Ads or Google Ads to create a lookalike audience that mirrors the demographic and behavioral traits of that list. This helps you target new users who are more likely to be interested in your products or services based on your existing customers’ behavior.

Pro Tip:

• After running a successful remarketing campaign, use the data to build lookalike audiences and expand your reach. By targeting users who share similarities with your high-value customers, you increase the likelihood of attracting quality leads.

Incorporate Frequency Caps to Avoid Overexposure

It’s essential to strike a balance between keeping your brand visible and overwhelming your audience with too many ads. Overexposing users to your remarketing ads can lead to ad fatigue, where they start to ignore your messages or develop negative associations with your brand.

By setting frequency caps, you can control how often your ads are shown to each user. This helps ensure that users aren’t bombarded with ads and allows your campaign to remain effective over time.

Pro Tip:

• Adjust the frequency caps based on the stage of the customer journey. For example, you may want to show more frequent ads to users who abandoned their cart but fewer to those who only visited your homepage. Monitoring the performance of your remarketing campaigns and adjusting the frequency accordingly will help you maintain a balance between visibility and engagement.

Monitor and Optimize Your Lists Over Time

Creating effective remarketing lists is not a set-it-and-forget-it task. It requires ongoing monitoring and optimization to ensure you’re targeting the right users with the right message. Over time, your audience’s behavior and needs may change, so it’s important to regularly review your lists and make adjustments as necessary.

Monitor the performance of your remarketing campaigns to identify which lists are driving the highest conversion rates and ROI. If a particular list isn’t performing as well as expected, consider refining the criteria or adjusting the ad creative to better align with the audience’s behavior.

Pro Tip:

• Use A/B testing to experiment with different list segments and ad creatives. For example, test different types of offers, such as discounts versus free shipping, to see which resonates best with your audience.

A well-structured remarketing campaign can provide incredible results, allowing small businesses to re-engage with potential customers who have already interacted with their brand.

Remarketing is highly effective because it targets users who have expressed some level of interest in your products or services, making them more likely to convert compared to cold audiences. To maximize the potential of your remarketing efforts, it’s essential to implement a range of strategies that align with your business goals and target audience.

Here, we’ll dive into key strategies for small businesses to execute successful remarketing campaigns, from re-engaging previous visitors to converting high-intent audiences.

Target Cart Abandoners to Recover Lost Sales

Cart abandonment is a common issue for online businesses, with many users leaving items in their cart without completing the purchase. However, these users are among the most valuable to target with remarketing because they’ve shown strong intent to buy.

By running a dedicated remarketing campaign for cart abandoners, you can remind them of the items they left behind and encourage them to finalize their purchase.

How to Implement:

• Create a remarketing list specifically for users who added items to their cart but didn’t complete the checkout process.
• Use dynamic remarketing ads that display the exact products left in their cart, along with a clear call to action.
• Offer an incentive, such as free shipping or a limited-time discount, to motivate them to return and complete the purchase.

Pro Tip:

• Run A/B tests with different offers or creatives, such as displaying product reviews, highlighting stock availability, or providing a sense of urgency (e.g., “Limited stock available!”). This can help you determine which approach works best for recovering abandoned carts.

Use Cross-Selling and Upselling Strategies

Remarketing isn’t just for recovering lost sales; it’s also a powerful tool for increasing the lifetime value of your customers. By cross-selling complementary products or upselling higher-value items, you can encourage existing customers to make additional purchases.

How to Implement:

• Set up remarketing lists for customers who have already made a purchase and use dynamic ads to recommend related products.
• For example, if a customer recently bought a camera, show ads for lenses, tripods, or camera bags.
• Upsell higher-end versions of products they’ve viewed. For instance, if someone viewed an entry-level smartphone, show ads for a premium version with more features.

Pro Tip:

• Use product bundles or “frequently bought together” strategies in your remarketing ads to offer a value-driven incentive. Bundling products can lead to larger order values while offering convenience to the customer.

Run Time-Sensitive Promotions to Create Urgency

Time-sensitive offers are highly effective for remarketing campaigns, as they create a sense of urgency that pushes users to act quickly. Whether it’s a flash sale, limited-time discount, or a holiday promotion, time-sensitive campaigns can tap into the psychological principle of scarcity, making customers more eager to take advantage of the offer before it’s gone.

How to Implement:

• Segment your remarketing list based on recent website visitors or users who have viewed specific product pages in the last 7-30 days.
• Create ad creatives that emphasize the urgency of the promotion, using phrases like “Today Only,” “Limited Time Offer,” or “Ends Soon.”
• Use countdown timers in your ads to visually show the remaining time for the offer.

Pro Tip:

• When running time-sensitive promotions, ensure your landing pages are consistent with the ad’s messaging. This will prevent user confusion and improve the chances of conversion. Also, implement frequency caps to avoid over-saturating users with the same ad.

Use Sequential Remarketing to Guide Users Through the Sales Funnel

Sequential remarketing is an advanced strategy that allows you to deliver a series of ads to users in a logical progression, guiding them through the customer journey. Instead of showing the same ad repeatedly, you can use sequential remarketing to show different messages based on where the user is in the sales funnel.

How to Implement:

• Create multiple remarketing lists that correspond to different stages of the customer journey (e.g., initial visitors, product page viewers, cart abandoners).
• Design a series of ads that lead users from awareness to consideration to decision. For example:
  • Ad 1: Introduce your brand or product (for users who visited the homepage).
  • Ad 2: Showcase benefits and features of specific products (for users who viewed product pages).
  • Ad 3: Offer a discount or incentive (for cart abandoners or high-intent users).

Pro Tip:

• Leverage storytelling in your sequential ads to build an emotional connection with your audience. Rather than focusing only on the product, craft ads that show how your product solves a problem or improves the user’s life, progressively deepening their engagement with your brand.

Personalize Your Remarketing Ads with Dynamic Creatives

Dynamic remarketing allows you to create personalized ads based on the specific products or services users have interacted with on your website. Personalized ads significantly improve relevance and engagement, making it more likely that users will return to complete a purchase.

How to Implement:

• Ensure that your website is tagged correctly with dynamic remarketing tags so you can track user interactions with specific products or pages.
• Use platforms like Google Ads or Facebook Ads to create dynamic ads that automatically pull product images, prices, and other details from your website.
• Set up different dynamic ads for different stages of the funnel. For example, show product recommendations to past buyers or remind cart abandoners of the exact products they left behind.

Pro Tip:

• Include customer reviews or ratings in your dynamic remarketing ads to build trust and social proof. If a user sees positive feedback from other customers, they are more likely to feel confident in making a purchase.

Capitalize on Seasonal and Holiday Campaigns

Seasonal events, holidays, and special occasions provide excellent opportunities for running remarketing campaigns. During these times, consumers are often more motivated to make purchases, especially if they’re searching for gifts or planning for upcoming celebrations.

How to Implement:

• Build remarketing lists based on users who have shown interest in seasonal or holiday-related products or services.
• Customize your ad creatives to reflect the current season or holiday. For example, create themed ads for Black Friday, Christmas, or New Year promotions.
• Offer special holiday discounts, bundles, or free shipping to incentivize users to return and make a purchase during these periods.

Pro Tip:

• Leverage FOMO (fear of missing out) by highlighting limited-time holiday offers. For instance, use ad copy like “Get it before it’s gone!” or “Shop now for the best holiday deals!” to encourage immediate action.

Incorporate Video Remarketing for Higher Engagement

Video ads tend to capture more attention than traditional display ads, making them a great tool for remarketing. Video remarketing allows you to re-engage users with dynamic and engaging content that showcases your brand, products, or services in a more visually compelling way.

How to Implement:

• Create remarketing lists of users who have watched your videos on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram.
• Develop short, engaging videos that highlight your brand’s unique selling points, product features, or success stories.
• Use video ads to educate, entertain, or inspire your audience, rather than just pushing sales. For example, you can share customer testimonials, behind-the-scenes content, or product demonstrations.

Pro Tip:

• Keep video ads short and to the point (15-30 seconds) to maintain high viewer retention. Include a strong call to action at the end of the video to guide users to your website or product pages. You can also use YouTube’s TrueView for action ads, which allow you to add clickable elements like “Shop Now” or “Learn More.”

Use Multi-Channel Remarketing for Maximum Reach

Consumers interact with brands across multiple platforms, from Google search to social media. A successful remarketing strategy should extend beyond one channel to ensure your ads are visible across the platforms your audience frequents. By using multi-channel remarketing, you can increase your reach and ensure consistent engagement with potential customers.

How to Implement:

• Use Google Display Network to target users across a wide variety of websites.
• Combine Facebook and Instagram ads to reach users on social media.
• Use Google Ads to display remarketing ads to users who search for related products or services.
• Leverage LinkedIn for B2B remarketing, particularly if your business caters to professionals or other businesses.

Pro Tip:

• While expanding to multiple channels is valuable, ensure that your messaging remains consistent across all platforms. Adapt the format and creative style to fit the platform (e.g., carousel ads on Facebook, video ads on YouTube), but keep the core message aligned.

Implement Frequency Capping to Avoid Overexposure

While remarketing ads can be powerful, overexposure can lead to “ad fatigue,” where users become annoyed or desensitized to your ads. This is especially important in remarketing, where you’re targeting users who have already interacted with your business.

How to Implement:

• Set frequency caps on how often your remarketing ads are shown to individual users. This ensures that users see your ads enough to stay engaged but not so often that they feel overwhelmed.
• Adjust frequency caps based on the stage of the funnel. Users who are closer to purchasing may tolerate more frequent ads, while those at the top of the funnel may need a lighter touch.

Pro Tip:

• Monitor the performance of your campaigns and track how many times users need to see an ad before converting. Use this data to adjust your frequency caps accordingly, ensuring that your ads remain effective without causing frustration.

Conclusion

Implementing effective remarketing strategies can be a game-changer for small businesses. By combining targeted audience lists, dynamic creative, multi-channel reach, and strategic offers, you can turn previously lost opportunities into new conversions and increased sales.

Whether you’re recovering abandoned carts, cross-selling to existing customers, or guiding new users down the funnel, the right remarketing approach will help you reconnect with your audience and massively grow your business.

Remember that experimentation is key—test various remarketing strategies, offers, and ad formats to discover what works best for your specific audience. With persistence and careful analysis, remarketing can become one of the most powerful tools in your digital marketing arsenal.