Comprehensive Guide to Retargeting Strategies: Facebook, Google Ads, Google Display, YouTube, Third Party & Email

Intro to Retargeting Audiences and Platforms

Retargeting is an essential strategy in digital marketing, designed to re-engage visitors who have shown interest in your products or services but haven’t converted yet. This guide covers retargeting strategies across various platforms, including Facebook, Google Ads, Google Display, YouTube, and third-party tools like AdRoll. Used correctly, retargeting can help you engage visitors and continue the conversation with your customers at different stages of their buying journey, defeat sales objections, and keep you top of mind when it comes to making their purchase or decision. 

Importance of Initial Traffic and Audiences

Before diving into platform-specific strategies, it’s crucial to understand the importance of initial traffic and audiences. Retargeting relies heavily on having an initial pool of visitors, which can come from various sources such as:

  • Organic Search: Visitors who find your website through search engines.
  • Social Media (Paid and Organic): Traffic from social media platforms, either through organic posts or paid ads.
  • Direct Visits: Users who type your website URL directly into their browser.
  • Email Campaigns: Traffic generated through email marketing efforts.
  • Referral Traffic: Visitors who come from other websites linking to your content.

Having a robust flow of initial traffic is essential for retargeting because it allows you to build a substantial audience to re-engage. This strategy is particularly crucial for industries requiring multiple touch points to convert leads, such as finance, real estate, and B2B services.

Industry-Specific Retargeting Insights

Depending on the type of business or product, retargeting can be the difference between winning at digital marketing, or in an opposite fashion not as important to generating conversions. The primary consideration is the size of the purchase or commitment for the customer, and it truly varies based on what is being advertised:

High Touch Point Industries

  • Finance and Insurance: These sectors often require multiple touch points due to the complexity and high value of the products and services offered. Customers need ample information and reassurance before making a decision.
  • Real Estate: Similar to finance, real estate transactions are significant financial commitments. Prospective buyers and investors typically engage with content multiple times, including property listings, virtual tours, and financial advice.
  • B2B Services: Business-to-business services, particularly in sectors like software and consulting, also see a high number of touch points due to detailed evaluation processes and long sales cycles.

Moderate Touch Point Industries

  • Health and Fitness: Industries like health and fitness require a moderate number of touch points. While customers are keenly interested in these products and services, they still need to be persuaded through various content forms such as testimonials, case studies, and educational materials.
  • Automotive Sales: Customers looking for automotive services tend to engage with multiple touch points, including service reviews, price comparisons, and service package details, before making a commitment.

Low Touch Point Industries

  • E-commerce (Apparel/Fashion & Jewelry): E-commerce sectors, particularly in fast fashion and low-ticket items, generally require fewer touch points. Impulse buying behavior is common here, driven by attractive ads and promotions seen on social media or during web browsing sessions.
  • Urgent Services (Automotive Repair, HVAC, Pest Control, Wildlife Removal, Flood Restoration): These industries benefit from fewer touch points as decisions are often made quickly due to the urgent nature of the services needed. Customers typically make quick decisions based on immediate need and availability.

Comparing Retargeting Platforms

Facebook Retargeting

Overview: Facebook’s retargeting mechanism allows you to target users who have interacted with your website or Facebook page.

Minimum Audience Size: 100 people.

Suggested Audience Size for Success: At least 1,000 people for optimal results.

Types of Retargeting:

  • Pixel-based: Tracks users via the Facebook Pixel installed on your website.
  • List-based: Uses uploaded customer lists for targeting.

Best Practices:

  • Segment your audience based on behavior.
  • Use dynamic ads to show relevant products.
  • Avoid ad fatigue by rotating creatives.

Google Ads Retargeting

Overview: Google Ads retargeting focuses on users who have previously interacted with your site through Google Search.

Minimum Audience Size: 1,000 people for the Search Network.

Suggested Audience Size for Success: 10,000 people for effective campaign performance.

Techniques:

  • Create audience lists based on specific page visits.
  • Use remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) to target high-intent users.

Optimization Tips:

  • Adjust bids based on user behavior.
  • Exclude converted users to save budget.

Google Display Network Retargeting

Overview: Google Display Network (GDN) allows for visual retargeting across millions of websites and apps.

Minimum Audience Size: 100 people.

Suggested Audience Size for Success: At least 1,000 people to optimize ad delivery and performance.

Strategies:

  • Use visually appealing ads that match the user’s browsing context.
  • Segment audiences based on site behavior.

Best Practices:

  • Utilize responsive display ads for better reach.
  • Monitor and adjust frequency caps to avoid ad fatigue.

YouTube Retargeting

Overview: YouTube retargeting targets users who have interacted with your videos or channel.

Minimum Audience Size: 1,000 people.

Suggested Audience Size for Success: At least 10,000 people for effective targeting and campaign results.

Types of Ads:

  • TrueView Ads: Skippable ads that can be customized based on viewer interaction.
  • Bumper Ads: Short, non-skippable ads.

Strategies:

  • Retarget viewers who have watched a certain percentage of your video.
  • Use sequential storytelling to guide viewers through a funnel.

Third-Party Retargeting Tools (AdRoll)

Overview: AdRoll and similar tools provide comprehensive retargeting across multiple platforms.

Minimum Audience Size: 100 active visitors.

Suggested Audience Size for Success: At least 1,000 people to ensure sufficient reach and data for optimization.

Benefits:

  • Unified platform for retargeting across web, social, and email.
  • Advanced segmentation and personalization features.

Integration Tips:

  • Combine with CRM data for personalized retargeting.
  • Use cross-device targeting to reach users on multiple devices.

Email-Based Remarketing and Drip Campaigns

Overview: Email-based remarketing involves re-engaging users via email campaigns.

Benefits:

  • Direct communication with potential customers.
  • Ability to provide personalized content and offers.

Drip Campaigns:

  • Definition: A series of automated emails sent based on user behavior.
  • Benefits: Nurtures leads over time, building trust and encouraging conversion.
  • Integration: Combine email remarketing with retargeting ads for a comprehensive strategy.

Conclusion

Retargeting is a powerful strategy that can significantly boost your conversion rates by re-engaging visitors who have shown interest in your products or services. By understanding the nuances of different platforms—Facebook, Google Ads, Google Display, YouTube, and AdRoll