Remarketing: what it is, how it works, and effective strategies

What is remarketing

Remarketing (also called retargeting) is a digital marketing strategy that allows you to show specific ads to people who have already interacted with your website, app, or content but did not complete the desired action: a purchase, a registration, a demo request.

The principle is simple: most visitors do not convert on their first visit. In e-commerce, the average conversion rate is 2-3%, which means 97% to 98% of visitors leave without buying. Remarketing gives you a second (and third, and fourth) opportunity to convert them.

It works through cookies or tracking pixels that identify users who visited your website and show them relevant ads when they browse other sites, social media, or platforms.

How it works technically

The process has four steps:

1. Pixel installation: you place a code snippet (pixel) on your website. Google Ads, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), LinkedIn, and other platforms provide their own pixel.

2. Visitor tracking: when a user visits your website, the pixel places a cookie in their browser that identifies them anonymously.

3. Audience creation: you define audiences based on user behaviour: visited the product page, added to cart, visited the pricing page, etc.

4. Ad delivery: when that user browses other sites or social media, the platforms show them your ads because they recognise them as part of your remarketing audience.

Types of remarketing

Type	How it works	Platforms	Best for
Display remarketing	Banners on display network sites	Google Ads (Display Network)	Awareness, brand recall
Search remarketing (RLSA)	Bid adjustments for users who already visited your site	Google Ads (Search)	High intent, search capture
Social remarketing	Ads in social media feeds	Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, X	Engagement, consideration, direct sales
Email remarketing	Automated behaviour-based emails	Klaviyo, Mailchimp, HubSpot	Abandoned cart, nurturing
Dynamic remarketing	Ads showing the exact products the user viewed	Google Ads, Meta (catalogue)	E-commerce with large catalogues
Video remarketing	Video ads to those who interacted with your channel	YouTube, Meta	Branding, product explanation

Remarketing strategies that work

1. Segmentation by visit depth

Not all visitors have the same intent. Segment your audiences by behaviour:

Segment	Behaviour	Recommended message	Frequency
Casual visitor	Visited 1 page, bounced	Educational content, blog, lead magnet	Low (3-5 imp/week)
Interested visitor	Visited 2+ pages or product page	Benefits, case studies, social proof	Medium (5-7 imp/week)
Cart abandoner	Added a product to cart	Reminder + incentive (free shipping, discount)	High (7-10 imp/week, first 3 days)
Almost converted	Reached checkout but did not complete	Urgency + remove objections (guarantee, support)	High (first 24-48h)

2. Exclude converters

Common mistake: continuing to show purchase ads to someone who already bought. Always set up exclusion lists to exclude existing customers from acquisition campaigns. Instead, run upsell or cross-sell remarketing for them.

3. Frequency capping

Overexposure generates rejection. Set frequency limits:

• Display: maximum 5-7 impressions per week per user
• Social: maximum 3-5 per week
• Abandoned cart: intensive for the first 3 days, then reduce

4. Staggered remarketing windows

The message should evolve over time:

• Days 1-3: direct reminder ("You left something in your cart")
• Days 4-7: benefit or social proof ("What our customers say")
• Days 8-14: incentive ("10% off, this week only")
• Days 15-30: value content (blog, guide) to maintain recall
• After 30 days: reduce frequency or pause

5. Abandoned cart email remarketing

Abandoned cart email is the remarketing action with the highest ROI in e-commerce:

• First email (1 hour): simple reminder with product image. Open rate: 40-50%.
• Second email (24 hours): include product reviews and address objections.
• Third email (48-72 hours): incentive (discount, free shipping) with urgency.

Recovery rates: 10-15% of abandoned carts are recovered with a well-designed sequence.

Remarketing + CRO: the most profitable combination

Remarketing and CRO reinforce each other:

• CRO improves the first visit: reduces the percentage of visitors who need remarketing.
• Remarketing rescues those who did not convert: gives them another chance with a more personalised message.
• Together they maximise ROI: every euro invested in traffic has more opportunities to convert.

Example of combined impact:

Scenario	Visits	First visit conv.	Remarketing recovers	Total conversions
No CRO, no remarketing	10,000	2% = 200	0	200
Remarketing only	10,000	2% = 200	10% of 9,800 = 98	298
CRO only	10,000	3% = 300	0	300
CRO + remarketing	10,000	3% = 300	10% of 9,700 = 97	397

The CRO + remarketing scenario generates nearly double the conversions compared to doing nothing, with the same traffic.

Key remarketing metrics

• Click-through rate (CTR): display benchmark 0.5-1%, social 1-3%. If below, review creatives and segmentation.
• Cost per acquisition (CPA): remarketing should have a significantly lower CPA than prospecting campaigns (typically 50-70% lower).
• Frequency: if it exceeds 10 impressions per week, you are burning out the audience.
• View-through conversions: conversions that occur after seeing (not clicking) a remarketing ad. Important for measuring the real impact of display.
• ROAS: return per euro invested. Remarketing should have a 3x-10x higher ROAS than prospecting.

Common remarketing mistakes

1. Not segmenting: showing the same ad to all visitors is wasting 80% of the budget.
2. Not excluding converters: a user who already bought and keeps seeing your purchase ad has a negative experience.
3. Repetitive creatives: rotate ads every 2-3 weeks to avoid fatigue.
4. Windows that are too long: remarketing someone who visited your website 90 days ago is rarely profitable. 30 days is the recommended maximum for most businesses.
5. Ignoring privacy: with the gradual elimination of third-party cookies, prepare for first-party data (server-side tracking, email lists) as the foundation of future remarketing.

How to start today

1. Install Google Ads and Meta pixels on your website if you have not already.
2. Create three audiences: product visitors (last 14 days), cart abandoners (last 7 days), and converters (for exclusion).
3. Design one ad per segment with a specific message.
4. Set frequency capping at 5 impressions/week.
5. If you have an e-commerce, set up a 3-email abandoned cart sequence.
6. Measure remarketing CPA vs. prospecting CPA after 2 weeks.

Remarketing is not a second chance by default: it is an optimised second chance. Combined with CRO, it transforms lost visitors into real customers.

To discover what frictions on your website are causing abandonment and how to recover those visitors, start with a free audit at Scan&Boost.

If you want a complete plan for optimising your conversion funnel and remarketing, discover our CRO agency service.

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Adrià Vidal is the founder of Boost. +1,000 optimisation actions, +47.8% average conversion increase per client, +7.8M EUR in additional revenue generated.