Retargeting shows ads specifically to people who already visited your website, as they browse elsewhere online afterward. It's one of the more approachable forms of paid advertising for a small business, because it's reaching people who already showed real interest, not strangers who've never heard of you.
Why it works
Most website visitors don't convert on their first visit, for all kinds of ordinary reasons: they were comparing options, weren't ready yet, or got distracted before finishing a form. Retargeting is a way of staying visible to that specific group instead of losing them entirely once they navigate away.
How it's actually set up
A small snippet of tracking code on your website (a pixel) flags visitors as they browse, then ad platforms like Google or Meta use that flag to show your ads to those specific people later, elsewhere on the web or in their social feeds.
What makes a good retargeting ad
A retargeting ad works best when it's specific to what the visitor actually looked at, not a generic repeat of the same message they already saw once. Someone who viewed a roofing page benefits from an ad about roofing, not a general "we do everything" message.
It pairs well with a landing page strategy
Someone who visited a specific service's landing page and didn't convert is a well-defined audience to retarget with an ad reinforcing that same specific offer. See what is a landing page, and why does ad traffic need one?
It's not a replacement for getting the first visit right
Retargeting recovers some of the visitors a site loses, but it doesn't fix a fundamentally broken landing page or a confusing offer. It's a supplement to a site that's already doing its basic job well, not a substitute for fixing one that isn't.
Questions
Is retargeting the same as remarketing?
The terms are used interchangeably in most contexts; "remarketing" is Google's own term for the same underlying concept.
How many times should someone see a retargeting ad before it feels excessive?
Most platforms let you cap frequency to avoid oversaturating the same person with the same ad repeatedly, which is worth setting deliberately rather than leaving unlimited.
Do I need a large volume of website traffic for retargeting to be worthwhile?
There's a practical minimum audience size most platforms need to serve ads effectively, so a very low-traffic site may need to build up more visits before retargeting becomes a useful channel.