What Is Remarketing? Types, Examples, Benefits & How It Works

Remarketing: Marketing is about reaching people who may be interested in a product or service. In online marketing, most visitors do not buy anything during their first visit to a website. They often browse, look at products, and leave without taking any action.

This is why remarketing is so important. Remarketing is a digital marketing strategy that helps businesses connect again with people who have already visited their website or app. For example, a customer views a product, adds it to the cart, but does not complete the purchase. Later, they see an ad for the same product while watching videos, scrolling social media, or reading the news.

Remarketing helps bring back their interest, improves brand awareness, and increases the chance of making a sale. It is a powerful tool for improving online conversions and reminding customers of what they liked. Learn more about Remarketing, types, examples, benefits, how it works and more below.

What is Remarketing?

Remarketing is a smart digital marketing strategy that helps businesses connect again with people who visited their website, app, or saw their online content but did not take action. This action could be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form.

Remarketing works by using cookies or first-party data to remember visitors. Later, it shows them personalized ads on platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, or Amazon Ads while they browse other websites or apps.

This method gives brands a second chance to reach people who already showed interest. It reminds them about the products or services they viewed earlier.

Remarketing ads can appear as display ads, social media posts, or even email campaigns. They help increase brand awareness, improve conversion rates, and support customer retention. Remarketing keeps your brand visible and encourages people to return and complete their action.

Types of Remarketing

Remarketing is a smart digital marketing strategy used to show ads to people who have already visited your website or used your app but did not take action. There are different types of remarketing based on how users interact with your brand. Each type helps re-engage visitors and improve conversions.

1. Standard Remarketing

Standard remarketing shows display ads to people who visited your website or app before. These ads appear while they browse other websites or use apps in the Google Display Network. It helps remind them of the products or services they saw but didn’t purchase.

2. Dynamic Remarketing

Dynamic remarketing takes it a step further by showing ads with the exact products or services users viewed on your website. This type is very useful for e-commerce websites and helps improve personalization. It requires a product data feed to work properly.

3. Search Remarketing (RLSA)

Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA) allow you to show custom Google search ads to people who already visited your site. You can adjust your bids, keywords, and ad messages to better match what they are searching for the second time.

4. Video Remarketing

Video remarketing targets users who watched your videos or visited your YouTube channel. These users are then shown ads on YouTube and across the Google Display Network, keeping your brand fresh in their memory.

5. Email Remarketing

Email remarketing sends targeted emails to people who left your site without completing a task, like checking out a cart or signing up. These personalized email campaigns help bring them back and increase chances of conversion.

6. Social Media Remarketing

Social media remarketing shows targeted ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. These ads are shown to users based on their past actions on your site or interaction with your content. It’s a great way to stay connected with your audience on social channels.

How Remarketing Works?

Remarketing works by tracking people who visit your website or app but leave without completing an action like making a purchase or signing up.

When someone visits your site, a small piece of code called a remarketing tag or pixel is triggered. This tag places a cookie in the visitor’s browser, which collects information about the pages they viewed and their actions.

This cookie data allows advertising platforms such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads to recognize these users when they browse other websites, apps, or social media platforms. Using this information, these platforms show targeted ads to remind visitors about your products or services.

Key steps in how remarketing works include:

Tracking visitors with a remarketing tag or pixel
Placing a cookie in their browser to collect data
Recognizing users as they browse other platforms
Showing personalized ads based on their previous interactions

Remarketing helps increase brand awareness, improve customer engagement, and boost conversion rates by encouraging users who have already shown interest to come back and complete their purchase or signup.

Benefits of Remarketing

Remarketing helps businesses reach people who have already visited their website or app. It is a smart way to improve marketing results and grow your business. The following are the main benefits of remarketing:

Increased Conversions: Remarketing reminds visitors about products or services they viewed but didn’t buy, helping turn interest into action.
Higher Return on Investment (ROI): Targeting users who already know your brand makes remarketing campaigns more cost-effective and efficient.
Personalized Ads: Showing ads based on users’ past behavior makes them more relevant and increases the chance of clicks and purchases.
Improved Brand Awareness: Repeated exposure to your brand across websites and social media helps customers remember you when they are ready to buy.
Better Customer Retention: Remarketing encourages existing customers to return by promoting related products or special offers.
Precise Audience Targeting: Tools like Google Ads and Facebook Pixel help segment audiences based on behavior, so your ads reach the right people at the right time.

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How to Measure Success in Remarketing?

Measuring the success of your remarketing campaign means tracking important results that show how well your ads work and how much return you get on your investment. The following are the key ways to measure success in remarketing:

Click-Through Rate (CTR): This shows how often people click on your remarketing ads. A higher CTR means your ads are interesting and relevant to your audience.
Conversion Rate: This measures the percentage of users who take the action you want, like making a purchase or signing up, after clicking your ad. It shows how effective your campaign is.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): This tells you how much money you spend to get each new customer. A lower CPA means your campaign is more efficient.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): This calculates how much revenue you earn for every dollar spent on ads. A higher ROAS means your campaign is profitable.
Engagement Metrics: Metrics like time spent on your site, bounce rate, and pages viewed show how users from remarketing interact with your website.
A/B Testing Results: Testing different ad designs or messages helps you find out which ads work best and improve your campaign performance.

Examples of Remarketing

Remarketing helps businesses reconnect with users by showing relevant ads based on their past actions. Common examples include:

Abandoned Cart Ads: Show products to users who added items to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase.
Dynamic Remarketing: Display ads featuring the exact products or services users viewed on your website.
Free Trial Reminders: Target users who signed up for a free trial but didn’t upgrade, using personalized ads or emails.
Video Retargeting: Show ads to people who watched your videos on platforms like YouTube.
Cross-Platform Ads: Use cookies to display your ads across websites and apps after users leave your site.

Why is Remarketing Important?

Remarketing is important in digital marketing because it helps reconnect with users who visited your website but didn’t take action. It keeps your brand visible while people are still deciding.

By showing targeted ads across websites, apps, or social media, remarketing reminds users of your products or services and encourages them to come back.

It also builds brand awareness, improves conversion rates, and helps with customer retention by reaching the right audience at the right time.

Remarketing gives your business another chance to make an impact and turn interest into action.

Difference Between Remarketing and Retargeting

Remarketing and retargeting are both used to re-engage users who showed interest but didn’t convert. The table below explains the key differences between remarketing and retargeting:

Difference Between Remarketing and Retargeting
Aspect	Remarketing	Retargeting
Definition	Reconnects through emails or messages based on past activity	Shows ads to users who visited your site but didn’t take action
Main Channel	Email, SMS, WhatsApp	Display ads, social media, search engine ads
Target Users	Existing users or those who shared contact info	Website visitors who didn’t convert
How It Works	Uses email lists or CRM data	Uses cookies or tracking pixels
Main Goal	Customer retention and upselling	Recover lost leads and drive conversions
Personalization	High—includes name, history, preferences	Moderate—based on browsing behavior
Example	Email with discount for abandoned cart	Ad for viewed product shown on another site
Cost	Lower—email platforms	Varies—based on ad platforms and bidding
Best For	Re-engaging known users	Attracting anonymous visitors

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Remarketing FAQs

What is the meaning of remarketing?

Remarketing is a digital marketing strategy used to re-engage users who have previously visited your website or interacted with your brand but didn’t take action.

What is remarketing vs retargeting?

Remarketing usually refers to reaching past users through email or messaging, while retargeting shows ads to users on websites or apps based on their past online behavior.

What is Google Ads remarketing?

Google Ads remarketing lets you show personalized ads to people who previously visited your site, helping bring them back to complete a purchase or conversion.

How to start remarketing?

To start remarketing, set up a Google Ads or Facebook Pixel on your website, create remarketing lists, and run targeted ad campaigns based on user behavior.

What is remarketing and its types?

Remarketing is reconnecting with past visitors through targeted ads or messages. Common types include standard, dynamic, email, search, video, and social media remarketing.