Abandoned carts
Remind in-progress purchases.
What is remarketing?
Remarketing (often called retargeting) shows ads to people who already interacted with your brand—site visit, app, video, customer list—to bring them back to convert. On Google and Meta, remarketing audiences and dynamic ads recall products or pages viewed. Effectiveness comes from audience warmth, not cold volume.
In one sentence
Remarketing re-engages people who already know you to finish the conversion.
Key points
- Targets past visitors or customers, not cold strangers.
- Frequency and time windows prevent ad fatigue.
- Messages should match stage (cart, pricing, content).
- Consent and clean lists are non-negotiable.
Term at a glance
- Remarketing
- retargeting · dynamic remarketing · re-engagement ads
- English term
- Remarketing / retargeting
- Domain
- Digital marketing
- Category
- Advertising / retention
- Level
- Intermediate
What does remarketing mean?
Google often says remarketing; Meta says retargeting—same idea: re-engage a warm audience. Pixel lists, Google Ads tags, and Customer Match power campaigns.
Dynamic remarketing shows viewed products; classic remarketing pushes one message (demo, promo, proof).
Without exclusions (recent buyers, employees) and frequency caps, campaigns annoy and waste spend.
How do you set up remarketing?
- 01
Tags and consent
Pixel / Ads tag + compliant consent mode.
- 02
Segment audiences
Cart, pricing, blog, customers 180 days—distinct messages.
- 03
Cap frequency
Caps + 7/14/30-day windows by cycle length.
- 04
Measure incrementality
Compare remarketing CPA vs prospecting; exclude converters.
A concrete example
A Quebec City design shop sees 70% cart abandonment. A 14-day Meta “finish your order” campaign with local delivery proof recovers 12% of abandoners at higher ROAS than prospecting.
What is remarketing for?
Warm leads
Re-engage pricing/demo visitors.
Upsell
Offer options to existing customers.
Events
Nudge incomplete webinar signups.
Pros and cons
- Warmer audiences
- Often better CPA
- Personalizable messages
- Complements prospecting
- Limited audience size
- Ad fatigue
- Tracking dependence
- Does not create demand alone
Remarketing vs prospecting
| Remarketing | Prospecting (cold) | |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | Already exposed to brand | New |
| Typical CPA | Often lower | Often higher |
| Role | Convert / re-engage | Create demand |
| Volume | Capped by past traffic | Expandable |
Why it matters for Quebec SMEs
You already pay to bring traffic. Remarketing recovers some of those visitors before they buy from a competitor—especially on B2B cycles or local carts.
FAQ
Remarketing or retargeting?
Often synonyms; Google prefers “remarketing,” Meta “retargeting.”
How many days?
Depends on buying cycle: days for ecommerce, weeks/months for B2B.
Without a Pixel?
Customer lists or social engagement can help, with limits.
Too many impressions?
Lower frequency and expand exclusions.
Privacy laws?
Rely on consent and platform policies (including Quebec Law 25 considerations).
Related terms
Sources and references
Traffic that doesn’t convert? Let’s set up useful, non-intrusive remarketing.
Enable remarketing