What Is Retargeting and How Does It Work?

What Is Retargeting?

Retargeting is a digital advertising strategy that focuses on re-engaging individuals who have previously interacted with a website or app but did not complete a desired action (i.e., filling out a form, making a purchase, etc.). By displaying targeted ads to these users as they browse other websites or social media platforms, businesses aim to remind them of their initial interest and encourage them to return and complete the conversion.

How Does Retargeting Work?

When a user visits a website, a small piece of code (often a cookie or tracking pixel) is placed in their browser. This code tracks their behavior, such as pages viewed or items added to a shopping cart. If the user leaves without converting, this information is used to serve personalized ads to them on other websites or platforms they visit, keeping the brand or product top of mind.

Types of Retargeting

• Site Retargeting: Targets users who have visited your website but didn't complete a desired action.
• Search Retargeting: Displays ads to users based on their search engine queries, even if they haven't visited your site.
• Social Media Retargeting: Uses platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn to retarget users who have interacted with your site or social media content.
• Email Retargeting: Sends follow-up emails or displays ads based on user interactions with your email campaigns.
• Dynamic Retargeting: Shows ads featuring specific products or services that users viewed on your website, providing a personalized experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can retargeting ads be sent out within 24 hours?

Yes, they can, and we need at least 1,000 users in the retargeting pool to do so. We can set it back as much as 540 days, but the system will not pre-populate the data (meaning if we used the 540-day window, it will gather people from today and 540 days into the future). We cannot add users that visited the website before we set up the retargeting.

Can retargeting happen via text?

No, we cannot do retargeting via text messages. Retargeting will be done on the places/products where we run the ads, i.e., Display, YouTube, Social Media, etc.

Can we get the names or device URLs of who clicked on the ads?

No names, no device IDs, no IPs. All user data is stored anonymously and we have no visibility. What we can know is the device make (Android/iPhone) and general geos like city and country. When it comes to getting names, this would be under “place an order/form,” and SoCast has no visibility on this (for example: a store or school database). We don't store or capture any personal user data. Users on DSPs (Demand Side Platforms) get assigned random user IDs—we can refer to them in Google Analytics, but we don't know who specifically that person is.

Is there a max or min limit of retargeting ads sent to a person per day or per week? What limitations can we put?

No, there is no max or min number of retargeting ads sent to a person per day; however, it depends on the retargeting pool size. For example, we can send more ads if the retargeting pool is 10,000 users versus when it's 1,000 users. Currently, for example, for institution/education segments, we have it set to 3 impressions per day for the first 2 weeks, then it becomes 1 impression per day for the next 2 weeks, and then the retargeting drops off after 1 month. This is an example of retargeting limits that we set for academic institutions/education segments, but we are open to your client's recommended retargeting strategy if they have a preference.

If you get sent a retargeting ad—can you opt out (i.e., “reply NO/STOP to opt out”)?

Yes, you can opt out. You can ask to be removed from the pool, but it takes up to 90 days to take effect. On display ads, there's an “AdChoices” icon in the top right corner; Facebook does a similar thing (“Why am I seeing this ad?”).

If a QR code is used on a video or display ad—can/do we track those inquiries as clicks?

Firstly, a QR code is not a useful strategy on a video or display ad. You need a second device in order to scan it. A click-through link is more than enough to accomplish that. The only time to use QR codes is for Connected TV (CTV) or DOOH. YouTube (when seen on a TV) automatically adds the QR code that takes users to the website link that we provide.