Retargeting Questions

What Is Retargeting And How Does It Work?


What is Retargeting?

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 (ie: 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, to keep the brand/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.


Here are some common questions we have received at SoCast from clients about retargeting and their answers:


Can the retargeting ads be sent out within 24hrs? 

 Yes they can, and we need at least 1000 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 visit 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 ie: Display, YouTube, Social Media etc 

Can we get the NAMES or device URL's 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, general geos like city, 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? 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 vs when it's 1000 users. Currently, for example, for institution/education segments, we have it set to 3 impressions per day for the first 2 weeks, and 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 limited that we set for academic institutions/education segments, but we are open to your clients recommended retargeting strategy if they have a preference.
 
If you get sent a retargeting ad - can you 'opt out' (ie: "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 "ad choice" icon in 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) is automatically adding the QR code that takes users to the website link that we provide. 

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