In brief
Retargeting means showing your ads to people who already know you: visitors to your website, followers of your account, people who watched your videos, existing customers. They are grouped into custom audiences.
Why it matters
These people are closer to buying than strangers: the cost per result is often lower. They also serve as a source for creating lookalike audiences.
The most common audience sources
- Website (requires the pixel): all visitors, certain pages, by time spent…
- Customer list: a file of email addresses or phone numbers.
- Instagram account or Facebook Page: people who have interacted.
- In-app activity.
The steps
- Open Audiences in the Ads Manager menu.
- Click Create audience, then Custom audience.
- Choose the source (for example Website).
- Select your pixel (dataset).
- Choose the people to include (for example “visitors to specific pages”) and the retention period in days (up to 180 for a website).
- Give the audience a clear name: “Site visitors – 30 days”.
- Click Create audience. Populating it takes a little while.
- In the ad set, add it under Custom audiences (to include) or to exclude.
Examples of useful audiences
| Audience | Recommended duration | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Site visitors | 30 days | Rekindle interest |
| Add to cart without purchase | 7 to 14 days | Follow-up toward purchase |
| Shoppers | 180 days | To exclude from acquisition campaigns |
Pitfalls to avoid
- An audience that is too small: it saturates quickly and the cost goes up.
- A period that is too long: it includes people who have forgotten you.
- Forgetting to exclude buyers: you show them pointless ads.
- Using data without consent (cookies, lists).
Key takeaways
- Retargeting = people who know you.
- Segment by behavior and by period.
- Exclude people who have already bought.
Practice in TRIALO
Open Audiences, click Create audience, choose Website and create “Site visitors – 30 days”. It is then added to your campaign’s list.