If you’ve ever seen remarketing ads after visiting a website, you’ve already experienced one of the most effective online marketing tactics in action. Remarketing is a way to reconnect with people who have previously interacted with your business.

This could be from visiting your website, using your app, or engaging with your content. By serving targeted ads to these past visitors, you get another chance to bring them back and encourage them to complete a purchase, enquiry, or sign-up.

What is Remarketing in Simple Terms?

Remarketing shows ads to people who have already shown interest in your products or services. Instead of advertising to completely new audiences, remarketing focuses on users who have already taken a step in the customer journey. They might have:

Visited your website
Looked at a particular product page
Added items to a cart but not checked out
Watched your YouTube videos
Used your app

This strategy keeps your brand front of mind and gives potential customers more chances to return and convert.

Why Remarketing Works

Remarketing works because it focuses on people who already know your business. Instead of spending your entire ad spend on brand new users, you re-engage with those more likely to convert.

Some key reasons remarketing is so effective:

Repetition builds familiarity: Seeing your brand across multiple web pages or social media channels keeps you top of mind.
Timing matters: People may not be ready to buy on their first visit. Remarketing ads give them another chance when they’re closer to making a decision.
Personalisation increases relevance: With dynamic ads, you can serve tailored ads that match the products or services users have already viewed.
Improved conversion rates: Past visitors are warmer leads than new internet users, so remarketing efforts often deliver better ROI.

How Google Remarketing Works

Google remarketing is one of the most common approaches. When you set up a Google Ads account, you can add a remarketing tag (sometimes called a pixel tag) to your website. This small piece of code tracks visitors and adds them to remarketing lists.

For example, you might create a list of people who visited your landing page but didn’t fill out the form. Google Ads then allows you to serve tailored ads to that group across the Google Display Network, on YouTube, or even through search ads.

This process works because Google Analytics and Google Ads integrate closely. You can define remarketing audiences in Audience Manager and then apply them across different remarketing campaigns.

Types of Google Remarketing

There are several types of remarketing you can use depending on your business goals:

Standard Remarketing

Show ads to past site visitors as they browse other websites or apps within the Google Display Network.

Dynamic Remarketing

Dynamic remarketing ads show products or services that a user previously viewed on your site. For example, if someone looked at a specific pair of shoes, dynamic ads can display that exact product, encouraging them to return and buy.

Search Remarketing

Google search ads let you target past visitors when they search on Google. You can adjust bids, keywords, or ad copy to reach people who have already interacted with your site.

Video Remarketing

Show ads to people who have engaged with your YouTube videos or channel.

App Remarketing

Target app visitors who have installed or used your mobile app but haven’t taken certain actions, like making a purchase or signing up.

Setting Up a Google Remarketing Campaign

To launch a Google remarketing campaign, you’ll need:

A Google Ads account: this is where you create remarketing lists, campaigns, and ad groups.
A Google Tag Manager Tag: added to your website to track user visits.
Google Analytics: helps create more detailed audience lists.
Shared Library and Audience Manager: tools inside Google Ads that store your remarketing audiences.
Ad creatives: images, text, or dynamic ads that will be served to users.

Once your remarketing tag starts collecting data, you can segment your audiences. For example:

All past site visitors
People who visited your website but didn’t convert
Existing customers for upsell campaigns
Users who reached a specific tag, such as a checkout page

Then, set up your remarketing campaign within Google Ads, choose placements like the Google Display Network, and define your ad spend.

Costs of Remarketing Ads

Remarketing ad costs vary depending on your audience size, industry, and competition. In general, remarketing is cost-efficient because you’re targeting a smaller pool of users who are more likely to convert.

Key factors influencing remarketing ad costs:

Audience size: Larger remarketing lists give more reach but can increase spend.
Ad format: Dynamic remarketing ads and video ads may cost more than standard display ads.
Bidding strategy: If you optimise for clicks, impressions, or conversions.
Competition: High-demand industries may push remarketing ad costs up.

Still, most online advertisers find remarketing provides strong returns on ad spend compared to broad search campaigns or other paid advertising.

Best Practices for Remarketing Strategy

To get the most from your remarketing campaigns:

Segment audiences: Create separate audiences for cart abandoners, product page viewers, or existing customers. This allows more tailored ads.
Set frequency caps: Avoid overwhelming users with too many ads.
Test ad creatives: Rotate images, headlines, and calls to action to prevent ad fatigue.
Use exclusions: Exclude converted customers from campaigns unless you’re upselling.
Align with the customer journey: Match your remarketing ads to the stage users are in. For example, show discounts to cart abandoners or brand stories to new site visitors.
Track performance: Use Google Analytics and your ad server to measure conversion rates and adjust your strategy.

Other Remarketing Tools Than Google

While Google remarketing is widely used, other remarketing tools are also available. Facebook Ads Manager allows social media remarketing across Facebook and Instagram. LinkedIn offers remarketing options for B2B advertisers.

Combining remarketing across multiple platforms enables you to reach users wherever they spend their time online.

Why Online Advertisers Rely on Remarketing

Remarketing is popular because it balances cost efficiency with high impact. Online advertisers often see higher conversion rates from remarketing audiences than from cold traffic. By targeting users who have previously interacted with your brand, you shorten the customer journey and reduce wasted ad spend.

In today’s competitive digital landscape, remarketing is a key part of any successful paid advertising mix and works best when integrated with search campaigns, social media, and other marketing strategies.

Let White Chalk Road Handle Your Remarketing

Ready to see how remarketing can transform your digital strategy?

At White Chalk Road, we’ve been helping businesses across Australia maximise their Google Ads campaigns and boost conversions with smart remarketing strategies. Having operated in the SEO space since 1999, we have the expertise and knowledge needed to make your remarketing ads succeed.

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What is Remarketing?

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