On this page
- 01Seeing the undecided again instead of losing them
- 02From cookies in banners to audiences at Meta and Google
- 03Two words, nearly the same thing
- 04A bathroom renovator with 3,000 visitors a month
- 05How often, how long, for whom
- 06Five ways to reach visitors again
- 07Consent first, under EU law
- 08A small list, a small budget
Seeing the undecided again instead of losing them
With retargeting you stay in view of people who looked at your site and left without a request. Most visitors do not decide on their first visit. They compare, get interrupted, or want to talk to a partner first. In those days your ads follow them: on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or other sites they see you again, with the service they looked at.
It runs on a piece of code on your site: the Meta pixel or the Google tag. It remembers who viewed which page and turns those visitors into an audience you can aim ads at.
From cookies in banners to audiences at Meta and Google
Retargeting grew with the ad networks of the 2000s, when third-party cookies let a visitor be followed across sites. Google made it available to all advertisers on 25 March 2010 under the name remarketing, after a year of testing; Facebook followed with custom audiences built from website visits. Since then the room has shrunk: EU privacy law requires consent for such cookies, and browsers like Safari and Firefox block third-party cookies. Retargeting still exists, but only for visitors who say yes to your cookie banner.
Two words, nearly the same thing
People use the words interchangeably, and Google even calls its own retargeting remarketing. Those who make the distinction mean this: retargeting is ads to anonymous visitors of your site, through cookies and a pixel. Remarketing is reaching out again to people who already were customers or leads, often by email or by uploading your customer list to Google or Meta. The first brings back the undecided, the second sells again to people you know.
A visit, an audience, a return
- Day 1VisitSomeone views your page on a bathroom renovation and leaves without asking for a quote.
- With consentPixel or tagOnly if they accept cookies does the Meta pixel or Google tag remember that visit.
- At least 100AudienceGoogle only serves ads to a list with 100 active people in 30 days.
Retargeting
- Ads to people who visited your site
- Through cookies, a pixel or a tag
- On Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, other sites
Remarketing
- Originally: contacting existing customers or leads again
- Often by email or your customer list
- Google uses the word for both
No consent, no pixel; no pixel, no list: your cookie banner decides how large retargeting can get.
A bathroom renovator with 3,000 visitors a month
Take a bathroom renovator near Rotterdam with 3,000 visitors a month. 60 percent accept the cookie banner, so the pixel remembers about 1,800 people. Of those, 400 viewed the bathroom renovation page without asking for a quote. For them a campaign runs on Instagram and Facebook with three finished projects and a "Book a site visit" button, for 30 days after their visit, on 150 euros a month. Anyone who already reached the quote page is excluded: a customer does not want that ad any more.
How often, how long, for whom
Three choices decide whether retargeting helps or annoys. The window: 30 days suits a renovation people weigh for weeks, 7 days a basket someone abandoned. The frequency: a few times a week keeps you in view, ten times a day drives people away. The exclusions: anyone who already asked for a quote or bought is taken out. People who see the same visual too often drop off; change the visual every two weeks and make the landing page match what they saw.
Five ways to reach visitors again
| Kind | Who you reach | Where | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website visitors | People who visited a page, or a specific page | Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Google Display | Pixel or tag, consent |
| Search ads for visitors | People who visited and search again later | Google Search | Google tag, 100 active people in 30 days |
| Video and profile viewers | People who watched your reel or visited your profile | Instagram, Facebook, YouTube | No pixel, your own channel |
| Customer list | Existing customers and leads, by email | Google, Meta | Consent from those customers |
| Dynamic retargeting | The product someone viewed, inside the ad | Online stores on Meta and Google | A product catalogue, a tag |
Consent first, under EU law
In the EU, a retargeting pixel is not strictly necessary for your site to work, so the ePrivacy rules require consent before it loads. That makes retargeting audiences in Europe smaller than in the US, and it makes a correct consent setup the first job, not an afterthought. Google's consent mode passes the visitor's choice to Google's tags; without consent they send only cookieless signals. If you sell across Europe, your cookie banner and privacy policy have to hold in every country you target.
A small list, a small budget
Retargeting is usually cheaper per result than ads to strangers, because you reach people who know you. A small company often starts at 5 to 10 euros a day; the marketing budget calculator works out what you can spend in total. The risk is in measuring: people who would have come back anyway are counted too, so the ROAS of retargeting looks better than its real contribution. Compare with a period without it, and watch new requests, not just what the platform attributes. Your list is never bigger than the traffic you pull with SEO, search ads or social: retargeting fills a sales funnel, it does not create one.
What advertisers ask about it
What is the difference between remarketing and retargeting?
Retargeting aims ads at anonymous visitors of your site, through cookies and a pixel. Remarketing reaches existing customers or leads again, often by email or a customer list. Google calls its own retargeting remarketing, so in practice the words overlap.
Is retargeting allowed in the EU without consent?
No. Advertising cookies and pixels are not strictly necessary and need prior consent. A visitor who declines may not be tracked, and does not enter your audience.
How big must my audience be?
Google only serves ads to a list with at least 100 active people in the last 30 days, for Display, Search and YouTube. With fewer visitors, build traffic first.
How long should a retargeting campaign run?
For a service usually 14 to 30 days after the visit: by then most people have decided. For an expensive purchase with a long think, longer.