It’s a universal certainty: ads are everywhere. And today, there are more opportunities than ever for shoppers to see marketing messages, whether they’re checking emails or scrolling on social media.
As a result, a lot of marketing messages end up becoming white noise – like seeing another wise, bearded wizard in a fantasy movie (it’s been done).
So, how do you stand out?
The key is actually pretty simple: personalization. Hyper-personalized strategies allow you to run ads that are actually relevant to the customer. And today, we’re breaking down our favourite strategies: retargeting and remarketing.
What is remarketing vs. retargeting?
Remarketing and retargeting are personalized marketing approaches that focus on customers who visited your website or mobile app but did not take a specific action.
Although both terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there are a few key differences:
- Remarketing involves reaching out to a customer whose information you already have. This can be through a previous purchase or an email list sign-up. The goal is to reach out through personalized channels like email, SMS, or push notifications to create customer loyalty.
- Retargeting focuses on customers who have visited your website but have not yet made a purchase. It uses cookies from when customers visit your site and then serves them ads once they leave your site on third-party websites like the Google Display Network or the Meta Audience Network.
BONUS: Track what’s actually working
Running retargeting ads without tracking profitability is like driving with your eyes closed. Just because someone came back to your site doesn’t mean the ad paid off.
To help you dial in your spend, we put together a free Ads Profitability Tracker Spreadsheet—built specifically for ecommerce teams.
You can use it to:
- Track ROAS across Meta, Google, TikTok, and other channels
- Compare retargeting vs. prospecting campaign efficiency
- Monitor performance by audience, creative, and funnel stage
- Make faster decisions on where to scale or cut back
15 top-tier remarketing ad examples for every stage of the customer journey
Time for the fun part! Here are 15 of the best remarketing ads examples we’ve seen.
