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Most people who visit a website for the first time do not convert. They browse, get distracted, and leave. Display advertising, particularly through retargeting, gives businesses a second chance to reconnect with those visitors and bring them back to complete an action.
This guide explains how display ads work, what retargeting involves, and how businesses can use both to build a more effective digital advertising strategy. If you are already running paid campaigns and want to see what results look like in practice, the Extra portfolio offers a useful point of reference.
Display ads are visual advertisements that appear on websites, apps, and platforms across the internet. Unlike search ads, which appear when someone types a query into a search engine, display ads are shown to users as they browse other content online.
These ads can take several formats, including:
Display ads are served through ad networks such as the Google Display Network, which reaches over two million websites and apps. They allow advertisers to target specific audiences based on demographics, interests, browsing behaviour, and more.
For businesses looking to increase brand awareness or stay visible across the customer journey, display advertising plays an important role.
Retargeting, sometimes called remarketing, is a form of display advertising that focuses specifically on people who have already visited your website or interacted with your brand in some way.
Here is how the process typically works:
Retargeting is effective because it targets people who have already shown interest in your product or service. These are warm audiences, not cold ones, which typically results in higher engagement and conversion rates compared to standard display campaigns.
| Feature | Standard Display Ads | Retargeting Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | Broad, new audiences | Previous website visitors |
| Goal | Brand awareness and reach | Conversions and re-engagement |
| Cost per Click | Generally lower | Can be higher due to precise targeting |
| Conversion Rate | Typically lower | Typically higher |
| Ad Relevance | General interest targeting | Based on previous user behaviour |
| Best Used For | Top-of-funnel campaigns | Mid- and bottom-of-funnel campaigns |
Both approaches serve different purposes and work well together as part of a broader paid advertising strategy.
Research consistently shows that the majority of first-time visitors do not convert. Cart abandonment rates in e-commerce, for example, are estimated to be above 70 percent. Retargeting allows you to recover some of that lost interest.
Because retargeting focuses on people already familiar with your brand, the cost to convert them is often lower than converting a completely new visitor. You are not spending budget educating someone from scratch.
Retargeting allows for highly tailored messaging. If a visitor looked at a specific product page, you can serve them an ad featuring that exact product. This level of personalisation increases the likelihood of a click and a conversion.
Even if a retargeted visitor does not click the first time they see your ad again, repeated exposure builds familiarity. Over time, this brand recall can influence purchasing decisions when the customer is ready to buy.
There are several ways to set up retargeting, depending on your goals and the platforms you use.
This is the most common form. Ads are shown to people who visited specific pages on your website. You can segment audiences based on which pages they visited, how long they spent on the site, or whether they added items to a cart without purchasing.
Also known as remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA), this allows you to adjust your search bids for users who have previously visited your site. It combines the intent signals of search with the familiarity of retargeting. Businesses running Google Ads campaigns can use RLSA to improve efficiency across both search and display.
If a user is signed into their Google or social media account and has interacted with your emails, you can target them with display ads across the web. This is particularly useful for nurturing leads who are on your mailing list but have not yet converted.
Dynamic retargeting automatically generates ads tailored to what a specific user viewed on your site. This is especially powerful for e-commerce businesses with large product catalogues.
Getting started with display retargeting involves a few key steps.
Install a tracking pixel. For Google Ads, this means adding the Google tag or a remarketing snippet to your website. This tag collects data on your visitors and builds audience lists.
Define your audience segments. Rather than retargeting everyone who visited your site, create specific lists. For example, you might create separate lists for people who visited your pricing page, those who started a checkout process, and those who viewed a particular service.
Set a frequency cap. Showing ads to the same person too often can feel intrusive and damage brand perception. A frequency cap limits how many times an individual sees your ad within a given timeframe.
Write relevant ad copy. The message in a retargeting ad should reflect where the user is in the buying journey. Someone who abandoned a cart responds differently to someone who only visited a blog post.
Monitor and optimise. As with any paid campaign, ongoing analysis is important. Review click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost per acquisition regularly and adjust bids, creative, and targeting accordingly.
If you are looking for professional support with paid campaigns, the team at Get Extra can help you build a strategy that fits your goals, from initial campaign setup through to ongoing audience refinement.
Even well-intentioned retargeting campaigns can underperform if certain pitfalls are not addressed.
What is the difference between display advertising and retargeting?
Display advertising refers to any visual ad shown across websites and apps. Retargeting is a specific type of display advertising that targets users who have already visited your website or engaged with your brand.
How long should a retargeting campaign run?
This depends on the typical sales cycle of your business. For short buying cycles, a 14 to 30-day window is common. For complex B2B sales or high-value purchases, windows of 60 to 90 days are more appropriate.
Do display ads and retargeting work for small businesses?
Yes. While larger budgets allow for more scale, retargeting can be cost-effective at any size. Even small daily budgets can yield meaningful results when audiences are well-defined and ads are relevant.
What platforms support retargeting?
Google Ads through the Google Display Network is one of the most widely used. Meta (Facebook and Instagram), LinkedIn, and Microsoft Advertising also support retargeting. Each platform has different audience sizes and targeting capabilities.
Is retargeting GDPR-compliant?
Retargeting relies on cookies and tracking, which means it falls under data protection regulations in the UK and EU. Businesses must obtain proper consent through their cookie banners and privacy policies before tracking visitors.
How do I know if my retargeting campaign is working?
The key metrics to track are click-through rate, conversion rate, cost per conversion, and return on ad spend. Comparing these figures against your standard display campaigns will show whether retargeting is delivering better results.
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