Most people don't book the first time they land on your website. They check your prices, scroll through a few photos, and then the kettle boils or the school pick-up alarm goes off. Retargeting ads are how you gently remind those people you exist, so more of your almost-bookings turn into real ones.
In this guide we explain how retargeting works on Meta and Google, who is worth retargeting, what to say to them, and the simple setup we use to keep it helpful rather than creepy.
What are retargeting ads?
Retargeting (Google calls it remarketing) means showing ads to people who have already interacted with your business. Usually that's someone who visited your website, but it can also be someone who watched your videos or engaged with your Facebook or Instagram page.
Because these people already know who you are, they're often more likely to act than someone seeing you for the first time. Think of it as the friendly follow-up, not the cold call.
How retargeting ads work on Meta and Google
Meta (Facebook and Instagram)
Meta uses a small piece of code called the Meta Pixel, ideally paired with the Conversions API, to record visits and actions on your website. From that data you build custom audiences, such as "people who viewed the booking page in the last 30 days".
Most website audiences can look back up to 180 days, and audiences built from purchases can now look back much further. You can also build audiences from people who engaged with your page, profile or videos, which is handy if your website traffic is still on the small side.
Google uses the Google tag on your site to build what it calls "your data segments". People can stay in a segment for up to 540 days. Before Google will show ads to a segment, it needs at least 100 active users in the last 30 days, so a newer website may need a few weeks of traffic before retargeting can switch on.
Who should you retarget? Start with intent
Not every visitor is equally keen. We like to group people by how close they got to booking:
Hot: started a booking, added something to the cart or opened the enquiry form but didn't finish. Use a short window, around 7 to 14 days.
Warm: viewed a service, pricing, packages or menu page. Around 30 days works well.
Cool: read a blog post or watched a video. A longer window of 60 to 90 days is fine.
Then exclude anyone who has already booked or bought, so you aren't paying to sell to someone who just paid you. That only works if your tracking is set up properly, which is why we always start with conversion tracking.
Match your windows to how long your customers usually take to decide. A cafe booking happens in days. A hens weekend or a wedding venue can take months.
What to say in your retargeting ads
These people have already seen your homepage, so repeating it won't change their mind. Instead, answer the reason they hesitated.
Remove doubt: share reviews, what's included, or a short video walkthrough of the experience.
Make it easy: link straight to the booking or enquiry page, not the homepage.
Give a reason to act now: limited dates, a seasonal menu or an early-bird offer, as long as it's real.
Match what they looked at: if someone browsed your hens packages, show them hens packages, not your general brand ad.
Common retargeting mistakes we see
Running the same ad for months
Retargeting audiences are small, so the same people see your ads often. Refresh your creative every few weeks and keep an eye on frequency in your reports. If results drop as frequency climbs, your ad is tired.
Forgetting to feed the funnel
Retargeting only works if new people keep arriving. It should sit alongside ads, content or SEO that bring fresh visitors in, not replace them.
Sending people to a slow or confusing page
If someone left once because the page was slow or the booking button was hard to find, sending them back to the same page won't help. Fix the page first.
Keep it helpful, not creepy
Good retargeting feels like a timely nudge. A few simple habits keep it that way:
Let visitors know in your privacy policy that you use cookies and pixels for advertising.
Don't let ads follow people around for months after they've lost interest.
Avoid copy that points out personal details, such as "Still thinking about that back pain?". Both Meta and Google have policies that restrict ads implying knowledge of someone's personal circumstances.
A simple retargeting setup for small budgets
Install the Meta Pixel (with the Conversions API if you can) and the Google tag, and check they fire on your key pages and your thank-you page.
Create two or three audiences: a hot audience, a warm audience, and people who have converted, so you can exclude them.
Run one retargeting campaign with two or three ads that answer different hesitations.
Start with a small slice of your overall ad budget, since these audiences are smaller than cold ones, and increase it if results hold up.
Review it monthly and refresh your ads when performance starts to slide.
FAQs
Is retargeting the same as remarketing?
For ads, yes. Google tends to say remarketing and many people say retargeting, but both mean showing ads to people who have interacted with your business before.
How long should I retarget someone for?
Roughly as long as your customers take to decide. That might be a week or two for a quick booking, or a few months for a bigger purchase or event.
Does retargeting work with a small budget?
Often, yes, because you're spending on warm audiences. The catch is that you need enough visitors to build an audience in the first place, so it works best once you have steady traffic coming in.
Want a hand winning back your almost-bookings?
If you'd like retargeting set up properly, with clean tracking and ads that feel helpful rather than pushy, we'd love to help. Have a look at our services, or book a discovery call and we'll talk through what would work for your business.
