Retargeting That Pays: How to Convert 97% of Lost Visitors Into Revenue
1. The Retargeting Opportunity
Most visitors don't convert on their first visit. They browse, consider, and leave. Without retargeting, those visitors—and the money you spent acquiring them—are gone.
Retargeting brings them back. It's one of the highest-ROI tactics in performance marketing because you're reaching users who already know your brand and have demonstrated interest.
The Math
If you're spending $10,000/month on prospecting and 97% of visitors don't convert, you're losing touch with users who cost you $9,700 to acquire. Retargeting recovers a portion of that investment at a fraction of the original cost.
Why Retargeting Outperforms Prospecting
2. The Three Core Segments
Not all retargeting audiences are equal. Segment your audiences by behavior to deliver the right message at the right time.
Segment Strategy
Work all three segments simultaneously but with different budget allocations. Existing Customers have the highest conversion rate but smallest pool. Website Visitors have the largest pool but lowest intent. Balance reach and efficiency based on your goals.
3. The Performance Impact
Retargeting isn't incremental—it's multiplicative. Here's how it impacts key metrics across the funnel.
3.1 Higher Conversion Rates
Retargeted users convert at significantly higher rates than cold traffic because they've already cleared the awareness hurdle.
3.2 Improved Customer Retention
Retargeting keeps your brand top-of-mind after the first conversion. Users who see retention-focused retargeting ads are more likely to return and engage again.
- Remind lapsed users of your product
- Announce new features, products, or promotions
- Create urgency around limited-time offers
- Reinforce brand preference vs competitors
3.3 Increased Repeat Revenue
For many verticals, repeat purchases drive the majority of revenue. Retargeting existing customers to make additional purchases is the highest-ROI activity available.
LTV Impact
Retargeting existing customers can increase lifetime value by 20-40%. A customer who might have deposited once and churned can be converted into a repeat depositor through strategic retargeting.
4. Setting Up Retargeting
Blockchain-Ads makes retargeting setup straightforward. Follow these steps to launch your first retargeting campaign.
4.1 Prerequisites
- Blockchain-Ads pixel installed on all pages
- Conversion events configured (registration, deposit, purchase, etc.)
- Minimum 1,000 users in retargeting pool (recommended for effective delivery)
- Retargeting-specific creatives prepared
4.2 Building Your Audiences
Step 1: Navigate to Audiences in your Blockchain-Ads dashboard
Step 2: Create a new Custom Audience
Step 3: Select your segment type:
Step 4: Set your lookback window (how far back to include users)
Step 5: Configure exclusions (e.g., exclude converted users from acquisition segments)
Step 6: Save and allow 24-48 hours for audience to populate
Lookback Windows
Shorter windows (7-14 days) capture higher-intent users who recently visited. Longer windows (30-90 days) build larger audiences but include lower-intent users. Start with 14-30 day windows and adjust based on performance.
4.3 Campaign Setup
- Create a new campaign (separate from prospecting campaigns)
- Select your retargeting audience as the targeting source
- Set appropriate frequency caps (3-5 impressions per user per day max)
- Upload retargeting-specific creatives (not your prospecting creatives)
- Set budget based on audience size (smaller audiences need smaller budgets)
- Configure exclusions to avoid targeting users who already converted
- Launch and monitor daily
4.4 Exclusions: Critical for Efficiency
Exclusions prevent wasted spend by removing users who should no longer see specific campaigns.
Why Exclusions Matter
Without exclusions, you'll show "Complete your registration" ads to users who already registered—wasting budget and creating poor user experience. Always configure exclusions before launching.
5. Retargeting Creative Strategy
Retargeting creatives must be different from prospecting creatives. These users already know who you are—now you need to give them a reason to come back.
5.1 Prospecting vs Retargeting Creatives
5.2 Message Framework by Segment
Website Visitors:
- Remind: "You checked us out—here's what you're missing"
- Urgency: "Limited time: Get 20% off your first order"
- Social proof: "Join 50,000+ users who made the switch"
Registered Not Converted:
- Direct: "Your account is ready. Complete your first deposit."
- Incentive: "Deposit $50, get $50 free—only for new members"
- Friction removal: "It only takes 2 minutes to start"
Existing Customers:
- Loyalty: "Welcome back! Here's an exclusive bonus"
- New products: "You'll love our newest release"
- VIP treatment: "Special offer for our best customers"
Creative Refresh
Retargeting creatives fatigue faster than prospecting creatives because the audience is smaller and sees them more frequently. Refresh retargeting creatives every 1-2 weeks to maintain performance.
6. Frequency & Timing Best Practices
Retargeting is powerful but can backfire if overdone. Frequency caps and timing windows prevent ad fatigue and negative brand perception.
6.1 Frequency Caps
Over-Retargeting Risk
Showing the same ad 20 times per day doesn't increase conversions—it creates brand annoyance. If a user hasn't converted after 10-15 impressions, they're unlikely to convert from more impressions of the same creative. Refresh the creative or pause that user.
6.2 Timing Windows
Different actions require different follow-up timing:
6.3 Burn Pixels
A burn pixel removes users from a retargeting audience once they convert. This prevents showing acquisition ads to users who already converted.
- Place burn pixel on conversion confirmation page
- User is automatically excluded from acquisition retargeting
- User can be added to customer retargeting pool simultaneously
- Essential for budget efficiency and user experience
7. Measuring Retargeting Success
Track these metrics to evaluate retargeting performance and optimize over time.
7.1 Key Metrics
7.2 Incrementality: The Real Question
Would these users have converted anyway without retargeting? Measuring incrementality ensures retargeting is driving true lift, not just capturing conversions that would have happened organically.
How to test incrementality:
- Hold out a control group (10-20% of retargeting audience sees no ads)
- Compare conversion rate of retargeted group vs control group
- The difference is your true incremental lift
- If lift is minimal, adjust segments, creatives, or strategy
7.3 Performance Benchmarks by Segment
If You're Not Hitting Benchmarks
Low performance usually means one of three issues: (1) Audience too small—need more prospecting volume, (2) Creatives not compelling—need refresh, (3) Wrong segment—need better exclusions or definitions. Diagnose and fix before scaling.
8. Retargeting Launch Checklist
Technical Setup
- Pixel installed on all site pages
- PageView event firing correctly
- Conversion events configured (registration, deposit, purchase)
- Burn pixel on conversion confirmation page
- Audience segments created in dashboard
- Minimum 1,000 users per segment
Campaign Configuration
- Separate campaign created for retargeting
- Retargeting audience selected
- Frequency caps configured (3-5/day max)
- Exclusions set (exclude converted users from acquisition)
- Lookback window defined
- Budget allocated based on audience size
Creative Assets
- Retargeting-specific creatives designed (not prospecting creative)
- Different creatives for each segment
- Clear CTAs with urgency
- Incentives/offers included where appropriate
- All 4 sizes: 300×250, 320×100, 728×90, 320×50
Measurement
- Baseline prospecting CPA documented for comparison
- Retargeting-specific conversion tracking verified
- Holdout group for incrementality testing (optional)
Next Steps
Retargeting is one of the strongest performance levers available. It turns wasted prospecting spend into recovered revenue and transforms one-time buyers into repeat customers.
Ready to launch retargeting?
- Verify your pixel is capturing all page visits and conversions
- Build your three core segments (Visitors, Registered, Customers)
- Create retargeting-specific creatives
- Launch with appropriate frequency caps
- Measure CPA vs prospecting to prove ROI
- Expand and optimize based on results
Need Help Setting Up Retargeting?
Our team can help you configure segments, build creatives, and launch your first retargeting campaign.
Contact us at blockchain-ads.com
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