Retargeting Setup

This drill sets up retargeting infrastructure across ad platforms so you can re-engage website visitors who did not convert on their first visit. Retargeting typically converts at 3-5x the rate of cold traffic.

Prerequisites

• Website with meaningful traffic (at least 1,000 monthly visitors for retargeting to be effective)
• Ad platform accounts on Meta, LinkedIn, and/or Google
• PostHog tracking installed on your website
• Landing pages with clear conversion actions

Steps

1. Install tracking pixels

Install retargeting pixels on every page of your website:

• Meta Pixel: For Facebook and Instagram retargeting
• LinkedIn Insight Tag: For LinkedIn retargeting
• Google Ads tag: For Google Display and YouTube retargeting

Use a tag manager or install directly. Verify each pixel fires correctly by using platform-specific debugging tools. Using posthog-custom-events, also track pixel-fire events so you have a single source of truth for audience sizes.

2. Define audience segments

Not all visitors are equal. Build audiences by intent level:

• High intent: Visited pricing page, started signup, viewed demo page but did not convert. Retarget aggressively with direct CTAs.
• Medium intent: Read 2+ blog posts, visited the product page, spent 3+ minutes on site. Retarget with case studies or social proof.
• Low intent: Visited homepage once and bounced. Retarget with educational content or a compelling hook.
• Exclusions: Current customers, people who already converted, and bot traffic. Always exclude these.

Using the platform-specific audience fundamentals (meta-ads-audiences, linkedin-ads-audience-targeting, google-ads-campaign-setup), create these segments in each platform.

3. Set audience windows

Configure time-based audience windows:

• 1-7 days: Hottest audience. Highest conversion rate. Bid aggressively.
• 8-30 days: Warm audience. Good for nurturing with content.
• 31-90 days: Cooling audience. Lower bids, broader messaging.
• 90+ days: Typically not worth retargeting unless you have a very long sales cycle.

Layer windows so you can adjust bids and messaging by recency.

4. Create retargeting ad creative

Match creative to the audience's intent level and stage:

• High intent: Direct CTA ads. "Still evaluating [category]? Book a 15-min demo." Show testimonials from companies like theirs.
• Medium intent: Social proof ads. Customer results, case study snippets, or video testimonials.
• Low intent: Educational content ads. Blog posts, guides, or webinar invites that provide value without asking for a commitment.

Use dynamic creative testing with 3-4 variations per audience segment.

5. Set budgets and frequency caps

Retargeting budgets are typically 10-20% of total ad spend. Set frequency caps to prevent ad fatigue: maximum 3-5 impressions per person per week on display, 1-2 per week on LinkedIn. Monitor frequency closely — when frequency rises above 5 without conversions, refresh creative or narrow the audience.

6. Measure retargeting attribution

Using posthog-custom-events, track view-through and click-through conversions separately. Retargeting often assists conversions attributed to other channels, so look at assisted conversions alongside direct. Compare cost per acquisition from retargeting versus cold campaigns. Healthy benchmark: retargeting CPA should be 50-70% lower than cold traffic CPA.