Facebook and Instagram Retargeting: How It Works
Facebook and Instagram retargeting shows ads to people who have already visited your website, viewed a product, sent an enquiry, or interacted with your profile. It is suitable when customers do not buy on their first contact and you have enough quality traffic, accurate tracking, and a clear next step.
What is Facebook and Instagram retargeting?
With standard Facebook advertising, you target people based on interests, behaviour, location, or similarity to your customers. With retargeting, you speak to people who have already taken a specific action: opened your website, viewed a product, reached a contact form, watched a video, or messaged your page.
This does not mean that every visitor is ready to buy. Some people are simply comparing offers. Others abandoned their order because they were busy. A third group was looking for a service for a later date. Retargeting allows you to continue the conversation with a relevant message instead of starting from scratch.
The audience is built using Meta Pixel and, where necessary, Conversions API. The Pixel sends events from the browser to Meta. Conversions API sends data from the server and can help with browser restrictions and blocked cookies. In both cases, the setup must comply with cookie consent requirements and data protection rules.
Which audiences should you create for retargeting?
It is not good practice to put all visitors into one broad audience. Someone who has read a short post has different intent from someone who has added a product to their cart. Segmenting by behaviour makes your advertising more precise and reduces unnecessary impressions.
| Audience | Relevant message | Who to exclude |
|---|---|---|
| Website visitors | The benefit of the service, proof, or an answer to a common objection | People who submitted a form or completed a purchase |
| Visitors to a specific product or service page | The same product, a related product, or an invitation to a consultation | Customers with an order already completed |
| Added to cart but did not buy | A reminder, help choosing, or a clear answer about delivery and payment | People who bought the same product |
| Started a form but did not submit it | A shorter path to contact and a reason to complete the enquiry | People who have already provided their details |
| People who engaged with Facebook or Instagram | Content that answers a question or presents the next step | Users who have already converted |
| People who watched a video or interacted with a post | A more in-depth explanation, an offer, or an invitation to visit the website | People without sufficient interaction |
| Previous customers | Add-on service, repeat purchase or support | Customers for whom the message is not relevant |
In Meta, you can set the period for which a person remains in the audience. For a quick decision, such as a booking or service enquiry, a shorter period usually makes more sense. For an expensive B2B service, renovation or ERP system, the decision may take longer. The period should follow the actual sales cycle, not a ready-made setting from someone else’s campaign.
How do you set up retargeting step by step?
- 01Define the action you want to bring people back to
Choose a specific goal: completed order, submitted enquiry, phone call, booking or quote request. Without such a goal, you will optimise for clicks rather than business results.
- 02Check your tracking
Install the Meta Pixel using the appropriate tool for your website and check the events in Events Manager. For an online store, product views, add-to-cart events, checkout starts and purchases are important. For a company website, track form submissions and clicks on the phone number. For a more complex system, consider Conversions API and a CRM integration.
- 03Create separate audiences
Segment visitors by page, action and intent. Also create exclusions: people who have purchased, submitted an enquiry or already become customers should not receive ads for the initial offer.
- 04Prepare different ads
Show a service-page visitor proof and a clear next step. Give someone who abandoned their cart a clear reminder. Show a person who engaged with a video more detailed information. Use formats that are convenient to view on a mobile phone.
- 05Set a budget and frequency cap
Start with a budget that can be tracked separately from ads targeting new people. Monitor how often each person sees the ad. If frequency increases without generating new enquiries, change the message, shorten the period or stop the audience.
- 06Check the result in the context of sales
Compare advertising data with website enquiries, phone calls, orders and CRM data. Make sure that one sale is not counted simultaneously as a result of several campaigns.
Which ads work best for retargeting?
The ad should address the reason why the person did not complete the action. If they viewed a service but did not get in touch, show how the work is carried out, what the customer receives and how to request a quote. If they viewed a product, show it in real-world use, explain the delivery terms or address a common objection.
For an online store, a dynamic catalogue can show products people viewed again, or similar offers. This is useful when the catalogue is large and products change frequently. Do not use it blindly: if the price, availability or images are outdated, the ad will remind people of a problem rather than a benefit.
For a B2B business, it is usually more effective to advertise a specific next step rather than a generic “Contact us”. This could be a process review, a conversation with a specialist, a sample configuration or a download of useful information. With a more complex purchase, one ad is rarely enough on its own.
Video ads are useful for explaining a process, demonstrating a product or introducing a team. Carousels work well for several services, features or steps. A single static image may be better for a simple offer if the copy and call to action are clear.
How often should the ad be shown?
There is no universal frequency that works for every business. It depends on the audience size, the length of the decision-making process, the value of the sale and the number of available messages. A small audience shown the same ad for a long time will become fatigued more quickly.
Set a frequency cap when the objective and format allow it, and monitor frequency alongside the quality of enquiries. Signs of overexposure include declining engagement, more ad hides, negative comments and enquiries from people who do not match your target profile.
It is better to have a small series of different ads than to run the same creative until it is exhausted. You can change the focus: benefit, process, common objection, real result or invitation to talk. The messages must be consistent with the page they lead to.
How do you measure whether retargeting is delivering results?
First, check whether Meta is recording the correct action. For an online store, this is a purchase, not just a product view. For a service, it could be a submitted form, a phone call or a booked meeting. If the event is configured incorrectly, all subsequent metrics will be misleading.
Then compare several levels: ad spend, cost per result, enquiry quality, actual sales and revenue from customers. Record the enquiry source and the stage reached by the deal in your CRM. This will show you the difference between a cheap contact and one that actually becomes a customer.
Do not automatically assume that every sale reported by Meta was caused by the ad. The platform uses its own attribution model and may count someone who would have bought anyway. It is useful to compare periods, campaigns and groups with different messages instead of looking at just one metric.
For B2B sales, measurement must continue beyond the form submission. Check whether the enquiry matches your target profile, whether a conversation took place, whether a quote was sent and whether a deal was closed. If you connect the ads to your CRM via API, the team will have a more complete picture and be able to exclude contacts that have already been handled.
When is retargeting suitable for a business?
Retargeting is suitable when your website already receives visitors from Google, organic search, partners, email or other advertising. It is also suitable when customers rarely buy immediately: for services requiring an inspection, quote comparisons, more expensive products, subscriptions and B2B solutions.
It also makes sense for an online store if people often browse, add items to their cart or start checkout without completing it. In this case, check the payment process, delivery and mobile version before increasing the budget. Advertising cannot compensate for a missing payment method or unclear terms.
Retargeting is not the first step for a website with no traffic. If the audience is too small, the ad will be shown to the same people repeatedly and will not provide a reliable signal. In that case, start by working on the offer, content, SEO, advertising to new potential customers, or the website itself.
For proper setup and management of Facebook and Instagram campaigns, see our Facebook advertising service. If the ad leads to one specific offer, the landing page must match the promise in the ad exactly. When there are many enquiries, it is useful to track them in a CRM system, rather than in scattered spreadsheets and chats.
Frequently asked questions
Is Facebook Pixel needed for retargeting?
Retargeting visitors usually requires Pixel or another correctly configured event source connected to Meta. The setup must account for cookie consent and include a check that events are being sent correctly.
Can you retarget only visitors to a specific page?
Yes. You can create an audience of people who visited a specific service, product or group of pages. This allows the ad to match their specific interest instead of showing a general message to all visitors.
Is retargeting suitable for small businesses?
Yes, if the small business has enough quality traffic and a clear goal, such as an enquiry, call, booking or purchase. With almost no visitors, the audience will be too limited, so you first need to build a flow of relevant visits.
How can I stop showing ads to people who have already bought?
Create an audience of people who completed a purchase or submitted an enquiry and add it as an exclusion in the ad set. For repeat purchases, you can create a separate campaign with a message about a complementary service or product.
Why does Meta report sales when there are none in the business?
The event may be configured incorrectly, there may be duplication, or the attribution model may be counting only an interaction before the sale. Compare the data with orders, phone calls and CRM records instead of relying solely on the advertising dashboard.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Facebook Pixel needed for retargeting?
- Retargeting visitors usually requires Pixel or another correctly configured event source connected to Meta. The setup must account for cookie consent and include a check that events are being sent correctly.
- Can you retarget only visitors to a specific page?
- Yes. You can create an audience of people who visited a specific service, product or group of pages. This way, the ad matches their specific interest instead of showing a general message to all visitors.
- Is retargeting suitable for small businesses?
- Yes, if there is enough quality traffic and a clear goal, such as an enquiry, call, booking or purchase. With almost no visitors, the audience will be too limited, so you first need to build a flow of relevant visits.
- How can I stop showing ads to people who have already bought?
- Create an audience of people who completed a purchase or submitted an enquiry and add it as an exclusion in the ad set. For repeat purchases, create a separate campaign with a message about a complementary service or product.
