Remarketing follows potential customers across websites through ad networks. Like the old Vodafone/Hutch advertisement where the network follows you everywhere — if you visit an e-commerce site, add something to your cart, and then leave, you start seeing that product across Instagram, Facebook, and the Google Display Network.
The Problem
Display networks prioritise advertising revenue. Every major platform now offers remarketing features — custom audiences, lookalike audiences. The result is that someone who visited a website without any purchase intent gets bombarded with ads across every surface they use. These are wasted impressions that will never convert.
Remarketing campaigns being done to death can turn a meeting of chance into an “oh-my-god-the-brand-is-stalking-me” feeling. That is not a good place to be with a potential customer.
Recommendations
- Implement frequency caps on creatives — limit how often the same person sees the same ad
- Create campaigns based on specific user actions: form fills, downloads, actual cart additions
- Exclude already-converted users from remarketing lists
- Plan campaigns strategically before launching, not reactively after budget appears
Remarketing is a genuinely powerful tool when used with precision. When used as a blunt instrument, it burns money and erodes brand perception simultaneously.