---
title: "What is Retargeting? — Social Media Glossary | Postpone"
canonical_url: "https://www.postpone.app/social-media-glossary/retargeting"
last_updated: "2026-10-08T07:16:24.501Z"
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  description: "Retargeting is showing ads to people who have already visited your website, engaged with your content or interacted with your brand."
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  "og:title": "What is Retargeting? — Social Media Glossary"
  "twitter:description": "Retargeting is showing ads to people who have already visited your website, engaged with your content or interacted with your brand."
  "twitter:title": "What is Retargeting? — Social Media Glossary"
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**Advertising & Paid**

# Retargeting

Retargeting is showing ads to people who have already visited your website, engaged with your content or interacted with your brand.

[**Facebook **scheduler](https://www.postpone.app/platforms/facebook-post-scheduler) [** Instagram **scheduler](https://www.postpone.app/platforms/instagram-post-scheduler) [** X **post scheduler](https://www.postpone.app/platforms/twitter-post-scheduler) [** LinkedIn **scheduler](https://www.postpone.app/platforms/linkedin-scheduler) [** TikTok **post scheduler](https://www.postpone.app/platforms/tiktok-post-scheduler) [** Pinterest **scheduler](https://www.postpone.app/platforms/pinterest-scheduler) [** YouTube **Shorts scheduler](https://www.postpone.app/platforms/youtube-shorts-scheduler)

Someone visits your website. They look around, maybe add something to their cart, then leave. Without retargeting, that's the end of the story. With it, you can show them ads across social media reminding them to come back.

## How It Works

Retargeting relies on tracking. You install a small piece of code — called a pixel or tag — on your website. Meta has the Facebook Pixel. TikTok has its own pixel. LinkedIn uses the Insight Tag. When someone visits your site, the pixel fires and adds them to an audience you can target with ads later.

You can get specific. Target people who visited a particular product page but didn't purchase. Target people who started checkout but abandoned their cart. Target people who read three blog posts in the last week. The more specific your audience, the more relevant your ad can be.

Some platforms also let you retarget based on engagement rather than website visits. On Facebook and Instagram, you can build audiences from people who watched 75% of a video, opened a lead form, or interacted with your Instagram profile. TikTok offers similar video-view audiences.

## Why It Converts Better

Cold audiences — people who've never heard of you — need convincing. They don't trust you yet. Retargeting audiences already took an action that signals interest. They visited your site. They watched your video. That familiarity reduces friction.

Industry benchmarks show retargeting ads typically see 2-3x higher click-through rates and significantly lower cost per acquisition compared to prospecting campaigns. The audiences are smaller, but they're warmer.

## Getting It Right

**Frequency matters.** Showing the same ad to someone 30 times in a week isn't retargeting — it's harassment. Cap your frequency at 3-5 impressions per person per week.

**Segment your audiences.** Someone who abandoned checkout needs a different message than someone who just browsed your homepage. Match the ad to where they dropped off.

**Set time windows.** A 7-day retargeting window works for impulse purchases. A 30-day window makes more sense for expensive products with longer decision cycles. Beyond 60 days, most intent has faded.

**Example**

Someone browses running shoes on your site but doesn't buy. The next day, they see an Instagram ad for the exact pair they viewed, plus a 10% discount code. That's retargeting.

## **Why It Matters**

Most people don't convert on their first interaction with a brand. Retargeting keeps you visible during the decision-making window, and it converts at 2-3x the rate of cold audience ads because the person already knows who you are.

## **Related Terms**

[Click-Through Rate (CTR)](https://www.postpone.app/social-media-glossary/click-through-rate) [Conversion Rate](https://www.postpone.app/social-media-glossary/conversion-rate) [Lookalike Audience](https://www.postpone.app/social-media-glossary/lookalike-audience) [Paid Social](https://www.postpone.app/social-media-glossary/paid-social)

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