| name | retargeting-strategy |
| description | Designs retargeting campaigns with audience segmentation, messaging by funnel stage, and frequency caps. Use when re-engaging website visitors who didn't convert. |
| allowed-tools | Read Write Glob |
| metadata | {"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"} |
Retargeting Strategy
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when you need to:
- Design retargeting campaigns across Meta, Google, or other ad platforms
- Segment retargeting audiences by behavior and funnel stage
- Create messaging strategies specific to where prospects dropped off
- Set frequency caps and exclusions to avoid ad fatigue
DO NOT use this skill for cold audience targeting, email retargeting sequences, or organic remarketing. This is for paid ad retargeting of website visitors and engaged audiences.
Core Principle
RETARGETING IS NOT SHOWING THE SAME AD TO EVERYONE WHO VISITED YOUR SITE — IT IS DELIVERING THE RIGHT MESSAGE BASED ON HOW FAR THEY GOT IN YOUR FUNNEL AND WHY THEY STOPPED.
Phase 1: Brief
Required Inputs
| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|---|
| Website traffic | "How many monthly website visitors do you get?" | No default — must be provided |
| Pixel/tracking | "Do you have Meta Pixel and/or Google Tag installed?" | Needs verification |
| Conversion action | "What counts as a conversion? (purchase, signup, booking)" | Purchase |
| Funnel stages | "What pages do people visit before converting?" | Homepage → Product → Checkout |
| Ad platforms | "Where will you run retargeting? (Meta, Google, both)" | Meta (Facebook/Instagram) |
| Budget for retargeting | "What budget can you allocate to retargeting specifically?" | 20% of total ad budget |
GATE: Confirm before designing the retargeting architecture.
Phase 2: Audience Segmentation
Retargeting Audience Tiers
## Audience Segments
**Tier 1: Cart/Checkout Abandoners** (Hottest)
- Definition: Added to cart or reached checkout but didn't purchase
- Window: Last 7 days
- Priority: Highest — closest to conversion
- Budget: 40% of retargeting budget
**Tier 2: Product/Sales Page Viewers**
- Definition: Viewed product or sales page but didn't add to cart
- Window: Last 14 days
- Priority: High — showed strong interest
- Budget: 25% of retargeting budget
**Tier 3: Content Engagers**
- Definition: Read blog posts, watched videos, or spent 30+ seconds on site
- Window: Last 30 days
- Priority: Medium — interested but not ready
- Budget: 20% of retargeting budget
**Tier 4: General Visitors**
- Definition: Any website visitor not in Tiers 1-3
- Window: Last 60 days
- Priority: Lower — awareness level
- Budget: 15% of retargeting budget
Exclusions
## Critical Exclusions
- Recent purchasers (last 30 days) — do NOT retarget buyers with the same product
- Existing customers — separate them into cross-sell audiences if applicable
- Bounced visitors (under 5 seconds on site) — they left immediately, not worth retargeting
- People who already converted on this campaign
GATE: Approve audience segments before writing ad creative.
Phase 3: Messaging by Segment
Tier 1: Cart Abandoners
Ad angle: Urgency + objection handling
Copy: "You left something behind. Complete your order and get [incentive]."
Creative: Show the specific product they abandoned (dynamic ads)
CTA: Return to Cart
Incentive: Free shipping, 10% off, or limited-time bonus
Frequency cap: 1 impression per day
Tier 2: Sales Page Viewers
Ad angle: Social proof + benefit reinforcement
Copy: "Still thinking about [product]? Here's what [customer name] said about it..."
Creative: Testimonial-focused image or video
CTA: Learn More / Shop Now
Frequency cap: 1 impression per day
Tier 3: Content Engagers
Ad angle: Value-first + soft CTA
Copy: "Liked our guide on [topic]? Here's how to take the next step..."
Creative: Educational content or lead magnet offer
CTA: Download / Sign Up / Read More
Frequency cap: 1 impression every 2 days
Tier 4: General Visitors
Ad angle: Brand awareness + credibility
Copy: "[Brand] helps [audience] achieve [result]. See how."
Creative: Brand story or overview video
CTA: Learn More
Frequency cap: 1 impression every 3 days
Dynamic Retargeting (E-commerce)
If applicable, set up dynamic product ads:
- Show the exact products they viewed
- Include price, product image, and short description
- Add "Back in stock" or "Low stock" urgency if true
Phase 4: Polish
1. Frequency Management
## Frequency Caps
- Cart abandoners: max 1/day for 7 days, then stop
- Sales page viewers: max 1/day for 14 days
- Content engagers: max 1/every 2 days for 30 days
- General visitors: max 1/every 3 days for 60 days
If frequency exceeds 4 without conversion, move to a "cool down" period (exclude for 14 days).
2. Creative Refresh Schedule
- Refresh ad creative every 2-3 weeks
- Rotate between 3-4 creative variations per audience
- Retire creatives when CTR drops below 0.5%
3. Performance Benchmarks
| Metric | Cold Audience | Retargeting | Target |
|---|
| CTR | 0.5-1.5% | 2-5% | Higher for retargeting |
| CPC | $1-3 | $0.50-2 | Lower for retargeting |
| Conversion rate | 1-3% | 5-15% | Much higher for retargeting |
| ROAS | 1-3x | 5-15x | Retargeting is your best ROAS |
Anti-Patterns
- One audience, one ad for everyone — a first-time visitor and a cart abandoner need completely different messages.
- No frequency caps — showing the same ad 20 times creates annoyance, not conversions. Cap at 1-2 per day.
- Retargeting buyers with the same product — congratulations, you already sold them. Exclude purchasers or move them to cross-sell campaigns.
- Too-long retargeting windows — someone who visited 90 days ago has forgotten you. Windows longer than 60 days for most segments waste budget.
- No pixel installed — you cannot retarget without tracking. Install pixels before driving any paid traffic.
Recovery
- Low website traffic (under 1,000/month): Retargeting audiences will be too small. Focus on building traffic first, then activate retargeting when audiences reach 1,000+ per segment.
- No pixel data yet: Install the pixel now and let it collect data for 2-4 weeks before launching retargeting campaigns.
- High frequency, low conversions: The messaging is wrong or the audience has decided no. Refresh creative, change the offer, or exclude and move on.
- Ad fatigue across all creatives: Pause retargeting for 2 weeks to let audiences cool down, then re-launch with completely new creative angles.
