Which retargeting ad platforms do top retargeting companies use to recapture missed opportunities with customers? It depends on your type of business and how you plan to use this powerful ad type.
- Google Ads - Best for broad reach across multiple channels (and YouTube)
- AdRoll - Best for omnichannel retargeting
- LinkedIn - Best for B2B targeting professionals
- Facebook - Best for reaching a massive social audience
- Criteo - Best for automated, AI-powered retargeting
- ReTargeter - Best for transparent metrics and ethical standards
- Outbrain - Best for content-driven retargeting
Below, we break down the 7 best platforms, who should use which, and what they might cost you. Choosing one can have you on your way to an ROAS to get excited about.
1. Google Ads Retargeting Platform
Who Should Use It
Google Ads retargeting is excellent for all kinds of companies: B2B, DTC, B2C, C2C, P2P.
That’s because… how can we put this? The audience on Google is almost everybody online. They own the Internet.
Sounds like an exaggeration?
Well, 90% of search traffic goes through their search engine. Search also happens to be where 70% of purchase decisions start.
And we won’t even start with YouTube… which is also Google.
Learn more about Google Ads on YouTube over here.
How Retargeting on Google Works
You’ll need a Google Ads account and Google Analytics on your website.
Chances are you already use Google Analytics to track your site’s performance. That makes Google one of the easiest retargeting ad platforms to work with.
You can quickly start creating these ads to speed up the buyer’s journey and recapture missed opportunities.
Costs Involved
Google Ads operate on a pay-per-click (PPC) model, meaning you incur costs only when someone interacts with your ad. This is usually a click (hence the name) but could be something like an impression or view.
Why We Like It
Alone, Google Ads controls 40% of the PPC market. And thanks to their expansive third-party network, the visual display retargeting network, and a growing suite of must-have cloud-based tools, they swing around a lot of authority in many people’s eyes.
You borrow some of that prestige when you use their retargeting ad platform.
Best For...
Google Ads excels at reaching the largest and most diverse audience on the internet. It’s ideal for businesses that need a broad reach, especially if you need the ability to retarget across multiple channels, including search, YouTube, and the Google Display Network.
2. AdRoll Retargeting Platform
Who Should Use It
AdRoll isn’t quite as broadly applicable to every business as Google is, but it’s magic for certain types of businesses. Specifically, f you’re a B2C or direct-to-customer DTC ecommerce store, you’ll love this ad retargeting software.
They have 500+ website partners, including the top social media platforms, Google, news websites, and industry faves. And it’s straightforward to use.
AdRoll also plays nice with others. So, let’s say you want to retarget on Facebook and LinkedIn, but you don’t want to have to manage ad accounts on both. AdRoll centralizes ad setup and analytics while showing ads across these and other networks top retargeting companies choose to run their ads.
How Retargeting on AdRoll Works
AdRoll makes retargeting easy by centralizing ad setup and analytics. After adding the necessary tracking code to your website, you can create campaigns targeting visitors on various networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and even news websites. AdRoll will then serve your ads across these platforms, allowing for an omnichannel retargeting experience.
Costs Involved
AdRoll’s accounts start at $9, with some features available for free. After the initial setup, AdRoll uses a cost-per-thousand (CPM) pricing model, meaning you’ll pay for every 1,000 impressions, regardless of clicks. While not paying for clicks may be offputting at first, the upside is that paying for impressions is much cheaper.
Why We Like It
AdRoll’s ability to run retargeting ads across multiple networks from one platform makes it a favorite. It helps businesses stay on customers' radars without the need to juggle separate accounts for each platform.
Best For...
AdRoll is best for businesses that need a streamlined, omnichannel retargeting solution. It excels at integrating with a wide range of networks, letting you consolidate your efforts.
3. LinkedIn Retargeting Platform
Who Should Use It
LinkedIn is the quintessential marketing tool for B2B when you understand how to use it.
Over 950 million people use LinkedIn, and 80% are what we in the B2B world would call business decision-makers who have the ability to influence purchasing decisions. You’ll find entrepreneurs, C-suite execs, managers, accountants, small business owners, supply chain professionals, and more here.
LinkedIn is ideal for companies in industries like finance, consulting, and software. If you’re trying to reach executives, entrepreneurs, or supply chain professionals, LinkedIn is a platform you shouldn’t overlook.
How Retargeting on LinkedIn Works
To get started, you just need a LinkedIn account with a verified email. Then, set up your Campaign Manager and add the tracking code to your website.
Place the LinkedIn Insight Tag on your website to track visitors and conversions attributable to LinkedIn. Segment them based on the pages they visited to make the ads super-relevant.
You can also retarget with your contact list. Prompt your audience to act now on opportunities you’ve previously presented to them in webinars, calls, emails, live events, and more.
Costs Involved
Like other platforms, LinkedIn operates on a PPC model, meaning you only pay when users click your ads. There’s no upfront cost, so you won’t incur any fees unless your ad performs and drives traffic.
Why We Like It
50% of LinkedIn users say they believe companies advertising there are “high quality”. It sets you apart from spammy fly-by-night companies that can overwhelm other ad platforms.
As far as results go, advertisers report a 33% increase in buy intent after running LinkedIn ads. They have 2X the conversions compared to the same type of ad on other platforms and with 13.5% lower acquisition costs.
Best For...
LinkedIn excels at reaching professionals and decision-makers in the B2B space. It's the best platform for businesses targeting C-suite executives, managers, and other high-level professionals who make the decisions to buy what you're selling.
4. Facebook Retargeting Platform
Who Should Use It
Facebook is one of the oldest social platforms, but with over 2.5 billion active users, FB is still hot real estate for both B2B and DTC businesses. While younger generations have migrated to faster platforms, Facebook’s demographic skews older, with people in their 40s and 50s some of the most frequent users.
If you're looking for a target audience that is established and has disposable income, Facebook is an excellent option.
How Retargeting on Facebook Works
Facebook retargeting is powered by the Facebook Pixel, a tracking code you install on your website. Once it's in place, you can segment your audience based on actions, and then serve highly relevant ads to guide visitors back to your site.
The code also tracks conversions from your retargeting campaign, so you you can see what’s working. Then, you can perform A/B testing on ad content and maximize your retargeting ROI.
Costs Involved
Facebook follows the standard PPC pricing model, and there are no setup fees to get started.
Why We Like It
There’s a reason so many businesses start advertising on Facebook. Setting up retargeting campaigns based on profile views, website visits, and contact lists is easy.
Facebook’s enormous audience and advanced segmentation options make it an ideal platform for retargeting, though it isn't quite as good if you're exclusively targeting a significantly younger audience.
Best For...
Facebook excels at reaching a broad audience, especially older demographics with significant purchasing power. It’s ideal for businesses looking to retarget users across a massive, highly engaged social network.
5. Criteo Retargeting Platform
Who Should Use It
Criteo is best for businesses that don’t have the time or resources to test and optimize their ads manually. It’s perfect for companies that want a hands-off approach while still achieving impressive results.
Criteo's machine-learning powered retargeting campaigns dynamically adjusts your ads based on performance, saving you time and effort.
How Retargeting on Criteo Works
Criteo uses AI-powered technology to optimize your retargeting ads in real-time, delivering dynamic ads that adjust to the content that resonates most with a user on the fly; Criteo boasts that its technology can produce a 13X higher return than other platforms.
Criteo automatically monitors your campaigns and tweaks them based on performance and engagement, and it can change your creative based on what it sees performing well. This allows you to send more relevant retargeting messages and ad types, ensuring higher performance with less input from you.
Costs Involved
Criteo offers a free trial, but pricing ultimately depends on how you use it. Criteo will assign you an account manager who will work with you to build a tailored plan suiting your needs, but you should expect to pay a little extra for the advanced machine-learning features discussed above.
Why We Like It
Its video ads are fantastic. Instead of creating a gazillion videos to test, Criteo can adapt videos to showcase products, pages, and messages that a person saw on your site.
It also has an automated bidding feature. This can raise or lower your highest bid on different ad campaigns, audiences, and assets based on which ones deliver the highest ROAS. This saves money and time, too.
However, setting everything up can require a little more up-front work than on other platforms. This is another area where ad retargeting companies can help you by getting you ready to burst out of the gate at full speed.
Best For...
Criteo excels at automating ad optimization using AI. It’s perfect for businesses that want to maximize their return on ad spend without constantly managing campaigns or manually tweaking ad content.
6. ReTargeter Retargeting Platform
Who Should Use It
Do you have high advertising ethics? Do you question what you’re really paying for when ads cost per 1000 impressions? Does it really count when the top of your ad just barely squeaked above the fold?
ReTargeter is perfect for businesses that value transparency and ethical advertising. ReTargeter's promise is that it doesn’t count impressions unless they meet the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) standards for visibility.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is a collective of over 650 advertisers who agree to follow user-friendly ad practices, e.g., GDRP, responsible use of third-party cookies, intrusive ads, ad sizing, percentage of the ad page, page responsiveness, privacy, and so on.
How Retargeting on ReTargeter Works
ReTargeter works similarly to other platforms by placing a tracking pixel on your website that lets you track visitors and conversions. You can then set up targeted ad campaigns based on user behavior; the chief thing that sets ReTargeter apart is its more transparent policies on what constitutes an impression.
Costs Involved
Pricing is customized based on your needs, with the platform operating primarily under a pay-per-thousand (PPM) model. Since each campaign is tailored and you work with an assigned account manager, costs can vary, though services start at $1,500 a month.
Why We Like It
ReTargeter’s focus on transparency and marketing ethics sets it apart from other platforms. They ensure that your ad spend goes toward meaningful impressions, improving the overall quality of your retargeting campaigns. Also, its commitment to advertising ethics means you'll never annoy prospective audiences with disruptive or scummy-feeling ad practices.
Best For...
ReTargeter excels at providing transparent advertising and ensuring that you're paying for quality impressions. It’s ideal for businesses that prioritize ethical advertising practices and want to ensure they’re getting the most value for their ad spend. The one downside is that you're paying primarily for impressions, rather than clicks, so low-converting ads can lead to money spent without much success.
7. Outbrain Retargeting Platform
Who Should Use It
Do you believe strongly that user experience must come before selling to be successful with your customers? Have you bought into the idea that “Content is King”? Then Outbrain is your kind of ad platform. Outbrain is ideal for businesses that prioritize user experience and content marketing, which want to offer valuable content as part of a retargeting strategy, rather than as part of an organic or SEO-focused strategy.
How Retargeting on Outbrain Works
Outbrain is unique among the top retargeting companies and platforms, because it decided to build its retargeting model around content. It shows your ads as content recommendations on publisher websites. Then, instead of guiding someone back to a traditional landing page, your retargeting ads invite people to click on engaging content.
Rather than a hard-sell ad, this feels like just another piece of engaging content for a user to explore, which can increase engagement and can make them feel intrigued rather than like a salesperson is shouting in their ear.
Your content can then re-engage the website visitor, reminding them all about the solutions, benefits, and emotions that got them to add something to their cart on their previous visit, all without feeling like an ad.
Costs Involved
Outbrain on a cost-per-click (CPC) model, allowing advertisers to set their desired CPC and daily budget, with a minimum daily budget of $20. While CPCs can start as low as $0.03, achieving significant and high-quality traffic typically requires bids between $0.50 to $1.50 per click, depending on factors like geolocation and industry.
Why We Like It
Outbrain’s unique content-driven retargeting approach feels less intrusive to users, who won’t get that “someone creepy following you around the Internet” feeling. Outbrain claims that it can increase conversion by 400% while decreasing cost per action by 50%.
Let’s look at an example. You have a problem with cart abandonment.
How can great content help you here? You could write a post like:
- 10 Celebrities that Love ______.
- 15 Unexpected Uses for ________.
- People in {Location} Are Getting ____ This Year
Best For...
Outbrain excels at integrating content marketing with retargeting. It’s perfect for businesses that want to focus on user engagement and provide valuable, non-intrusive content that enhances the customer experience.
How Retargeting Companies Elevate Your ROI
When it comes to retargeting, you have a lot of choices. Each platform has its unique audience and way to reconnect with your website visitors.
The best retargeting platforms are the ones that show ads where your customers are. A proven paid search marketing agency has the analytics tools and skills to determine the best ad retargeting platforms for your business. We can track your campaigns, test, and adapt to ensure you’re getting the most for your ad dollars.
To attract customers and grow your business with retargeting, book a call & get started.
