Prospecting campaigns are built to reach new people who have not interacted with your business yet, while retargeting campaigns focus on re-engaging people who already visited your site, saw your ads, or took a step like viewing a service page or starting a form.
In plain terms, prospecting fills the top of your funnel (new searchers, new homeowners, new patients), and retargeting helps close the loop with the warm audience that almost converted. If you want us to set both up cleanly and track them correctly, this is exactly the kind of structure we build in our PPC services.
| What you’re doing | Prospecting | Retargeting |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees the ads | Cold audiences (new searchers, interest-based, lookalikes, broad targeting, non-brand keywords) | Warm audiences (site visitors, video viewers, engaged users, lead form starters, past customers if you upload a list) |
| Main goal | Generate new demand and first touches | Bring back high-intent people to finish the action |
| Best offer types | Clear “starter” offers: free consult, new patient special, quote request, top service | Strong next-step offers: schedule now, limited-time promo, review proof, “what to expect,” FAQs |
| What usually looks “good” | More volume, higher cost per lead, more learning | Higher conversion rate, lower cost per lead, smaller scale |
| How targeting is built | Location + intent (keywords) or interest signals, with exclusions for existing leads/customers | Lists built from pixel/tag data and CRM lists, split by recency and action taken |
| Common mistakes | Going too broad with weak landing pages, or mixing too many services in one ad group | Audience too small, ads shown too often, or retargeting people who already booked |
Here’s a simple Orlando example: a Winter Park dental practice might prospect on “emergency dentist near me” and “teeth whitening,” then retarget people who viewed the emergency page or started the appointment form but did not submit. A local pest control company might prospect around seasonal intent (ants, roaches, termites), then retarget anyone who hit the pricing page or clicked to call but did not connect.
When we build this, we separate budgets and messaging so the systems do their jobs. Prospecting ads answer “Why you?” quickly. Retargeting ads answer “Ready to book?” and remove friction (proof, guarantees you actually offer, scheduling options, call tracking).
Two practical setup tips matter a lot: (1) exclude converted leads and existing customers where possible so you are not paying to chase people who already booked, and (2) split retargeting by intent and recency (for example, people from the last week who viewed a money page vs people from the last 30 to 90 days who only visited the homepage). If you want the targeting layer explained in plain English, our FAQ on what audience targeting is breaks down the moving parts without the jargon.
If you are specifically thinking “retargeting ads,” it helps to remember they are only as good as the audience and the landing experience. If the page is slow, confusing, or generic, retargeting can turn into expensive reminders instead of booked calls. Our retargeting ads explanation covers the mechanics and the usual audience sources we see work best for local service businesses.
Best rule of thumb: run both if you want steady growth. Prospecting brings new opportunities in, retargeting converts the people who already raised their hand. If you tell us your industry and your main conversion (calls, booked consults, forms), we can recommend a clean split and the first audiences to build so you get results without wasted spend.
