Remarketing (also called retargeting) is a paid ads tactic that shows your ads to people who already visited your website, clicked an ad, watched a video, or interacted with your brand, so you can bring them back when they are closer to booking or buying.
Here’s what’s happening behind the scenes: a small tracking tag (Google tag, Meta Pixel, etc.) records an on-site action, like viewing a service page, starting a form, or reaching a thank-you page. That action places the visitor into an “audience” inside the ad platform. Then your ads can show to that audience across placements like Google Search, YouTube, Google Display Network, Facebook, and Instagram, depending on how you set it up.
How remarketing works in real life
For most Orlando service businesses, remarketing wins because people rarely convert on the first visit. A homeowner might look up pest control during a termite swarm, compare three companies, then get distracted. A dental patient might check insurance info, leave, then return a few days later. Remarketing gives you extra chances to stay visible without paying for brand-new clicks every time.
- Audience segments: all visitors, visitors to specific pages (pricing, “book now,” locations), form starters, and past customers (uploaded lists).
- Messaging: remind them what you do, answer the common hesitation, and offer a simple next step (call, book online, request an estimate).
- Exclusions: remove people who already converted so you do not waste spend or annoy customers.
- Frequency controls: limit how often the same person sees the ad so it does not feel like stalking.
Where remarketing shows up
Remarketing is not one campaign type, it’s an audience you can apply in different places: (1) Search remarketing where you bid differently when past visitors search again, (2) Display or YouTube where your ads follow past visitors while they browse or watch, and (3) Paid social where website visitors become a custom audience. If you want help mapping the right mix for your budget and service area, our team handles this inside our PPC management service.
What you need for remarketing to work well
First, you need enough traffic or engagement to build a usable audience, tiny audiences have limited delivery. Second, your landing page has to match the ad promise, because remarketing only works if the “return visit” converts. If your page is slow, confusing, or hard to use on mobile, you will pay for repeat clicks that still do not turn into leads, which is where solid web design for lead generation pays off.
Third, you need clean tracking and privacy settings. Modern browsers and platform rules have tightened tracking, and many users block cookies or limit ad tracking. In Florida, privacy rules also matter, especially for businesses that meet certain thresholds or operate in regulated categories. Practically, that means you should have a clear privacy policy, use a cookie banner when needed, and configure consent and tags correctly so you are not building audiences in a sloppy way.
If you’re deciding between getting new clicks versus following up with warm visitors, read our FAQ on prospecting vs retargeting campaigns. And if you’re setting audience windows, our guide on remarketing audience duration helps you pick time ranges that fit how long customers usually take to decide.
A simple starting point for most local businesses is one “all visitors” audience plus one high-intent audience (like pricing or booking page visitors), with exclusions for recent leads and existing customers. If you tell us what you sell and how people typically book, we can outline a remarketing setup that fits your market and doesn’t waste spend.
