What is retargeting?

Glossary What is retargeting?

The definition of retargeting as a mobile marketing strategy is the process of targeting lapsed users who have engaged with your ad or your app but have not yet converted. Also known as remarketing, ad retargeting is a popular advertising strategy because a user has already displayed intent, which often makes them more likely to convert.

Retargeting definition

Let’s look at an example of retargeting. Your mobile analytics reveal that a user plays the free version of your gaming app, but has expressed interest in your monthly subscription by engaging with your paywall. However, some time has passed and they still haven’t made a purchase. You retarget this user with a specific offer or promotional tactic to persuade them to return to convert.

Retargeting is similar to re-engagement – another form of remarketing. Retargeting campaigns target a user who has not yet converted, while re-engagement campaigns target users who were formerly active but have since churned.

What are the types of retargeting ads?

There are two main types of retargeting ads:

Static retargeting: Generated ahead of time based on a particular section of your app, or a specific ad, that a user engaged with.

Dynamic retargeting: Generated on a per-user basis, these ads are hyper-personalized based on a user’s behavior, interests, engagement, value, and more.

Why is retargeting important?

There’s much debate about user acquisition versus retargeting, which usually comes down to LTV and ROAS. For app marketers, this poses an important question: Why spend money on driving new users when you could spend the same, or much less, on those who are further down the funnel?

While a balanced approach works best, the effectiveness of retargeting shouldn’t be ignored. It’s a successful strategy used by thousands of marketers every day, as it moves already-acquired users to the conversion stage. It’s important to remember that while interest may not guarantee conversions, retargeting also helps to keep your brand top-of-mind.

What are the benefits of retargeting?

To understand how retargeting is beneficial to marketers, here are a few of the primary benefits:

  • Opportunity to upsell: Users are shown the benefits of converting.
  • Increased conversion: Whether a user’s cart is full, or they haven’t completed a registration event, remarketing can help move users to the next stage of the funnel.
  • Lower cost: A retargeting campaign typically has a lower cost of conversion and better return on investment (ROI) than the usual display ad.

Retargeting and Adjust

With Adjust, retargeting valuable users is made easy. Our interface makes remarketing opportunities quickly identifiable, and the process is automatic. Adjust tracks users the second they install your app, and our Audience Builder tool provides you with all the information you need to understand which users need a nudge to help meet your post-install goals.

You can use Adjust to discover which users are falling off the conversion chain, and at which points in the funnel users start to leave your app – users whom you want to target with retargeting campaigns. Learn more about Adjust with Datascape, our all-in one data dashboard for your cross-channel campaigns.

Be the first to know. Subscribe for monthly app insights.