What’s Retargeting?
Before diving into the difference between Facebook and Google retargeting with examples, let’s ensure you understand what retargeting is all about.
Retargeting serves advertisements from your business to users who have previously engaged with your website or content, typically within a set amount of time.
Let’s say you’re shopping on Target.com for a bathroom mirror and “magically” start seeing ads for that same product on Facebook, Instagram, and across the web. This is retargeting!
Retargeting has advanced capabilities where you can serve ads based on where someone drops off in the funnel. For example, if someone goes to your shopping cart but doesn’t proceed to checkout, you can customize retargeting messaging based on this.
This article aims to help you understand the difference between Facebook and Google retargeting so you can leverage both channels for your business.
Why Is Retargeting Important?
The Marketing Rule of Seven is a principle that suggests that potential customers need to be exposed to a brand’s marketing messages at least seven times before they make a purchase decision [source].
When someone visits your website or engages in a social media post, retargeting helps reinforce key messaging, improving your chance of turning this prospect into a customer.
According to 99Firms.com, retargeting can increase the conversion rate by more than 150%, and the cost per click is half that of search ads.
Facebook & Google Are Key Retargeting Platforms
Google has a 39% market share of digital advertising revenue worldwide, followed by Facebook, which has a projected digital ad revenue share of 18% [source].
When people browse the Internet, they will likely be on either a Meta property or one of Google’s network of sites (more on this later).
You can have an extremely effective retargeting strategy by focusing on Meta and Google retargeting as standalone channels.
Meta Retargeting
Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp websites. Retargeting ads on Meta are not spread across millions of sites but are honed on Meta-owned platforms. More than 77% of Internet users, about 3.59 billion people, are active on Meta.
Meta relies exclusively on the Meta (Facebook) pixel, a Facebook-supplied snippet of code you place on your website to track user behavior and interactions specific to your business.
Example of Facebook Retargeting Advertising
Below is an example of a Facebook retargeting advertisement from one of our clients, Boston Best Rate Movers.
You’ll notice the ad placement across Facebook Feeds, Instagram Feed, Instagram Profile Feeds, Facebook Marketplace, and Facebook Video Feeds.
When you set up a retargeting ad on Facebook, your ad will be served across the Meta platform. You can customize the creative for each Meta property, which is important as a retargeting ad on the Facebook news feed will look much different than an Instagram story.
Advantages of Using Facebook for Retargeting
Below are the advantages our agency enjoys when it comes to Meta-retargeting:
- The creative options are superior to those of Google.
- Ad formatting and placements on Facebook allow you more control and creativity. These ads will be displayed across news feeds, Instagram, Messenger, and the Facebook audience network as images, videos, carousels, and collections.
- Higher conversion rates and ROI [source]
- Facebook retargeting directly results in the highest conversion rate, boosting engagement by 300% compared to ads not directed at a retargeting audience.
- Served on fewer sites
- This simplifies reporting and makes it easier to understand the converting channels.
- The ability to retarget based on engagement
Google Retargeting
Google is a search engine. It doesn’t technically own most sites where the retargeting ads appear. If you were to serve retargeting ads on Google, they would appear on sites like CNBC, CNN, ESPN.com, etc.
Over 2 million websites, videos, and apps appear across Google’s Display Network [source]. The Google Display Network can reach over 90% of all internet users worldwide [source].
Google does not rely on a pixel but on cookies or similar technologies. It does this by tagging users who have visited your site with a cookie, which allows Google to identify them as a part of your target audience.
Example of Google Retargeting Advertising
Below is an example of a Google Retargeting advertisement for one of our clients, BBQ Rubs. You can watch THIS VIDEO if you’re interested in setting up a Google retargeting ad from scratch.
Google allows you to upload up to 15 images in different ratios, your logo, 5 headlines, 1 long headline, and 5 descriptions. The responsive nature allows the ad to serve across different placements on the Google Ad Network.
Advantages of Using Google for Retargeting
- Standard and dynamic retargeting options
- Customized remarketing lists for search ads
- Customer match list and lookalike audience capabilities
- YouTube reach
The Power of Search
Since Google is the leader in search, it provides capabilities across search engines that Facebook can’t match. This includes the following:
- Search Remarketing
- Ads can be shown to users who have previously visited your website and then perform related searches on Google.
- YouTube Remarketing
- YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. With Google Ads, advertisers can retarget users interacting with their YouTube channel or videos.
- Shopping Remarketing
- If someone visits a product on your eCommerce website, you can retarget them via Google Shopping.
- Gmail Retargeting
- Google Ads allows you to retarget users through Gmail by showing ads in their inboxes based on their past interactions with your website or specific products/services.
- Analytics Integration
- The seamless integration between Google Ads and Google Analytics provides advertisers with detailed insights into user behavior on their website. It enables more sophisticated retargeting strategies based on user actions and engagement metrics.
The Key Differences Between Facebook & Google Retargeting
User Behavior
There are some key differences when it comes to user behavior and intent. Facebook relies on interaction made through their own products, such as likes, comments, shares, and the data provided once the pixel is installed. For example, if someone bookmarks or shares a status on Facebook, you have the ability to retarget to this person, despite them not visiting your website. Of course, if someone interacts on your site, you can still retarget them via Meta.
Google remarketing ads on the other hand tend to rely more on someone visiting your website in order to remarket to them.
Creative
There is more control with ad formatting and placements on Facebook where you can be a little more creative, and these ads will display across news feed, Instagram feeds, Messenger, and the Facebook audience network in the form of images, videos, carousels, and collections. But, that is not knocking Google, where you have the ability to create a myriad of responsive text ads, display ads, video ads, and shopping ads that can appear on search results pages, Gmail, YouTube, and all of the websites within the GDN.
Overall, I think the creative on Meta for retargeting is best. Google has come a long way and the creative options are much better than they used to be.
When it comes down to it, the platform you choose, if one over the other, will be entirely dependent on where your target audience spends most of their time.
Difference Between Retargeting on Facebook vs. Google: Conclusion
At The Media Captain, we recommend leveraging both platforms as a part of a comprehensive retargeting strategy. Almost everyone on planet earth uses both platforms, so the possibilities are quite literally endless – dependent on your advertising budget, of course.
If you have gotten to this point and decide that you do not want to touch Facebook or Google remarketing yourself with a 10-foot pole, please reach out to us as we would be thrilled to introduce your business to the world of remarketing your business and increased ROI.
