Retargeting vs. Remarketing: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters in 2025

In digital marketing, the terms retargeting and remarketing are often used interchangeably. But in 2025, understanding the difference matters more than ever—especially with tighter privacy rules, changes in how ads are delivered, and a growing need to personalize user experiences.

This guide breaks down both strategies in simple terms, compares them side by side, and shows how using them together can improve your marketing results.

“Understanding the difference between retargeting and remarketing isn’t just technical—it’s the foundation for running smarter, more efficient campaigns.”
– Mr. Phalla Plang, Digital Marketing Specialist

What Is Retargeting?

Retargeting is a form of digital advertising where you show ads to people who previously interacted with your website, app, or online content. These are often visual ads (display or social), search ads, or even YouTube videos that reappear across platforms like:

• Google Display Network
  
• Meta (Facebook and Instagram)
  
• LinkedIn Ads
  
• YouTube
  

Retargeting relies on tools like the:

• Meta Pixel (for Facebook/Instagram)
  
• Google Ads Remarketing Tag (for display ads)
  
• LinkedIn Insight Tag
  

These tags track user behavior and allow advertisers to build audiences of people who visited a page, clicked on a product, or started a checkout process—but didn’t convert (Google, 2025).

What Is Remarketing?

Remarketing is typically used to describe email-based follow-up marketing, where businesses reconnect with users based on first-party data (like email addresses). Common remarketing tactics include:

• Abandoned cart emails
  
• Welcome series for new subscribers
  
• Win-back campaigns for inactive users
  
• Re-engagement emails based on purchase history
  

This form of marketing doesn’t rely on ad platforms or tracking cookies but instead uses CRM data or email automation platforms to send personalized messages (Klaviyo, 2024).

“Remarketing gives you the chance to speak directly to the customer. It’s not an ad—they gave you permission to stay in touch.”
– Mr. Phalla Plang

Retargeting vs. Remarketing: Key Differences

Feature	Retargeting	Remarketing
Medium	Ads (Display, Social, Search, Video)	Email or SMS
Audience Tracking	Cookie-based or Pixel-based	Email lists, CRM data
Goal	Bring visitors back to your site	Re-engage, convert, or upsell known users
Tool Examples	Meta Ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads	Klaviyo, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign
Best For	Awareness and traffic re-engagement	Conversion recovery and customer loyalty
Privacy Compliance	Depends on cookie and consent settings	Relies on user-provided data (more compliant)

Why the Confusion?

Some platforms, like Google Ads, refer to retargeting ads as “remarketing.” This contributes to the confusion, even though in practice, remarketing via email and retargeting via ads serve different purposes (Google, 2025).

When to Use Retargeting

Retargeting is ideal when:

• A user visited your product page but didn’t buy
  
• Someone started but didn’t complete your form
  
• A viewer watched 75% of your video ad
  
• You want to reach users across websites and apps
  

Best Tools for Retargeting:

• Google Ads (for Display and Search)
  
• Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram)
  
• AdRoll (cross-channel display retargeting)
  
• LinkedIn Ads (great for B2B)
  

When to Use Remarketing

Remarketing works best when:

• You want to recover abandoned carts
  
• You need to nurture cold leads or inactive users
  
• You’re sending special offers or personalized upsells
  
• You want to build loyalty with existing customers
  

Best Tools for Remarketing:

• Klaviyo (for Shopify and WooCommerce)
  
• Mailchimp (for small businesses)
  
• ActiveCampaign (email + CRM)
  
• Drip (great for DTC brands)
  

Using Retargeting and Remarketing Together

Combining both strategies provides full-funnel coverage. Here’s how:

Example Campaign Flow:

1. Website Visit → User adds product to cart
   
2. Retargeting Ad → User sees the product again on Facebook or YouTube
   
3. Abandoned Cart Email → Sent 1 hour later with a special offer
   
4. Purchase Made → Follow-up remarketing email with product recommendations
   

According to Omnisend (2025), businesses that use both retargeting and email remarketing see 30% higher conversion rates compared to those using just one method.

Privacy & Cookies in 2025: What’s Changing

With the rise of privacy-focused updates and Google’s removal of third-party cookies in Chrome (Google, 2025), tracking users via ads is becoming more difficult.

This makes first-party data more important than ever. Remarketing through email or SMS (where the user gave consent) provides a more stable, privacy-compliant solution.

Pro Tip: Use tools like Google Customer Match and Meta Custom Audiences to upload email lists and target users with both retargeting ads and remarketing emails (Meta, 2025).

Best Practices in 2025

✅ For Retargeting:

• Set frequency caps to avoid ad fatigue
  
• Use dynamic product ads for personalization
  
• Track conversions using Google’s Enhanced Conversions API
  
• Segment based on intent (e.g., product view vs. add to cart)
  

✅ For Remarketing:

• Use automated email flows (3+ messages)
  
• Personalize content with product data and behavior
  
• Test subject lines and CTA buttons
  
• Combine with SMS for higher reach
  

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using only one of the two methods
  
• Ignoring email list segmentation
  
• Not testing ad creatives or email subject lines
  
• Over-targeting the same user too many times
  
• Relying on cookies without consent or alternatives
  

References

AdRoll. (2024). The Beginner’s Guide to Retargeting. https://www.adroll.com/retargeting
Google. (2025). How remarketing works. https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2454000
Google. (2025). Customer Match in Google Ads. https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6379332
Klaviyo. (2024). Retargeting and Email Marketing Benchmarks. https://www.klaviyo.com/blog/retargeting-vs-remarketing
Meta. (2025). Custom Audiences and Meta Pixel Setup. https://www.facebook.com/business/help/744354708981227
Omnisend. (2025). Omnichannel Marketing Statistics Report. https://www.omnisend.com/blog/omnichannel-marketing-stats
SaleCycle. (2024). Retargeting vs. Remarketing Explained. https://www.salecycle.com/blog/stats/retargeting-vs-remarketing