Retargeting is one of the most effective advertising methods to re-engage people who have visited your website but haven't converted. This guide will help you launch your first Retargeting campaign in just 30 minutes, even if you're a beginner.
What You Will Achieve After This Guide?
After completing the steps below, you will:
- Successfully connect advertising accounts
- Create your first Retargeting audience file
- Launch and activate your Retargeting campaign
Step 1: Connect Advertising Accounts
For Facebook
- Go to Settings → Integrations → Facebook
- Click Connect Facebook Account
- Log in to your Facebook account
- Select the Business Manager and Ad Account to connect
- Grant the required permissions
- Click Done to complete
For Google Ads
- Go to Settings → Integrations → Google Ads
- Click Connect Google Account
- Log in to your Google account
- Select the Google Ads Account
- Confirm granting permissions
- Click Done
Step 2: Check if Tracking is Working
Check Facebook Pixel
Facebook Pixel is usually pre-installed. To confirm:
- Install the Facebook Pixel Helper Chrome extension
- Visit your website
- Click the extension icon
- If you see the PageView event with a ✅, the Pixel is active
If the Pixel is not running, you need to recheck your Pixel settings.
Check Google Tag
- Install the Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension
- Visit your website
- Open the extension and select Enable
- Refresh the page
If you see the Google Ads tag displayed with a green ✅ icon, tracking is ready.
Step 3: Create Your First Retargeting Audience File
For this step, you'll create a simple file for beginners: To create a file of all website visitors in the last 30 days, follow these steps:
Create a file on Facebook
- Go to Marketing → Campaigns
- Select Facebook Ad Account
- Open the Audiences tab
- Click Create Audience → Website Custom Audience
- Fill in the details:
- Name: All Visitors – 30 Days
- Include: All website visitors
- Retention: 30 days
- Click Create Audience
Create a file on Google Ads
- Go to Marketing → Campaigns
- Select Google Ads Account
- Open the Audiences tab
- Click Create Audience → Website Visitors
- Fill in the details:
- Name: All Visitors – 30 Days
- Rule: URL contains
- Duration: 30 days
- Click Create Audience
Note: Audience files usually need 24-48 hours to start collecting user data.
Step 4: Launch Retargeting Campaign
Once the audience file reaches the minimum size:
- Facebook: from 1,000 people
- Google Ads: from 100 people
You are ready to run the campaign.
Create Retargeting Campaign
- Go to Marketing → Campaigns
- Click Create Campaign
- Select the Retargeting objective
- Choose the platform: Facebook or Google
Campaign Configuration (Recommended)
- Budget: 200,000 - 400,000 VND/day
- Duration: Minimum 2 weeks
- Audience: All Visitors - 30 Days
- Placement: Automatic
Create Your First Ad Creative
Simple content suggestions:
- Headline: "Still Thinking?"
- Body: "Come back and see what you might have missed. [Your Offer]"
- Image: Best-selling product or brand image
- CTA: "Shop Now" or "Learn More"
Launch Campaign
- Double-check all settings
- Click Publish or Launch Campaign
- Ads will be reviewed in approximately 15–60 minutes
What to Do After Running?
In the First 24-48 Hours
- Check campaign status (Active)
- Confirm ads are getting impressions
- Monitor for policy violation alerts (if any)
In the First Week
- Monitor initial metrics
- Check CTR (Retargeting should be 0.5% or higher)
- Monitor cost per click
After 2 Weeks
- Analyze conversion data
- Create more in-depth audience files:
- Cart abandonment
- Product page views
- Pricing page views
- Test more ad creatives
Quick Tips for Effective Retargeting
Do's
- Start with broad audiences, then narrow down
- Use attractive images
- Have a clear CTA
- Limit ad frequency to 3-5 times per week
- Test multiple ad variations
Don'ts
- Show the same ad too many times
- Retarget people who have already converted
- Set too low a budget, leading to insufficient optimization data
- Stop the campaign too early (run for at least 2 weeks)
