Retargeting is a powerful digital marketing technique that can improve brand recall and revenue. Retargeting drives potential customers back to your website by targeting users who have previously visited your website but didn't make a purchase or take a desired action. While retargeting can be an extremely effective, high-ROI solution, if you make a mistake, it can leave you worse off than you started.

Avoid these five common retargeting mistakes , and you’ll be sure to reap the rewards of a successful retargeting campaign.

1. Showing too many impressions

One of the biggest concerns brands have before starting a retargeting campaign is the fear of annoying their consumers, and the concern is a valid one. Consumer annoyance due to excessive retargeting ads is well-documented, but luckily, it’s also easy to avoid. You can avoid it by setting a frequency cap on the number of impressions each of your users is served.

2. Not showing enough impressions

While showing too many impressions can turn users against you, not showing enough can render your retargeting campaign just as ineffective.  The power of retargeting lies in its ability to keep your brand fresh in the minds of users.  If you only serve a few ads throughout the month, it won’t be sufficient to solidify brand awareness. In our experience, the optimal number is somewhere between 17-20 impressions per user, per month.

3. Letting your creative go stale

It’s crucial to devote sufficient resources to making your ads stand out. They should be clearly-branded, use concise copy, and contain a clear call to action. It is also important to change your creatives regularly or use a dynamic ads strategy, to keep the campaign fresh. Research has shown that click-through rates decrease by almost 50% after 5 months of seeing the same ad. By rotating your creative regularly; you can avoid seeing these dips in performance.

4. Failing to segment

Although one of the lesser sins, failing to segment your retargeting campaign is still frowned upon. Ideally, each page on your website should have its own segment with its own set of creatives.  Users who have spent time looking at your product or services page are at a different stage than users who have simply been to your homepage. Your creative should reflect the users’ different stages along the purchase funnel.

5. Failing to measure success

Your retargeting platform should provide you with data on your click through rates and conversions, but you should be tracking your success too. If you aren’t using Google Analytics, set up a free account and begin tracking site visits and customer loyalty metrics.