Retargeting Campaigns That Leverage User Behavior

Should you retarget by intent? We ran the test... Most B2B retargeting looks something like this: Someone visits your site, any page at all…and immediately: they’re getting hit with “Book a demo” or “Start your free trial” ads. No nuance. No context. Just one-size-fits-all messaging chasing every visitor around the internet. It’s simple. It’s easy. But also pretty broken. Here’s why: > Not everyone on your site is in the same headspace. > Blog readers aren’t ready to talk to sales. > Product page visitors are curious but not convinced. And people on the demo page? They’re this close but something’s holding them back. Treating all three the same? That’s how you burn ad dollars without actually building pipeline. So we ran a test. One of our clients had a basic retargeting setup. One campaign. One CTA. One generic message. We broke it apart and rebuilt it based on intent. ___________________________ Here’s how we segmented it: Blog readers Top-of-funnel folks in research mode. → We showed them value-first content: guides, checklists, downloads. Product & feature page visitors Mid-funnel visitors sniffing around the solution. → We served ROI calculators, interactive tools, and “how do you stack up” style CTAs. Pricing/demo page visitors Bottom-of-funnel leads with real buying signals. → They saw direct “Book a demo” and “Start your trial” ads with tons of social proof. ___________________________ Here’s what happened over 60 days: Old campaign (one-size-fits-all): > Low click-through rates (~0.4%) > Modest form fill volume > Demo-to-close rates hovering around 17% New segmented retargeting: > 3.1x higher CTR > 2.4x more total form fills > 29% increase in demo-to-close conversion from high-intent segments ___________________________ Better message-match. Cleaner funnel transitions. Better results.

We’ve been using Reddit ads not just to drive traffic, but to figure out where our audience actually hangs out. Here’s how: 1. Start by installing the Reddit Pixel. - This allows us to track which Reddit users visit the website and sets the foundation for retargeting. Anyone who hits key pages on your site can now be grouped into Reddit audiences. 2. Run a retargeting campaign. - We launch broad retargeting ads across Reddit. We are not limiting placements to specific subreddits. Instead, we let Reddit determine where to serve the ads, as long as the user has previously engaged with our site. 3. Now here’s the interesting part: analyzing subreddit-level performance. - Using Porter Metrics and Looker, we can plug directly into the Reddit Ads API to pull subreddit data by campaign. This gives us a very granular view of spend, clicks, and CTR by subreddit. It not only gives us performance insights but also tells us exactly where our website retargeting is hanging out and on which subreddits. 4. This gives us real behavioral insight. - Every user in the retargeting pool has two things in common: they visited the website, and they spend time on Reddit. By analyzing which subreddits are most common in that pool, we learn where our audience naturally spends time, even if it is not in the subreddits we originally expected. For example, with a cybersecurity client, we assumed r/cybersecurity would dominate. But we found better engagement in r/AWS and r/IAM. That tells us a lot about who we are really speaking to. 5. We take action on that data. - If a subreddit consistently performs well, we run dedicated campaigns there. If irrelevant subs show up, we exclude them. We also use these insights to shape outbound targeting and inform content strategy. Reddit gives you behavioral signal most ad platforms cannot. It shows you which communities actually matter to your audience, based on real engagement, not assumptions. If you are marketing to a niche and technical audience, use Reddit ads to not only engage your audience, but also learn about them.

Most people don’t buy the first time they see your offer. Not because they don’t need it. Not because they’re not interested. They just aren’t ready yet. Maybe they got distracted. Maybe they weren’t in the right mindset. Maybe they’re in research mode, just poking around, seeing what’s out there. But here’s where most businesses mess up. They let these people leave and never follow up. They spend all this money driving traffic to their website: • SEO • LinkedIn ads • Content marketing ... and then just hope visitors magically come back. That’s a losing strategy. The solution? Website retargeting. Instead of crossing your fingers, you just… follow up. You show up where they are. • LinkedIn • Facebook • TikTok People need to see you, on average, seven times before making a decision. The first time? They’re just looking. The second time? They remember you. The third time? They start paying attention. By the seventh time? They trust you enough to take action. Now, not all website visitors are the same. Someone who checks out your pricing page is way more serious than someone who just read a blog post. So instead of treating everyone the same, you target based on intent. If they hit your pricing or case study page… → Hit them with an ad to book a call. If they just read a blog post… → Run an awareness ad. Maybe a free resource. If they landed on your site but didn’t do anything… → Show a soft retargeting ad to keep them warm. Most businesses ignore this. They think retargeting isn’t worth the effort. And those same businesses? They’re leaving deals on the table every single day. You’re already spending money on ads. Why let that traffic slip through your fingers when you could be closing the deal with a few extra touches? Found this helpful? Follow Connor Bell for more strategies on turning website traffic into leads—and share this post with someone who’s leaving deals on the table.

1,322 meetings generated this year Outbound Sales Team = 0 - Here's how 👇 1. Cold/Initial Ads Build Awareness, Not Instant Sales We run cold ads to drive targeted traffic to our website—not to a lead gen form. Here’s the reality: B2B buyers aren’t impulse-buying $3k–$10k+ solutions on their first visit. 3% of cold traffic converts to meetings. Meaningful first impressions with possible prospects at scale... Channels We Use to Drive Cold Traffic: Google Ads (Paid Search) Paid Listings (e.g., Clutch, Influencer Marketing Hub) LinkedIn Cold Ads SEO Organic Social (like this post and YouTube for us) And yes, tell your boss to chill out! 🥶 Raining sales from cold ads isn't a thing in B2B 2. Retargeting: Build Trust, Not Friction Most buyers don’t convert on their first visit. Why? A. It’s not the right time—they’re still researching. B. They don’t know or trust you yet. C. They don’t see you as an expert compared to competitors. Our Retargeting Strategy: Focus on overcoming B + C by distributing content that builds trust and credibility and dripping in subject matter expertise where possible. Types of Retargeting Ads We Run: Case studies Expert advice & audits Testimonials Community-focused 3rd Party Validation The goal? Build trust, and position ourselves as the experts they turn to when they’re ready to buy. 3. Retargeting Intensity based on signals We adjust retargeting intensity based on their last intent-based action: 0–30 Days: High-intensity ads (4-5/week) focused on building trust. 30–90 Days: Mid-intensity ads (2-3/week) focused on demonstrating expertise. 90–180 Days: Low-intensity nurture (1-2/week) to stay top of mind without overwhelming them. This layered approach ensures prospects feel informed and comfortable reaching out when the time is right. We can't force them into being ready to buy, but we can look for signals that indicate they might be closer to making a decision and try to move ourselves higher up the consideration ladder. 4. Take an Ecosystem approach to marketing Most marketing departments fail in this next area. Setting up marketing channels as silos disconnected from the others vs an ecosystem that flows in and out of each other. A. Paid search traffic is often still the life-blood of in-market traffic with shorter sales cycles -Leverage LinkedIn ads to qualify and convert this traffic more efficiently and consistently B. Retarget your prospects on multiple channels to create the "everywhere" effect that improves recall and builds trust C. Ensure your content is worth distributing by ensuring it's dripping in subject matter expertise where possible D. Identify website visitors and own your 1st party data where possible for more personalized messaging strategies E. Leverage paid channels to drive organic community growth and always cross-pollinate your organic communities if possible. That's all for now! #B2BMarketing #LinkedInAds #DemandGen #InboundMarketing

Remarketing is often the misunderstood middle child of performance marketing. Let’s break a couple of myths🔨 🎯 One size fits all fits probably no one:  I’ve seen many companies burn money on campaigns that don’t recognize that every section of their audience has their own motivations. Why, if I had a penny for every time I visited a site with no intent to purchase their product at all, only to spot a “Schedule a Demo Today” ad by them on whichever site I visit, I’d probably be the richest guy in SaaS! I read somewhere that 84% of users either ignore or are put off by retargeting ads! Shows how important it is to get it right. Start doing these things: - Segment visitors by page depth (1 page vs 3+ pages) - Track time-on-site thresholds (>2 min = higher intent) - Create separate campaigns for pricing page visitors vs. blog readers Tailor your content based on your audience’s behavior and stage in the buyer journey (URL path visitors, action completers, cart abandoners) 🎯 Retargeting works like a mosquito coil:  Retargeting is not plug and play, and it typically doesn’t stop with one level. Retarget for all customer stages. Not only demo and trial signups. This insulates your prospects from leaving the funnel midway. We’ve had cases where we spent thousands of dollars on a retargeting campaign only to make zero sales. But here’s what happened afterward ⭐ : When we triggered another retargeting campaign for the warmer folks from the previous campaign, giving them BOFU content, we made sales. A lot of it! What’s to learn here? You’re unlikely to be bet on with just the first touch point. You have to build that awareness consistently. Create a 3-tier remarketing structure: > Tier 1 (Cold): Educational content, industry reports > Tier 2 (Warm): Case studies, comparison guides > Tier 3 (Hot): Free trials, demos, limited-time offers Build custom audiences for each segment, assign specific content types to each, and implement frequency caps based on ‘bucket temperature’. Also, the focus should also be on increasing the credibility of your company rather than only pushing them towards the CTA. Here's one customized Google + LinkedIn campaign strategy we used for a client recently. What are some retargeting tactics that’s worked for you?