How much to spend on retargeting ads

Key takeaways

How much to spend on retargeting ads depends on how many warm people you have. Multiply audience size by the number of times you want each person to see an ad per month, multiply by your cost per 1,000 impressions, then divide by 1,000. Spend beyond that only repeats the ad to the same people.

• Budget = audience × monthly views per person × CPM ÷ 1,000.
• 3,000 people × 8 views × £8 CPM ≈ £192 a month.
• Aim for 2–3 views per person per week, not daily.
• Rising frequency and falling results mean too much spend.

How does the formula work?

CPM, cost per thousand impressions, tells you what reaching 1,000 views costs. If 3,000 people visited your site in 30 days, you want each to see the ad about eight times a month, and your CPM is £8, the illustrative budget is 3,000 × 8 × £8 ÷ 1,000 = £192.

• Social media budget for a UK small business
• CPM explained: comparing the cost of reaching 1,000 people

How many times should people see a retargeting ad?

As a GBL rule of thumb, two to three times a week is enough to remind without annoying. Higher-value services with long decisions can use longer windows, such as 60 or 90 days, at a lower frequency. Watch the frequency figure in Ads Manager to check.

• Advertising frequency: how many times must people see an ad?

What should retargeting ads show?

Proof and answers, not the same advert again: reviews, before and after work, a common question answered, or a reason to act now. People who visited already know what you do; they need help deciding. Rotate two or three messages to keep them fresh.

• Social media retargeting: win back followers who nearly bought
• Retargeting ads management: what it costs and when it pays

What are the warning signs of overspending?

Frequency climbing well above three a week, comments complaining about seeing the ad, and cost per result rising while audience size stays flat. Each means the budget is larger than the audience. Reduce spend, widen the window or add new messages.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a small site with a few hundred monthly visitors runs £20 a day of retargeting, and visitors see the same ad over 20 times a week. Cutting to a few pounds a day and adding prospecting usually lowers cost per enquiry.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Retargeting checklist

• Check warm audience size in Ads Manager.
• Calculate the budget with the formula.
• Aim for two to three views per person a week.
• Show proof and answers, not the same ad.
• Exclude recent buyers.

• Daily vs lifetime ad budgets on social
• LinkedIn Premium and Sales Navigator: worth the spend?

Next step

Find your 30-day website visitor audience size and your recent CPM. Run the formula and compare the answer with what you are spending now.