The Complete Guide to Retargeting for Kenyan E-Commerce

A visitor browses your online store, looks at several products, maybe adds one to their cart, and then leaves without buying. This happens to approximately 98 percent of first-time visitors. Without retargeting, these visitors are lost forever. With retargeting, you can show them ads across the internet reminding them of the products they viewed, nudging them back to complete their purchase.

Retargeting (also called remarketing) displays ads specifically to people who have previously visited your website or interacted with your brand online. Because these people have already demonstrated interest, retargeting ads convert at significantly higher rates than ads shown to cold audiences — typically two to three times higher.

How Retargeting Works

When someone visits your website, a small piece of code called a pixel places a cookie in their browser. This cookie allows advertising platforms to identify that visitor as they browse other websites, social media, and apps. You can then show them targeted ads reminding them of your products or services. The visitor sees your brand repeatedly, building familiarity and trust until they return to buy.

Facebook and Instagram Retargeting

Install the Meta Pixel on your website to track visitors. In Facebook Ads Manager, create custom audiences based on website visitors. You can segment by all website visitors, people who viewed specific product pages, people who added items to cart but did not purchase, and people who visited your site in the last 7, 14, or 30 days.

Create different ad messages for each segment. Show product-specific ads to people who viewed those products. Offer a discount to abandoned cart visitors. Share testimonials with general website visitors. The more relevant the ad to the visitor's previous behaviour, the higher the conversion rate.

Google Remarketing

Google's remarketing network shows ads across millions of websites, YouTube, and Gmail. Install the Google Ads remarketing tag on your site, create audience lists based on behaviour, and design display ads that appear as visitors browse other websites. Dynamic remarketing automatically shows ads featuring the exact products visitors viewed on your site, which is particularly effective for e-commerce.

Abandoned Cart Recovery

Cart abandonment is the biggest revenue leak for Kenyan e-commerce businesses. Beyond ad retargeting, implement email-based abandoned cart recovery. When a customer adds items to their cart and leaves, automatically send an email within one hour reminding them of their items. Follow up 24 hours later with a gentle nudge. After 48 hours, consider offering a small incentive like free shipping or a modest discount. This three-email sequence can recover 10 to 15 percent of abandoned carts.

Our e-commerce solutions and PPC advertising services include retargeting strategy and implementation. Contact Cyril Creatives to recover your lost sales.