Retargeting Campaigns: Platforms to Recover Leads

Introduction

If you’re spending real money to drive B2B traffic, here’s the uncomfortable truth: most of that traffic leaves without doing a damn thing.

Across the web, average conversion rates hover around 1.96%, which means roughly 98% of visitors don’t convert on the first visit. In B2B specifically, typical websites only turn about 2.4% of visitors into leads, while top performers hit 8-10%. That’s a massive gap between what you’re paying for and what actually shows up in your CRM.

That’s where retargeting-and more broadly, lead recovery campaigns-come in. Instead of letting almost-ready prospects disappear, you use paid media and email to stay in front of them, answer objections, and nudge them back toward a meeting or a trial. Done right, retargeting isn’t just an ad tactic; it’s an always-on recovery layer that makes every SDR on your team more effective.

In this guide, we’ll break down:

• Why retargeting is especially powerful in B2B sales development
• The core platforms you should use to recover lost leads
• How to build high-converting retargeting audiences and campaigns
• How to wire retargeting into your SDR and outbound engine
• Benchmarks, metrics, and optimization tips tailored to B2B

By the end, you’ll have a concrete playbook to stop wasting warm traffic and start turning more of it into pipeline.

Why Retargeting Matters So Much for B2B Pipeline

The 98% Problem

Let’s start with the math.

Studies show only around 1.96% of website visits convert on average, implying roughly 98% of visitors leave without taking action. A B2B-focused analysis found mid-sized B2B sites converting only 2.4% of visitors into leads, while best-in-class companies reach 8-10%.

In plain English: if 10,000 targeted prospects hit your site this month, 9,500+ of them will disappear unless you have a system to bring them back.

B2B buyers also take their time. Many will:

• Visit your site multiple times
• Check pricing, then bounce
• Skim a case study, then disappear for weeks
• Start a demo form, then get pulled into a meeting

That’s not failure-that’s a normal B2B buying journey. But if you don’t retarget those people, you’re leaving money and meetings on the table.

What Retargeting Actually Delivers

Retargeting has stuck around because, despite privacy changes and shrinking cookie pools, the numbers are still ridiculous:

• Website visitors who are retargeted are ~70% more likely to convert than those who aren’t.
• Retargeted display ads can drive 10x higher click-through rates (CTR) than standard display, with CTR averages around 0.7% vs 0.05%.
• Adding retargeting to your mix can increase total conversions by 30-50% on average.
• 2025 data across platforms show retargeting campaigns driving 0.9-1.2% CTR, ~7.5% conversion rates, and ~4.2x ROAS.

And critically for us:

• B2B retargeting delivers about 147% higher conversion rates than B2C retargeting, and has been shown to lift B2B brand awareness by 71% and customer retention by 59%.

B2B buyers are researching heavy, complex decisions. When they see a relevant ad from a brand they already considered, they’re much more open to coming back for a second look.

Retargeting Is Already a B2B Staple

Marketers have caught on:

• Around 77% of marketers use retargeting as part of their strategy, and 70% allocate specific budget to it.
• One report found 54% of B2B companies use retargeting on LinkedIn Ads, the go-to professional network.

So if you’re not running any retargeting, you’re giving your competitors an easy advantage with your own traffic.

The good news? You don’t need to blanket the internet with creepy follow-you-forever banners. You just need a focused, B2B-friendly setup on the right platforms.

The Core Retargeting Platforms to Recover B2B Leads

Let’s walk through the main platforms that actually matter for B2B lead recovery-and how they fit into a sales development motion.

1. LinkedIn Ads & Matched Audiences

If your buyers live on LinkedIn (most B2B decision-makers do), this is usually the first retargeting platform to set up.

LinkedIn’s Matched Audiences lets you:

• Retarget website visitors using the LinkedIn Insight Tag
• Upload contact lists from your CRM or marketing automation
• Target specific companies or account lists (ABM-style)

In LinkedIn’s own pilot program, advertisers using Matched Audiences saw:

• 30% increase in CTR and a 14% drop in post-click cost-per-conversion for website retargeting
• 32% increase in post-click conversion rate with account targeting
• 37% higher CTR with contact targeting

Those are big gains on a relatively expensive platform-exactly where you want the extra efficiency.

Best B2B use cases on LinkedIn:

• Pricing/demo page visitors: Run Sponsored Content or Message Ads pushing a short product tour or direct demo.
• Account-based retargeting: Show case studies and proof specifically to target accounts you’re also calling and emailing.
• Content engagers: People who clicked a thought leadership post or watched part of a video can be nurtured with next-step content (e.g., ROI calculator, comparison guide).

Because you can layer in job title, seniority, industry, and company size, LinkedIn is where you keep buying committees warm and aligned while SDRs work the phones.

2. Google Ads & YouTube Remarketing

Google Ads is your scale and intent engine.

With the Google Ads/GA4 tag in place, you can:

• Build remarketing audiences from any site behavior
• Run them across the Google Display Network (GDN), which reaches ~90% of internet users globally
• Retarget viewers on YouTube with video or companion ads

Recent data shows that retargeting on Google can deliver strong results:

• Retargeting CTR around 0.9-1.2% and conversion rates near 7.5% across Google Ads.
• Return on ad spend (ROAS) around 4.2x for retargeting overall.

Best B2B use cases on Google/YouTube:

• Site-wide visitors: Light-touch display campaigns with social proof and value props.
• Product/feature page visitors: More specific creatives showing benefits and customer logos.
• YouTube video viewers: Follow up with bottom-funnel assets or event invites.

For B2B, think of Google and YouTube as the broad safety net that makes sure your previous visitors see you again while browsing or watching content-not just when they’re on LinkedIn.

3. Meta (Facebook & Instagram)

Meta isn’t the first place most B2B teams think about… but it can be a surprisingly cheap and effective assist channel when used correctly.

2025 retargeting stats (across platforms) point to:

• 0.9-1.2% CTR
• ~7.5% CVR
• Falling CPMs and CPCs vs 2024

On Meta, you can retarget:

• Website visitors via the Meta Pixel
• Instagram/FB engagers
• Customer lists from your CRM

Best B2B use cases on Meta:

• Thought leadership amplification: Promote ungated content, podcasts, or short videos to past visitors and known contacts.
• Event and webinar retargeting: Remind site visitors and email lists to register or attend.
• Light brand reinforcement: Keep your name and promise in front of buying committees between formal touchpoints.

You won’t get LinkedIn-level job-title controls, so don’t rely on Meta for precise ABM. Use it as cheap reinforcement around the edges of your more targeted channels.

4. Programmatic & ABM Platforms (Demandbase, 6sense, Intentsify, The Trade Desk, etc.)

If you’re selling into mid-market or enterprise and running a true account-based motion, programmatic and ABM ad platforms give you:

• Cross-device, cross-site retargeting
• Account-level targeting and intent data
• Deep integrations with CRMs and marketing automation

Vendors in this space (Demandbase, 6sense, Terminus, RollWorks, Intentsify, The Trade Desk, Quantcast, Simpli.fi and others) specialize in reaching the right accounts and personas rather than just individual cookies.

For example, Intentsify reports that its intent-driven ad solutions achieve:

• 49% increase in deal size
• 15x better engagement rates than a competitive vendor
• 17% lift in engagement from display campaigns

While that’s not purely retargeting, it illustrates how account-based, intent-driven advertising can dramatically amplify the impact of your outbound and inbound efforts.

Best B2B use cases for programmatic/ABM:

• Target accounts who visited but didn’t convert: Serve tailored messaging to specific companies you know are in active cycles.
• Open-opportunity nurturing: Coordinate ads with AE and SDR outreach to keep deals moving.
• Closed-lost reactivation: Stay present with high-value accounts that weren’t ready last quarter.

Think of these platforms as your precision layer for complex sales-especially when multiple stakeholders need to see your story.

5. Email & Marketing Automation Retargeting

We usually talk about ads when we say “retargeting,” but email remarketing is often the highest-ROI lead recovery channel you’ve got.

Cart and form abandonment benchmarks show:

• Email remarketing can reduce abandonment by ~18.6% and abandoned cart emails convert at around 10.7%.
• Recovery marketing studies report that retargeting ads can recover about 26% of abandoners in some setups.

Translate that to B2B:

• Someone starts but doesn’t complete a demo request or trial signup.
• A prospect downloads a whitepaper, but doesn’t book a call.
• A past opportunity goes dark after a proposal.

All of those are abandonment problems. Triggered email sequences and SDR cadences are your first line of defense; ads are your second.

Best B2B use cases for email remarketing:

• Form and trial abandoners: Time-boxed sequences referencing what they started and why it’s worth finishing.
• High-value content consumers: Nurture with case studies, objection-busting content, and soft CTAs.
• Closed-lost but good-fit accounts: Periodic check-in sequences tied to new features, ROI wins, or industry shifts.

Combine email remarketing with ads and SDR outreach, and you’ve got a full recovery system instead of just sending one lonely “Hey, you forgot something” email.

Building High-Converting Retargeting Campaigns

Once your platforms are in place, the real work is in who you target, what you say, and how you sequence it.

Step 1: Define Audiences by Intent, Not Just Visit

Start with 3-5 core B2B retargeting audiences:

1. High-intent visitors (Bottom of Funnel)
• Pricing page visitors
• Demo/Contact/Schedule pages
• Trial signup page visitors
• Form starters who didn’t submit (using form tracking)

1. Product-engaged visitors (Mid-Funnel)
• Feature or solution pages
• Product comparison pages
• FAQ or implementation pages

1. Content-engaged visitors (Top/Mid-Funnel)
• Blog readers (specific topics)
• Case study viewers
• Webinar and event page visitors

1. Known contacts and accounts
• MQLs that never booked a meeting
• Old opps closed-lost for timing
• Key account lists from sales

1. Customer and upsell audiences
• Current customers (for expanded use cases)
• Users approaching renewal

You’ll map those into equivalent audiences on LinkedIn, Google, Meta, and any ABM platforms you use. Website tags handle anonymous visitors; list uploads or integrations handle known contacts and accounts.

Step 2: Match Offers to Funnel Stage

Each audience should have a clear next step that feels logical given what they did last:

• High-intent visitors
• Primary offer: Book a demo, start a trial, talk to sales.
• Backup: 5-10 minute product tour video or ROI calculator.

• Product-engaged visitors
• Offer: Industry-specific case studies, product deep-dive videos, ROI benchmarks.

• Content-engaged visitors
• Offer: Webinars, playbooks, “How X companies solved Y problem” pieces with a soft CTA to learn more.

• Known contacts and accounts
• Offer: Personalized demos, ABM-style one-to-few content, tailored success stories.

The key is continuity. If someone just read your “2025 Security Compliance Checklist,” an ad that says “Ready to see how companies like yours automate compliance?” and leads to a guided demo is going to feel much more relevant than a random “We’re the #1 platform!” claim.

Step 3: Write Creatives That Assume Some Familiarity

Retargeting ads can skip the 101 pitch. They should:

• Reference the pain they’re likely facing
• Reference the resource or page they engaged with (where possible)
• Highlight social proof (logos, quotes, numbers)
• Give a single, clear next action

Example LinkedIn retargeting ad for pricing-page visitors:

> Still comparing options for pipeline visibility? > > 82% of RevOps leaders who switch to Acme see full-funnel visibility in under 30 days. Watch a 6-minute product tour built specifically for B2B sales teams.

No need to explain what your category is-that click came from someone who already cared enough to check pricing.

Step 4: Set Smart Frequency Caps and Burn Windows

Retargeting works because it repeats the message. It stops working when it becomes digital stalking.

Guidelines:

• Frequency
• LinkedIn & Meta: 3-7 impressions per user per week, depending on deal size.
• Google Display & YouTube: 5-10 impressions per week, but monitor for fatigue.

• Membership duration
• High-intent audiences: 30-45 days from last visit.
• Content-only audiences: 45-90 days.
• ABM account audiences: up to 90+ days depending on sales cycle.

Add CRM-based exclusions:

• Closed-won opportunities
• Disqualified/no-fit contacts
• People who unsubscribed or requested no contact

This keeps your spend focused and your brand from feeling like that vendor that just won’t go away.

Step 5: Start Simple, Then Layer Channels

You don’t need a 12-channel, 40-audience monster to get results.

A solid starter stack might be:

1. LinkedIn website retargeting for pricing/demo and product pages.
2. Google Display/YouTube retargeting for all visitors with separate creative by intent.
3. Email remarketing flows for form/trial abandoners and high-value content consumers.

Once you’ve got those working, then consider:

• Meta as a cheap assist channel
• Programmatic/ABM platforms for account-level coverage
• Advanced segmentation (e.g., segment by industry, persona, or deal size)

Integrating Retargeting with SDR & Outbound Plays

Retargeting gets really interesting when it stops living only in marketing’s world and starts feeding your SDR machine.

Make Retargeting Data Visible to Sales

At minimum, your SDRs should know:

• Which audiences exist (pricing visitors, demo abandoners, etc.)
• What ads and offers those audiences are seeing
• Which accounts and contacts are currently being retargeted

Better yet, push key signals into your CRM:

• Last retargeting impression date
• Last retargeting click date
• New high-intent behavior triggered by a retargeting click (e.g., revisiting pricing)

This lets SDRs prioritize leads who’ve recently shown interest and reference that interest in outreach.

Core B2B Lead Recovery Plays

Here are a few battle-tested plays that blend retargeting, email, and SDR touches.

1. Demo/Form Abandoner Rescue

Trigger: Visitor starts a demo or contact form but doesn’t submit.

• Email: Within 1-3 hours, send a brief, helpful email: “Looks like you started to schedule a demo-did something break, or are you just not ready yet?” Offer a 2-3 time options or a quick Loom overview.
• Ads: Add them to LinkedIn + Google/Meta retargeting with a “See it in 5 minutes” tour or testimonial from a similar role/industry.
• SDR: If they fit your ICP and the account is worth it, have an SDR call within 24-48 hours referencing their interest.

2. High-Intent Visitor Follow-Up

Trigger: Visitor hits pricing, product, or integration pages multiple times but doesn’t convert.

• Ads: ABM-style creative on LinkedIn and display featuring logos, ROI stats, and an explicit CTA to talk with sales.
• Email: If they’re known, send a short sequence around ROI, timeline, and implementation FAQs.
• SDR: Call or personalized video referencing the specific area they’ve been reviewing.

3. Stalled Opportunity Warm-Up

Trigger: Open opportunity hasn’t progressed in 30+ days.

• Ads: Put the whole buying committee in a retargeting audience. Serve case studies and product proof that speak specifically to the stage they’re stuck at (e.g., security review, procurement).
• SDR/AE: Time outreach to land while those ads are running-your brand will feel fresher in their mind.

4. Closed-Lost Re-Entry

Trigger: Opp lost for timing or budget, but solid fit.

• Ads: After a 60-90 day cool-off, run a light-touch campaign with new features, ROI stories, or category insights.
• Email: Send a check-in referencing changed conditions (“We’ve seen a lot of teams revisit this as budgets open up in Q3…”).
• SDR: Use retargeting engagement as the signal to re-open an opp or schedule a fresh discovery call.

How SalesHive-Type Models Plug In

Agencies like SalesHive, which combine cold calling, email outreach, list building, and B2B advertising, are built to operate in exactly this blended environment.

SalesHive’s own inbound best-practices emphasize multi-channel nurturing-combining content, email, LinkedIn, and retargeting ads to engage leads over time. Their SDR teams can focus on:

• Net-new outbound into your target accounts
• Fast follow-up on inbound and retargeted leads
• Account-based outreach coordinated with ABM and retargeting campaigns

If you don’t have the in-house people to execute these plays, outsourcing SDR work while internal marketing owns retargeting (or vice versa) is often the pragmatic move.

Measurement, Benchmarks, and Optimization

Retargeting is easy to launch and easy to waste money on if you’re not measuring it the right way.

Metrics That Actually Matter

You still care about the usual suspects:

• CTR (Click-Through Rate), Are your messages resonating?
• CVR (Conversion Rate), Are clicks turning into leads or meetings?
• CPC/CPM & CPA, Are you paying a sane amount per click and per conversion?
• ROAS, Is the revenue (or pipeline) worth the spend?

But in B2B sales development, you also need:

• Meetings booked from retargeted cohorts
• Opportunities created where the contact was in a retargeting audience
• Win rates and deal sizes for retargeted vs non-retargeted deals

Those are often where the real value shows up.

Helpful 2025 Benchmarks (Don’t Worship Them)

From the latest aggregate data:

• Retargeting CTR: 0.9-1.2%
• Retargeting CVR: ~7.5% on Google Ads on average
• ROAS: Around 4.2x
• B2B retargeting conversion rates: 147% higher than B2C in some studies

If your retargeting campaigns are consistently underperforming your cold campaigns on a cost-per-opportunity basis, something’s off with:

• Audience definition (too broad, too cold)
• Offers (too aggressive or not compelling)
• Frequency (too low to be noticed or too high to be tolerated)

Simple Optimization Loops

1. By Audience
• Compare CTR, CVR, and cost per opportunity across pricing visitors, content visitors, and known contact lists.
• Shift budget toward the audiences with the best down-funnel performance, not just the cheapest clicks.

1. By Creative
• A/B test at least 2-3 creatives per audience.
• Pit product-focused vs outcome-focused messaging and see which moves the needle on meetings.

1. By Offer
• Try swapping a direct “Book a demo” CTA for a 5-minute product tour or a calculator and see how that affects conversion and eventual SQLs.

1. By Channel Mix
• Use LinkedIn for higher-intent and ABM plays.
• Use Google/YouTube to scale reach and cover generic browsing.
• Use Meta and programmatic as cost-effective support.

Retargeting isn’t set-and-forget. Plan to review performance at least monthly, and restructure underperforming campaigns quarterly.

How This Applies to Your Sales Team

So what does all this look like on the ground for an SDR or sales leader?

For SDRs & BDRs

Retargeting should make your day easier, not more complicated.

• Prioritize warm accounts: If your CRM flags contacts or accounts currently in high-intent retargeting audiences, work those lists first.
• Reference recent behavior: If you know they viewed pricing or a feature page, mention it in your opener.
• Use ad messaging as a script cue: Align call talk tracks and email copy with what your ads are saying so the experience feels cohesive.

When a prospect hears from you right after seeing a relevant ad, it doesn’t feel like “cold outreach” anymore-it feels like timing.

For Sales Leaders

You should be asking:

• Are we retargeting all high-intent site visitors with clear, stage-appropriate offers?
• Do SDRs know who’s being retargeted and how to act on that information?
• Are we treating retargeted leads differently in routing, scoring, and cadences?
• How do conversion rates and win rates compare between:
• Retargeted + SDR touched
• Retargeted only
• SDR only
• Neither

That view tells you whether your recovery and nurture layers are working or just burning budget.

For Marketing Leaders

Retargeting is one of your best levers for doing more with the same budget.

• If paid search and content are driving traffic but not enough leads, retargeting is where you plug the leak.
• If SDRs complain about lead quality, use retargeting to pre-qualify and warm visitors before they ever talk to sales.
• If leadership is questioning ad spend, show them how retargeting improves overall conversion rates and pipeline velocity, not just last-click leads.

And if you don’t have the headcount to manage all of this yourself, pairing an SDR outsourcing partner like SalesHive with an internal (or agency-run) retargeting program is often the fastest way to scale without building everything in-house.

Conclusion + Next Steps

Most B2B teams are already paying to get the right people to their website. The real question is: how many of those people come back after they leave?

With only 2-3% converting on the first visit and retargeted visitors being far more likely to convert, retargeting campaigns are no longer optional add-ons-they’re a core part of an efficient pipeline strategy. The right mix of LinkedIn, Google/YouTube, Meta, programmatic ABM, and email remarketing can turn leaking funnels into predictable streams of meetings and opportunities.

To put this into action:

1. Get the plumbing right, pixels, tags, CRM connections.
2. Define intent-based audiences, pricing, product, content, and known accounts.
3. Map clear next steps, tours, calculators, case studies, demos.
4. Align with SDR plays, shared visibility, prioritized queues, coordinated messaging.
5. Measure and iterate, not just on clicks, but on meetings and opps.

If you want to shortcut the trial-and-error, a partner like SalesHive can plug in SDRs, cold calling, cold email, list building, and even paid B2B advertising to make sure every recovered lead actually ends up on your team’s calendar.

Either way, the opportunity is clear: stop letting 98% of your traffic disappear. Build a retargeting and recovery engine that turns past interest into future revenue.