A potential customer visits your flooring website, browses luxury vinyl options, checks installation details, then leaves without calling. That warm lead is gone, right? Not necessarily. Retargeting shows your ads to these visitors after they leave your site. When that shopper scrolls Facebook or reads a home improvement blog later, they see your flooring ad. It’s a reminder that keeps your showroom top of mind.
This guide covers everything about retargeting for your flooring business. You’ll learn how to set up campaigns, which types work best at different buyer stages, and mistakes that waste budget. Whether you’re new to digital advertising or improving current efforts, you get actionable steps to bring almost customers back to your showroom.
Why retargeting matters for flooring dealers
Your typical flooring customer visits three to five showrooms before deciding. They research online for weeks, comparing products, reading reviews, and checking prices. Most leave your website without calling because they’re still in research mode. Without retargeting, you lose touch with these warm prospects who already showed interest in your inventory. Your competitors who use retargeting stay visible while you fade from memory.
The flooring buyer’s long decision cycle
Flooring purchases differ from impulse buys. Your customers need time to measure rooms, get spousal approval, and save money for a project that costs thousands. This decision cycle spans 30 to 90 days on average. Retargeting keeps your showroom in front of shoppers throughout this entire journey. When they’re ready to visit stores and make final decisions, your brand feels familiar and trustworthy because they’ve seen your ads consistently.
Retargeting reaches people who already know your business, making every ad dollar work harder than cold advertising to strangers.
Better returns on your advertising budget
You already spent money getting visitors to your website through other advertising. Retargeting costs 50 to 75 percent less per click than initial acquisition ads because you target a warm audience. These visitors convert at higher rates since they demonstrated interest already. Instead of hoping cold traffic finds you, retargeting focuses your budget on people who browsed your luxury vinyl, checked your installation services, or viewed your location page. This precision eliminates waste and delivers measurable results that justify your marketing spend.
How to set up retargeting step by step
Setting up retargeting requires four key steps that build on each other. You start with a tracking code, segment your visitors, launch campaigns, then optimize performance. The entire setup takes one to three hours for a basic campaign. Once running, your retargeting works automatically to recapture lost traffic. Understanding what is retargeting means nothing without proper implementation, so follow these steps carefully.
Step 1: Install your tracking pixel
Your retargeting platform provides a small piece of code called a pixel that you install on every page of your website. This pixel places a cookie on each visitor’s browser and tracks which pages they view. You add the pixel code to your website’s header section or use Google Tag Manager for easier management. The pixel starts collecting data immediately, building an audience list of visitors you can target later. Without this pixel installed correctly, retargeting cannot function.
Step 2: Build your audience lists
Create separate lists for visitors based on their behavior on your site. One list captures everyone who visited any page. Another list targets people who viewed specific product pages like luxury vinyl or hardwood. A third list includes visitors who reached your contact page but didn’t submit the form. These segmented lists let you show different ads based on what each person viewed. Your platform needs at least 100 visitors in a list before campaigns can launch effectively.
Segmented audience lists deliver better results than showing the same ad to everyone who visited your site.
Step 3: Create your ad campaigns
Design ads that reference what visitors viewed on your site. Show luxury vinyl ads to people who browsed that category. Feature your installation services to visitors who read service pages. Use clear product images and compelling offers like free estimates or installation discounts. Your ads appear on websites these visitors browse later, social media feeds, and streaming TV services. Write ad copy that acknowledges their previous interest without sounding creepy or invasive.
Step 4: Set frequency caps and budgets
Limit how often each person sees your ads to 15 to 20 times per month maximum. Showing ads too frequently annoys people and wastes money. Set a daily budget that aligns with your overall advertising spend. Start with 10 to 20 percent of your total digital budget allocated to retargeting. Monitor which audience lists convert best and shift more budget toward those segments. Review performance weekly during the first month to identify what works.
Types of retargeting campaigns
Three main types of retargeting work for flooring dealers. Each uses different technology and targets visitors in unique ways. Understanding what is retargeting means knowing which type fits your goals and technical capabilities. Your choice depends on website traffic levels, email list size, and whether you want to reach people across multiple devices. Most successful dealers combine two or more types to maximize coverage and conversions.
Pixel-based retargeting
This most common type uses the tracking pixel you installed on your website. When visitors browse your flooring products, the pixel drops a cookie on their browser. Your ads then follow these visitors across websites they visit later, social media platforms, and streaming services. Pixel-based retargeting works automatically and reaches visitors within minutes of leaving your site. You need steady website traffic for this method to build enough audience size for effective campaigns.
List-based retargeting
You upload email addresses or phone numbers of customers and prospects directly into advertising platforms. Your ads target these specific people when they log into social media or browse websites. This method works well for reaching past customers with new product launches or seasonal promotions. List-based retargeting delivers higher match rates on platforms like Facebook where users stay logged in constantly. You control exactly who sees your ads rather than relying on browser cookies.
List-based campaigns let you target people who visited your showroom but never made it to your website.
Cross-device retargeting
Your flooring shoppers switch between phones, tablets, and computers during their research journey. Cross-device retargeting identifies users across all their devices using logged-in data and device mapping technology. Someone who views hardwood flooring on their laptop during lunch sees your ad on their phone that evening. This approach increases the frequency of your message without annoying people with too many ads on one device.
Retargeting strategy for the flooring buyer journey
Your flooring customers move through three distinct stages before they purchase: planning, researching, and shopping. Each stage requires different retargeting messages that match their current mindset. Understanding what is retargeting at each buyer stage lets you deliver the right message at the right time instead of showing generic ads to everyone. A planner needs different information than someone ready to visit showrooms this weekend. Your retargeting strategy should mirror this journey with segmented campaigns that guide prospects from awareness to conversion.
Target planners with awareness ads
Planners visited your website three to six months before they’ll buy flooring. They’re gathering ideas, checking budgets, and exploring options without commitment. Your retargeting ads at this stage should focus on educational content and inspiration. Show them design galleries, flooring comparison guides, or testimonials from satisfied customers. Avoid aggressive sales messages or limited-time offers since these people aren’t ready to decide. Instead, position your showroom as the trusted expert who helps them make smart choices when they’re ready.
Match your retargeting message to where each visitor sits in their buying journey for maximum impact and minimal waste.
Reach researchers with product-specific messaging
Researchers spend 30 to 60 days actively comparing flooring types, brands, and dealers. They visited your luxury vinyl page or downloaded your installation guide. Retarget these visitors with ads featuring specific products they viewed and key differentiators like your warranty or installation expertise. Include customer reviews and before-after photos that build confidence in your quality. Answer common questions about durability, maintenance, and pricing ranges. These visitors need reassurance that your showroom offers better value than competitors they’re also researching.
Convert shoppers with promotional offers
Shoppers are visiting stores and requesting quotes within the next two weeks. They viewed your location page, checked your hours, or started a contact form without submitting. Hit these hot prospects with compelling offers like free installation estimates or limited-time discounts. Create urgency without being pushy by highlighting current promotions or inventory availability. Include your phone number prominently and make it easy to schedule showroom appointments. These visitors need one final push to choose your showroom over the competitor down the street.
Common retargeting mistakes and best practices
Understanding what is retargeting isn’t enough if you make critical errors that burn your budget. Many flooring dealers launch campaigns without proper strategy, leading to wasted spend and frustrated prospects. These mistakes range from showing ads too frequently to targeting everyone equally regardless of their behavior. Learning from common pitfalls saves you thousands while improving your results dramatically.
Mistakes that waste your retargeting budget
Showing your ads 30 or 40 times per month to the same person annoys them and wastes money. You pay for impressions that generate no value after someone sees your ad repeatedly. Another mistake involves targeting all visitors identically without considering what they viewed on your site. Someone who spent ten minutes browsing hardwood flooring deserves different ads than someone who landed on your homepage for five seconds. Ignoring mobile optimization also kills performance since 70 percent of flooring research happens on phones.
Set frequency caps at 15 to 20 impressions per month and segment audiences based on their specific interests and engagement levels.
Best practices that improve campaign performance
Review your retargeting performance every seven days during the first month to identify what works. Adjust your audience segments, ad creative, and budgets based on actual click rates and conversions rather than assumptions. Create multiple ad variations that test different product images, offers, and messaging approaches. Use clear calls to action like "Schedule Your Free Estimate" instead of vague phrases like "Learn More." Exclude people who already converted so you stop paying to advertise to customers who purchased last week.
Key takeaways
Retargeting brings warm prospects back to your flooring showroom after they leave your website without converting. You install a tracking pixel, segment visitors based on their behavior, and show targeted ads as they browse other sites and social media. This approach costs less than cold advertising while delivering higher conversion rates because you focus on people who already demonstrated interest in your products.
Your flooring buyers move through distinct stages over 30 to 90 days before purchasing. Effective retargeting matches your message to each stage with awareness content for planners, product-specific details for researchers, and promotional offers for shoppers ready to visit stores. Avoid common mistakes like excessive ad frequency and treating all visitors the same regardless of what they viewed.
Understanding what is retargeting gives you an advantage, but implementation determines your results. IFDA’s AI-driven targeting technology identifies flooring consumers at each buying stage and delivers the right message at the right time. Your retargeting campaigns work harder when they reach people actively planning, researching, or shopping for flooring instead of anyone who briefly visited your site.
