Retargeting FAQ

Overview

Retargeting campaigns are an effective strategy to engage users to complete the purchase they were interested in. This article covers the most frequently asked questions about the following topics of Retargeting campaigns:

1. Retargeting Cost-Per-Click /CPM (cost per thousand impressions)
2. Retargeting visibility and Ad expansion
3. Retargeting Ad Previews
4. Retargeting audiences and optimization

🎯 Retargeting Cost-Per-Click/CPM (cost per thousand impressions)

• Question: What is the cost per click for Retargeting ads?
• Answer: Clicks are not the primary focus in Retargeting. The goal of display ads is to maintain brand awareness with travelers who have visited your website. Conversions often result from ad views rather than direct clicks. Retargeting aims to maintain reach and frequency with your website visitor audience as they decide where to book. The visibility setting determines how frequently the retargeting ad is displayed. Higher visibility leads to more impressions and faster budget consumption.

🎯 Retargeting visibility and ad expansion

• Question: In Retargeting, what does changing the visibility do?
• Answer: The visibility setting, along with user behavior, guides the AI to determine the frequency and duration of ad impressions to maximize ROI. Increasing the visibility setting shows the ad to the audience more frequently and for a longer period after their visit, which spends your credits more quickly. Higher visibility may lower the ROI, but reach more of your audience.
  
  The retargeting audience consists of those who visit your website and booking engine but don't book. The size of this audience is determined by your website and booking engine traffic. Increasing visibility only increases how often they see the ad, not the audience size. Allow a few weeks after changing the visibility setting to review the impact on performance.

🎯 Retargeting Ad Previews

• Question: How do I view my live Retargeting ads and what do the previews show?

• Answer: You can visualize your active marketing creatives directly through the Digital Marketing dashboard. To view your ads:

  1. Navigate to the Retargeting tab 
  2. Click the "View my ads" button on the left-hand side of the performance summary. This triggers an in-platform modal.

  

  3. Use the arrows to scroll through the image carousel of display ads currently being used to encourage guests to finish their bookings
  4. Click Close to return to your dashboard.

  

• Question: Can I edit my ads directly from the preview screen?
• Answer: No, the preview screen is for viewing purposes only. To make any changes to your creative assets or campaign settings, you must use the "Edit retargeting ad" button found on your main dashboard.

• Question: Why is the "View my ads" button missing from my Retargeting dashboard?
• Answer: The button is only displayed if there are active images currently associated with your Retargeting campaign. 
  
  Additionally, some legacy customers may not see the preview if they have not updated their images in the last 18 months. We recommend uploading a new image to optimize your campaign and enable the preview functionality

• Question: Where will my Retargeting ads be displayed, and can I choose specific websites or placements?

• Answer: Retargeting ads are displayed across a broad network to reach potential guests who have shown interest in your property. While you cannot choose the exact websites where your ads appear, the focus is on targeting the right audience. Retargeting ads are designed to reach users who previously visited your Cloudbeds booking engine or your website but didn't complete a booking. This audience is highly targeted and more likely to convert.
  
  Your ads will be shown to these users across the various sites they visit online, from major publishers to niche websites. Our system uses sophisticated AI technology to determine the optimal placements for your ads. This technology analyzes user behavior and other data to show your ads to the right people at the right time, maximizing conversion likelihood and ROI.

  To ensure brand safety, we also have safeguards in place to prevent your ads from appearing on websites or pages with inappropriate themes or content. 

• Question: Why do my retargeting ads sometimes look different from the preview?

• Answer: Retargeting campaigns use several different placements across the ad network, which fall into two main categories:

  • Image ads – shown in multiple formats (banners, squares, rectangles, etc.) to fit different visibility options.
  • Native ads – where the image is displayed separately from the text, often integrated into content like online newspapers.

  The preview shown in your dashboard is just one example. In practice, the system automatically generates and distributes multiple formats to maximize reach across the retargeting network. This ensures your ads appear in the most effective placements, even if they don’t exactly match the original preview.

🎯 Retargeting audiences and optimization

• Question: Can I block specific users, such as staff members who frequently browse our website, from being targeted by Retargeting ads?
• Answer: At this time, there isn’t a feature to block specific users, such as staff members, from Retargeting campaigns. While documentation suggests that staff traffic typically has minimal impact, we acknowledge that in some situations it can meaningfully affect both reporting accuracy and campaign spend. Although it’s uncommon for internal browsing to significantly skew campaign performance, we strongly recommend training staff to process guest bookings directly in the PMS rather than through the public booking engine to help prevent this issue. 

• Question: How long does it take for Retargeting campaigns to start working?
• Answer: Retargeting campaigns typically begin showing ads shortly after setup. However, the AI takes time, impressions, and bookings to optimize performance. Allow at least a few weeks for the system to gather data and refine targeting before evaluating results.

• Question: Why did my Retargeting image fail validation?
• Answer: Retargeting images are evaluated by an AI Image Quality Validator when you upload them in the Build your ad panel. Each image receives a score from 0–5 based on clarity, composition, relevance, and thumbnail performance. Images scoring 0–1 are automatically rejected and cannot be used in your ad. Using bright, clear, and property-relevant visuals increases your chances of receiving a passing score.

• Question: What kind of reporting is available for Retargeting campaigns?
• Answer: Retargeting campaign reporting includes metrics such as impressions (ad views), clicks, conversions, and ROI. This data helps you understand campaign performance and make adjustments to improve results.

• Question: Does increasing my website traffic increase my retargeting audience size?
• Answer: Yes, the size of your retargeting audience is directly related to the traffic on your website and booking engine. More visitors mean a larger pool of potential guests to retarget.

• Question: What are the primary goals of a Retargeting campaign?
• Answer: The primary goals of Retargeting campaigns are to maintain brand visibility and encourage potential guests who have previously visited your website to return and complete a booking. While clicks are important, the focus is on generating views (impressions) to stay top-of-mind.

• Question: Can customers choose specific dates to run Retargeting campaigns (e.g., Retargeting only for July and August)?
• Answer: No, choosing specific dates for campaigns is not a feature. Retargeting ads are not tied to availability.