Should you retarget by intent?
We ran the test...
Most B2B retargeting looks something like this:
Someone visits your site, any page at all…and immediately: they’re getting hit with “Book a demo” or “Start your free trial” ads.
No nuance. No context. Just one-size-fits-all messaging chasing every visitor around the internet.
It’s simple. It’s easy. But also pretty broken.
Here’s why:
Not everyone on your site is in the same headspace.
Blog readers aren’t ready to talk to sales.
Product page visitors are curious but not convinced.
And people on the demo page? They’re this close but something’s holding them back.
Treating all three the same? That’s how you burn ad dollars without actually building pipeline.
So we ran a test. One of our clients had a basic retargeting setup. One campaign. One CTA. One generic message.
We broke it apart and rebuilt it based on intent.
The Test:
Our hypothesis: If we aligned retargeting messages with where visitors were in their journey, we’d see higher engagement, better conversion rates, and less wasted spend simply by treating blog readers differently than ready-to-buy prospects.
The Details:
We ran the segmented retargeting campaign across LinkedIn and Google Display for 60 days, using a 90-day retargeting window. Audience sizes were solid: around 48,000 blog readers, 17,000 product and feature page visitors, and 6,500 pricing/demo page visitors.
Here’s how we segmented it:
Blog readers
Top-of-funnel folks in research mode.
→ We showed them value-first content: guides, checklists, downloads.
Product & feature page visitors
Mid-funnel visitors sniffing around the solution.
→ We served ROI calculators, interactive tools, and “how do you stack up” style CTAs.
Pricing/demo page visitors
Bottom-of-funnel leads with real buying signals.
→ They saw direct “Book a demo” and “Start your trial” ads with tons of social proof.
Here’s what happened over 60 days:
Old campaign (one-size-fits-all):
Low click-through rates (~0.4%)
Modest form fill volume
Demo-to-close rates hovering around 17%
New segmented retargeting:
3.1x higher CTR
2.4x more total form fills
29% increase in demo-to-close conversion from high-intent segments
Better message-match. Cleaner funnel transitions. Better results.
What we learned:
When you match the message to the mindset, people are more likely to take the next step not bounce.
Especially in B2B, where the buying journey isn’t a straight line. It’s a mess of questions, comparisons, and internal consensus-building.
Segmenting your retargeting lets you meet people where they are.
The big takeaway:
By tailoring your message to intent, you don’t just reduce wasted spend you can actually get more aggressive with the audiences that matter most.
Instead of chasing every blog-bounce with a demo CTA, you double down on the high-intent folks who almost converted.
That’s how you stop protecting demand and start capturing more of it.
Thanks for reading!
– Adam
P.S.: Still running generic retargeting? Still watching budget disappear into the void?
At Growth Union, we help B2B brands like User Evidence, Writer, and Semrush build full-funnel campaigns that turn into real revenue. Schedule a call
