What is the minimum audience size required for retargeting?

In Yandex Direct (YAN) - from 1000 users in the segment. In VK Ads - from 500. For the “abandoned cart” segment, 2–4 weeks of collecting traffic on an average e-com site is usually enough. If the audience is smaller, combine the segments: “abandoned cart + product visitors” instead of each separately.

How much cheaper is retargeting than cold traffic?

According to my projects, the ROAS of retargeting is 2–4 times higher than that of cold traffic. CPL is 40–60% lower. Specifically: in an e-com project with a budget of 300K ₽/month, retargeting occupied 15% of the budget (45K ₽) and generated 30% of revenue. Cold traffic - 85% of the budget and 70% of revenue.

How to avoid the “advertising is everywhere” effect?

Impressions limit: no more than 5–7 ads per day per user, no more than 20 in 7 days. Change the creative every 2-3 weeks. Excluding those who have already purchased from retargeting is a standard mistake. And set a time limit after purchase: do not show the same product for 30–60 days.

What is better for retargeting: Direct, VK Ads or Telegram Ads?

Depends on the niche. Direct (YAN) - the best reach and quality of audience for most B2C niches. VK Ads - works well for young audiences and gaming. Telegram Ads retargeting - available only through retargeting to your subscribers, not to site visitors. For full retargeting on the site - Direct + VK.

All articles

PerformanceOctober 28, 20259 min

Retargeting in 2026: segments, pixels and chains in Ya.Direct and VK Ads

Retargeting is the only performance tool with ROAS 8-15x when configured correctly. But 80% of offices use it incorrectly: one segment for everyone, no frequency limit, no look-alike. A complete guide to segments, pixels, touch chains.

Retargeting is the most underrated thing in performance. Businesses spend 90% of their budget on attracting new users and 10% on those who have already shown interest. And the conversion rate for a warm audience is 3–8 times higher. This is math, not marketing magic.

On one of the e-com projects in 2023, retargeting took up 15% of the total budget (45K ₽ out of 300K ₽) and provided 30% of all advertising revenue. ROAS of retargeting campaigns is 8.4. ROAS of cold traffic is 3.1. I redistributed the budget: I increased retargeting to 25%. Revenue for the next month increased by 18% on the same total budget.

Retargeting is not a “reminder.” This is squeezing people who have already completed 80% of the path to purchase.

1. How retargeting works in 2026

The mechanics are simple: the user visited the site → the pixel detected him → the system added him to the audience segment → when he opens other sites or social networks, he is shown your advertisement.

In Yandex, this works through Ya. Metrica and YAN - the Yandex Advertising Network covers 80,000+ partner sites. In VK - via VK Pixel. In both cases, you need a pixel installed on the site and configured goals or audience segments.

2. Audience segments: who and how to divide

The main mistake in retargeting is to lump everyone into one audience, “site visitors.” It's like shouting into a crowd instead of talking to everyone about business.

Correct segmentation for e-com:

Segment 1 - abandoned cart (added product, did not buy). The hottest. Conversion to purchase with retargeting is 8–15%. Advertisement: a specific product from the cart + a small incentive (free delivery or urgency).

Segment 2 - viewed the product or category, but did not add it to the cart. Hot. Conversion - 3–7%. Advertisement: carousel of similar products or social proof.

Segment 3 - visited the site, the viewing depth is more than 3 pages. Warm. Conversion - 1–4%. Advertisement: common brand + unique offer.

Segment 4 - buyers in the last 60–90 days. For cross-sell and up-sell. We show related categories or new products.

3. Retargeting by channel: what works where

Channel	ROAS of retargeting	Best Segment	Niche
Direct YAN	6–12x	Abandoned cart	e-com, services
VK Ads	4–8x	Visitors + pixel	B2C, gaming, fashion
Direct search	3–6x	Buyers (cross-sell)	e-com with repeat purchases
Telegram Ads	2–4x	TG channel subscribers	EdTech, B2B, infobiz

4. Setting up retargeting in Direct

To retarget in Direct, you need a YAN campaign (not search). In the audience settings, select a segment from Y.Metrica - these are the same goals and audiences that you previously configured.

An important point: there are separate ads for each segment. You cannot show the same ad to both those who abandoned their cart and those who simply visited the main page. The first one needs a specific product and incentive. The second is a common brand.

About setting up Metrics goals for retargeting: Ya.Metrika 2026 - setting goals, e-commerce and connections with Direct.

5. Frequency of impressions and audience fatigue

Retargeting can be annoying. “Advertising follows you everywhere” is a bad setting, not how retargeting works.

Limitations that work: no more than 5–7 impressions per day per user, no more than 20 in 7 days. Changing creatives every 2-3 weeks - the audience sees new ads and the frequency is felt lower.

Exclude purchasers: Remove those who have completed a purchase from active retargeting campaigns. This is a standard mistake that I saw in 70% of accounts - a person bought, but they continue to show advertisements for the same product.

6. Budget: how much to allocate for retargeting

There is no universal answer, but there is a guideline: if the ROAS of retargeting is 2+ times higher than cold traffic, increase its share until the audience is exhausted. The retargeting audience is limited by the flow of new visitors.

My practice: from 15 to 30% of the total performance budget for retargeting with normal site traffic. Less than 15% is underutilization. More than 30% - audiences begin to overlap and the frequency goes off scale.

More information about budget distribution by channels: Yandex Direct vs VK Ads vs TG Ads - CPL for 6 niches.

7. Dynamic Retargeting: Automatic Personalization

For e-coms with a large catalog, there is a tool more powerful than manual retargeting - dynamic. You load a product feed, the system automatically inserts into the ad those products that a specific user viewed.

In Direct these are smart banners. VK Ads has dynamic ads. They require an XML feed with products in the required format and correct page marking with event pixels (viewing a product, adding to cart, purchasing).

Result: CTR of dynamic ads is 1.5–2 times higher than static ones. Conversion is 20–35% higher, because a person sees exactly what he was looking at, and not a random product from the catalog.

If you want to look into retargeting for your project, write to Telegram @dipustovalov or through form. Starting consultation - 0 ₽.