While you may not be familiar with the term retargeting, also referred to as remarketing, you’ve probably already seen it in action online. If you’ve ever looked at a website and later on, saw ads for that website or its products on other sites, those were retargeting ads. Essentially, with a little bit of code installed on the backend of a website or a list of email addresses, companies can make sure that you see ads for their brand, products, or services whether you’re reading the news, doing some online shopping, or perusing social media. If you’re a small or medium-sized business owner and you’re not using remarketing ads as part of your online advertising strategy, you might be missing out on valuable conversions. We’ve put together an overview of retargeting so you can get a better understanding of this type of advertising and decide whether it will be useful for your business.
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Changing Attitudes
When retargeting ads made their online debut, many internet users found them to be “creepy.” After all, with these new types of ads, it made it seem as if companies were following you around and showing their ads wherever you went. There was a sense of unease that came with seeing ads for the exact product you were recently looking at. But, as retargeting has become more prevalent and commonplace, many internet users have grown accustomed to them and any feelings of distrust have largely dissipated. As such, quite a few businesses have found it to be an effective way of capturing lost leads and increasing conversions on-site.
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How Does Retargeting Work?
As previously mentioned, retargeting works thanks to code, called a pixel, that’s installed on the backend of sites. With pixel-based retargeting, the code leaves an anonymous cookie in your website visitors’ browser. Then, when these individuals visit other sites, that cookie tells the retargeting provider, like Google, which ads should be shown based on browsing history.
There’s also dynamic retargeting, which involves the use of a pixel along with a feed of products or services that’s uploaded to the provider. This type of advertising is much more personalized to the user in question as the pixel and feed work together to display custom ads. For example, if you were looking at a specific type of refrigerator online but didn’t buy it, later you’ll see ads for that same refrigerator from the same business.
Remarketing advertising can also be set up using email lists. Businesses upload email address lists to search engines and social media platforms. Then, the ads they’ve created are shown to the owners of these addresses (when they’re logged in with the email address and using the retargeting provider in question).
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Why Does Retargeting Work?
The simple fact of the matter is that, while some internet browsing really is just browsing, many individuals who are looking at specific products or services are doing so with an intent to buy. However, it’s estimated that people will visit a site two to four times before making a purchase. That begs the question: what do you, as a business owner, do in the meantime? You set up retargeting!
With these ads set to run, your business and its products will stay fresh in the mind of potential customers. It’s quite easy to get distracted online but these ads act as a gentle reminder of your products and services. Using your retargeting ads to show off special discounts is also very effective at bringing past visitors back to your site.
As opposed to search advertising, where internet users see ads based on their search terms, retargeting advertising is highly targeted. Once everything is set up properly, there’s no doubt that your ads are reaching people who are specifically interested in your business and its offerings. It’s those individuals who will be the most likely to convert.
Finally, retargeting can help build your brand if you have a strong organic search results presence. If people are finding your business in organic search results and clicking on it, these ads will work to build both brand awareness and recognition.
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A Few Best Practices
Just like with other marketing and advertising strategies, it will take time to get your retargeting strategy fully fleshed out and performing at its best. As you embark on this process, make sure to take the time to really look at all the different statistics to which you have access. Which ads are getting the most clicks? Is your audience using mobile devices or computers? What are the demographics of the people who are clicking on your ads? All of this information can help you to pinpoint things like when you should be displaying your ads, which designs or verbiage are preferred, and if you should bump up your spending on mobile placements.
Image ads tend to perform better than text ads. So it’s often best to find images that are engaging and attention-grabbing. While people do click on advertisements, they can also be quite easy to overlook if they’re dull or drab. On a similar note, it’s a good idea to regularly rotate through different image ads so that your website visitors don’t constantly see the same ad over and over. Also, make sure you adjust the frequency of your ads so that people aren’t bombarded by them and get tired of seeing them.
Many retargeting platforms offer the ability to create a similar audience list to the one your pixel has created. This list makes it easier to reach out to those who are likely to be interested in your products or services. You may not get the same results conversion-wise with this list as you do with the list of those who have visited your site, but it can do a nice of job of increasing brand awareness.
Keep in mind that retargeting ad campaigns will not begin as soon as you install a pixel on your site. Each platform has a different requirement when it comes to how many people must be on the audience list before ads can run. That number can range from 30 to 1000. If you’re planning on running a retargeting campaign, there’s no harm in setting up your retargeting pixel immediately and allowing it to leave cookies while you come up with your ads.
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Do You Need Help With Your Retargeting/Remarketing Strategy?
We’d be happy to help you fine-tune your retargeting ad strategy! Green Monkey Marketing offers full-service marketing packages that can help you take your business to the next level. Just give us a call at (720) 389-0564 or contact us online. We look forward to speaking with you!
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