what is remarketing and how can you use it?
Not every customer takes a simple path to conversion. Many visitors won’t convert on their first visit to your website. But all is not lost. In fact, research shows it takes between six to eight interactions with your brand before a conversion occurs, so there is still time to turn that lead into a sale.
You need to help guide visitors through the conversion funnel, even if it is a convoluted process. One way to do this in a personalised and engaging way is with remarketing (also known as retargeting). After all, where better to direct your paid media spend than towards those who you already know are interested in what you have to offer?
what does remarketing mean?
Remarketing is essentially the process of creating personalised ad campaigns and displaying them to users who have previously visited your website or other online content.
Nearly 80 percent of consumers believe personally appropriate ads enhance their purchase intent, proving remarketing to be an effective paid media tactic for staying connected with customers.
By reaching out to users who have displayed an interest in your brand, there is a higher chance of conversion. But, to do it well, remarketing involves targeting the user at different points in their buying journey to guide them along.
how does remarketing work?
Remarketing maximises your investment in existing traffic, no matter what channel currently drives it. When someone visits your website and completes an action, such as visiting a page or placing an item in their basket, a tag (known as a pixel) is used to place a cookie in their browser. This cookie allows you to remarket to the user, with ads based on their interactions after they leave your site. The following are examples of triggers that can be used in remarketing:
Users who have interacted with your content through social media, your website or ads
Users who recently visited a similar website
Visitors of a page during specific dates
History of online searches
Users who share the same interest as your current audience
Subscribers who have interacted with your emails
These ads are then placed by third parties such as the Google Display Network (GDN) who serve them on their partner sites that the user visits. A remarketing campaign can also track specific site pages, allowing you to identify users who spent time on those pages without converting. Using this insight, you have the ability to promote the products or services expressed interest in through personalised ads.
how effective is remarketing?
It’s estimated that a website visitor who has been retargeted with a display ad is 70 percent more likely to convert with you. Using remarketing to target high-value prospects benefits both you and your customers. Through the range of remarketing platforms available, you can advertise to your target audience at nearly every stage of the sales funnel. Not only this, but your consumer also enjoys a more personalised and relevant experience with your brand. So, it comes as no surprise that remarketing can have a significant impact on your ROI.
This tactic can be a strategic component of your advertising with many benefits including driving sales and promoting brand awareness:
encourage users down the conversion funnel: Remarketing can effectively act as a stepping stone to the next stage in the funnel. For example, if a user has left a specific product page, you can serve them a remarketing ad which would lead them back to the page and guide them onto the next stage of the funnel with an incentive such as a discount.
focus your advertising efforts: Remarketing List Search Advertising (RLSA) is a Google AdWords feature which allows you to create remarketing lists for specific ads. Using RLSA, you can customise search ad campaigns for past visitors by tailoring bids and targeting specific ads. It’s predominantly used for visitors who leave your website and return to Google to search for something similar.
tailormade ads: Show your ads to those who have previously interacted with your brand while they are searching elsewhere. Once a visitor has interacted with your brand online, you have more data available on their behaviours and preferences which can be used to create relevant ads. Dynamic ads can then be used to automatically adapt content to fit each user, so they are always exposed to a tailored ad.
boost your reach: You can reach the people on your remarketing lists across a range of devices as they browse and engage with over two million websites and mobile apps. Combining numerous data points, you have the ability to deliver ad placement across the GDN and increase reach to other global networks too.
automated bidding functionalities: With automated bidding, you can create high performing remarketing campaigns with efficient pricing. Real-time bidding calculates the optimal bid for the user viewing your ad, aiding you in winning the ad auction with the best possible price.
full transparency: Using this tactic and combining it with the experience of a
remarketing agency, your campaigns will be consistently monitored with full transparency. Regular reports can be created on how your ads are performing, where they are being shown, how much it’s costing you and the generated revenue.
There are many benefits to getting your brand involved with remarketing, and even better, there are a number of platforms to use remarketing across too making it even easier to target your audience, whoever and wherever they are.
what are the different types of remarketing ads?
standard remarketing
Standard remarketing involves showing ads in websites, apps and social media across the GDN to target people who have previously visited your brand online. This type also targets those using search engines, but this does not include display ads. Search engine ads allow you to narrow down your targeting by serving ads to individuals who have visited your website and are still searching for products or services related to your brand. As such, you can target users searching for specific terms related to your brand while they have a high search intent – a win-win!
dynamic remarketing
Dynamic Search Ads put your ads in front of the right people, at the right time, with the right messaging. Dynamic remarketing ads are specifically tailored to visitors depending on how they have browsed a webpage. Using Google’s dynamic remarketing, ads are personalised depending on the products and services the user has shown interest in.
youtube remarketing
With video remarketing, you can serve personalised ads to millions of viewers across YouTube and video partner sites based on their previous interactions with your channel or videos. These YouTube advertisements are shown within the platform itself and can also be displayed on websites and in apps. By reinforcing your message with people who have already seen your videos, you’re more likely to increase your conversions and ROI.
email remarketing
Email remarketing can be used alongside your remarketing campaigns to target people on your email list. Something our connected agency, Wired Plus, know a thing or two about. The people on this list have already shown interest in your brand by signing up to receive your emails. Workflows can be created for specific objectives such as order follow-ups, abandoned cart reminders, rewards and loyalty programmes. This provides yet another opportunity to bring them back to your website when they are further down the conversion funnel.
The form of remarketing you opt to use should be based on your target audience and objectives and is a decision your remarketing agency can guide you on. Whichever platform you choose, it’s important to properly segment your audience to deliver personalised ads.
how can a remarketing agency help?
Remarketing is an investment that can increase your bottom line – when done right. While it may seem like a simple enough concept, there are many factors within a campaign that must be considered including your lists, the ad copy, creatives, type of campaign, platform choice and how it interlinks with your wider strategy.
The best results come from effective management, high audience segmentation and creating the optimal bidding strategies - which is where the expertise of a remarketing agency can help.
As an experienced paid media agency, we know what works, launching a remarketing campaign that delivers from the outset. Leveraging multiple data points, we can build tailored strategies adapted to your target audience, generating measurable results and optimising your budget. If you need guidance on creating a revenue-generating remarketing strategy, contact our experts at equation.
