How to Use Retargeting in Digital Marketing

When you have an e-commerce website, the hope is that a visitor to your site will find something they like and purchase it immediately. However, this isn’t always the case. Many times, someone will look through your site and once they find something they like, will do research on it before deciding to buy. Fortunately, there’s a way to use this to your advantage. Through retargeting, you have the opportunity to bring users back to your website to complete actions such as purchasing or filling out a contact form. Here’s what to know about retargeting as a concept.

What Is Retargeting?

At its core, retargeting is a relatively simple process. It involves showing ads to customers who have already visited your site. How retargeting works is that a piece of code is inserted into the HTML of your website, and it gives you the chance to have your ads displayed to people that have visited your site in the past. The code itself is unobtrusive and won’t affect your site’s ability to load. The ads will be seen when a user visits another site, such as Twitter or Facebook. Retargeting becomes an effective strategy as it focuses advertising directly on people that know your brand and have shown interest in purchasing from you.

Retargeting Types

There are two distinct types of retargeting that businesses can use. The first and most common type is pixel-based retargeting. As mentioned above, it involves adding code to the HTML of your website, allowing you to place ads based on specific pages that someone visits. This option is beneficial since ads can be targeted soon after leaving your website, and can be modified to reach specific audiences.

The second retargeting type is line-based targeting. In this version, the retargeting is based on the contact information you have in a customer database, or through other contact lists that you have. One of the benefits of this type of retargeting is that it’s highly customizable; you get to choose who goes into each list. In terms of drawbacks, there is the possibility that fields may vary based on where information was filled in, which could lead to some users not seeing ads. In addition, line-based retargeting is not automatic, so you’re in charge of maintaining and sending, making it less timely.

Benefits of Retargeting

The concept of retargeting offers businesses a variety of benefits. First, you’re not displaying ads everywhere online; you’re targeting them towards the core group of potential customers that are most interested in your business. Another benefit is higher brand awareness. Even if a user doesn’t immediately purchase something from you, they are aware of who you are and what you offer. Once they do decide to buy something, it can lead to further brand awareness from others interested in your services.

In addition, retargeting is a cost-effective option for marketing. The conversion rate for these is usually high as they are targeting people likely to buy, meaning a solid return on investment for your ads. Finally, you can use retargeting to get insights into where prospective customers are after they leave your website.

Tips You Can Use

• Segment your audience. One of the biggest keys to retargeting is to serve specific audiences with a perfectly-tailored ad campaign. Using your analytics data is key to designing your retargeting ads accordingly.
• Target specific behaviors. Analytics data also helps you track the behaviors of your visitors. Someone who visited your site for 10 seconds may not be best for retargeting, but one that abandoned their shopping cart or clicked multiple times could only need to see your ad once before they make up their mind.
• Show ads sparingly. When you do retarget, you don’t want to overdo it. If a customer sees the same ad too many times, it will likely make them angry than want to purchase.
• Combine with other channels. Retargeting relies on the traffic that your other inbound marketing efforts generate. If you have elements like social media or newsletters, make sure they have high-quality content.
• Use strong CTAs. Having a good call to action will give audiences a good reason to click on your ad. Tell your customers exactly what action you want them to take, and they’ll be far more likely to take it.