Everything You Need to Know About Retargeting.

Retargeting has become a hot topic among not only marketers, but also local business owners. But while marketers and owners are talking about this trendy subject, they are often talking about different things. One may be talking about general display advertising, while others may be talking about advertising through a certain site, such as Google. Others may be talking about retargeting in general, which is the retargeting that this report will include.

So what is this retargeting? And how does it differ from all the other forms of retargeting or, as it’s also known, as remarketing? And is retargeting really just about buying ads and sending them into the cybersphere?

These are the burning marketing questions that this report will answer. By the end of it, you’ll know exactly what retargeting is, how to do it, and whether or not it is right for your business. Spoiler alert, unless you’re a brand new business that has had zero interaction with customers, it probably is.

You’ll also learn about the resources you need in order to do it, and so much more. So without further ado, let’s get right into everything you need to know about retargeting.

What is Retargeting?

Retargeting is simply using ads to target users that have already visited a website. This type of advertising is done with banner ads, display networks across the web, on social media sites, and any other form of online advertising your company is probably already using.

The idea of retargeting is to entice past customers to come back or to attract people who may have visited the site but left before making a purchase or taking the preferred action the business owner wants them to take. It’s a way to get customers back to the site, and into the business.

When using retargeting effectively, business owners aren’t just sending their message out to the masses and hoping something lands with a customer that’s likely to take action, the way a lot of online advertising works. Instead, it’s a way to really target your advertising to the audience you’re trying to reach. Using this type of advertising, you’re targeting anyone that has visited your website before.

This is how retargeting ads differ from display banner ads that are typically broadcast to a business’ entire target audience rather than just a small portion of it. With retargeting, you are only taking the portion that has been on the website or otherwise expressed interest and marketing to them and them alone.

But isn’t this really just the remarketing initiative that Google released some time ago?

No.

It’s true that Google did launch their own form of retargeting through Google AdWords. And while Google called this remarketing, it’s not. It’s retargeting using Google’s own term for it. So while remarketing is a form of retargeting, not all retargeting can be called remarketing.

So, now you know what it is. But why should you be using it for your business? Read on to find out.

Benefits of Using Retargeting Ads

So now that you know what it is, you may be asking yourself just why exactly you would go to the trouble. After all, you’re already spending advertising dollars on people that haven’t shown interest just yet. So why would you spend even more on those that already have?

Because there are so many benefits to retargeting ads! Just check them out.

Get more sales

This is perhaps the main reason why business owners would choose to try retargeting ads. Think about it. When you advertise to people that have not yet expressed interest, or maybe even know, about the company, you’re trying to generate more sales. So when you use retargeting ads to entice people that have already shown an interest in your company, not only are you trying to increase revenue, but the chances of increasing that revenue are even better. These are after all, customers that have already taken the time to visit your website, so they are even more likely to take the plunge and actually buy something.

Create more leads

All marketers, and most business owners, know what it’s like to cold call someone. It can feel hopeless and as though it’s not going to get the wanted results. But retargeting is different. Using retargeting ads isn’t cold-calling. It’s like calling someone that actually called you first. And when that happens, you’re much more likely to make the sale because they’re already interested in what you’ve got. That’s a great reason to start using retargeting ads!

Increase brand awareness

This benefit is one that’s often listed as a benefit of advertising, no matter what the form. But it’s even more true when talking about retargeting ads. Studies have shown that it takes seven impressions, or seven times a customer has heard about you or seen your name, before they convert into an actual customer. But retargeting ads can greatly cut that time down. With these ads, the odds are better that when a customer needs a product or service, they’ll think of you first. Not only have they already been to your site, but they’ve also seen an ad for your product or service after visiting. That increases brand awareness, and that means more profit for your business.

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Get insights

One of the lesser-known benefits of retargeting ads is that it allows you to understand where customers go after they leave your site. Getting the most hits from retargeting ads from Facebook ads? Your customers are likely going there after leaving your site. Capturing leads from retargeting ads on the Google network after they’ve left your site? That’s where your customers are. Retargeting lets you do this in a way that regular advertising just can’t.

Advertise affordably

Online advertising isn’t all that expensive. But you can make it even cheaper by using retargeting over other types of online marketing. When you broadcast an ad out there hoping that someone, anyone, is going to grab hold of it and listen to its message, you’re spending advertising dollars advertising to people that just aren’t going to listen to the message. But when you use retargeting ads, you have a much better chance that those dollars are going to be put to work for you because they’re targeting people that have already expressed an interest.

Stay on the Cusp of Online Marketing

Retargeting ads, like any other form of online advertising, is not something that’s going away any time soon. By getting on this somewhat new trend of retargeting ads, you’re showing your customers that not only do you care about them, but that you’re also someone who’s on the cusp of what’s happening with your customers. Where they are, how to appeal to them, and how to get them even more interested in your company, even if they have happened upon your site before and not taken action. This goes a long way in today’s digital world, and it’s something your customers are bound to notice.

Retargeting Methods

Reaping those benefits is all fine and well, but exactly how are you supposed to use retargeting ads? And make sure they’re only getting to people that have already visited your website? There are two ways to do it.

Pixel-Based Retargeting

The first, and most common method used when retargeting, is pixel-based retargeting. With this method, anytime a user visits the website, a tracking pixel will leave a cookie in the user’s browser. They will then leave that site and, as long as they use the same browser, can be followed onto Google or Facebook, where they can then see your ad. Only users that have had a cookie placed in their browser will see the ad, so you know you’re only targeting people that have already been to your site.

One of the most effective things about using pixel-based retargeting is that you can start advertising to someone as soon as they leave your site. Ever notice that if you’ve looked on Amazon at a particular product, the next time you’re on Facebook, you see an ad for the exact same product? You’ve been cookied, so that Amazon can continually remind you about that great product and perhaps even convince you to buy it.

List-Based Retargeting

With list-based retargeting, you don’t need to place a pixel code on your website or allow for cookies to be placed on anyone’s browser. It’s for this reason that many local business owners use list-based retargeting when they’re just getting started with this type of retargeting.

Using list-based retargeting is quite simple. A business owner simply has to just upload the email addresses of their current customers onto the retargeting platform they wish to use. The platform will then identify users with those matching email addresses and show them the ads that have been created for retargeting purposes.

While pixel-based retargeting has the advantage of targeting users as soon as they leave your site, the advantage of list-based retargeting is that you can know exactly who you’re targeting. With pixel-based retargeting, you’re really just serving ads to anyone that’s come onto your site. You don’t necessarily know who they are. They could even be a competitor just trying to get an edge by visiting your site. There’s no way to know. But with list-based retargeting, you might even recognize a regular customer through their email address, know what they’re looking for, and know how to best serve their needs.

But, there is a downside to list-based retargeting. The main one is that there’s no way to tell if the email addresses are going to match those you’re trying to retarget. It’s not uncommon for people to use different email addresses for their social media accounts than they may use when submitting a form on a website or providing a store with an email address.

Both methods of retargeting have their own purposes, advantages, and disadvantages. Because of this, it’s usually a good idea for local business owners to use both types. However, business owners that are just starting out using retargeting ads may wish to begin using the one they’re most familiar with and then move on to incorporating the other.