Converting a viewer into a loyal customer is time-consuming, sometimes expensive, and comes with uncertainties of its own.
That’s when retargeting campaigns can help a business increase its lead conversion rates, build solid brand visibility, and successfully target users who are already interested in what your business has to offer.
That said, running successful retargeting campaigns is not a cakewalk and requires extensive planning for crafting retargeting ads that act as lead magnets.
If you are tired of generating leads but not getting enough conversions, this blog is all you will need to get started with retargeting ads and campaigns.
What is Retargeting in Digital Marketing?
Retargeting is a type of marketing strategy that uses online ads to reach and target an audience that has already visited or interacted with your website or any other online presence. Through remarketing, businesses can convert a potentially interested but uncertain audience into paying clients.
Retargeting campaigns are built as a consecutive step after the first interaction, allowing a business to dig deeper into the minds by continuously advertising the user on places where they hang out the most on the internet (social media platforms or other websites).
Retargeting ads encourage potential customers to visit the website and complete a desired action, like purchasing the product or service, opting to get a quote, signing up for a trial, or even booking a demo session.
Assume a potential customer used a search engine like Google to find “sleep tea” and then went through available flavors and sizes on a brand’s website but decided not to make a purchase for some reason.
Through retargeting ad campaigns, the brand can retarget them based on this activity. So whenever the potential customer is online, using social media, or reading content on different websites, they come across retargeting ads highlighting the same range of products viewed.
It ends up with the customer feeling convinced or curious to try the product or service at least once, resulting in the brand making a successful sale from their retargeting campaign.
Retargeting marketing is a type of paid ads strategy that frequently exposes potential customers to the products or services in question. This is also known as the “mere exposure effect,” wherein the more a person comes across an ad, the more they will like the products or services, resulting in a purchase.
Types of Retargeting in Digital Marketing
There are different types of retargeting campaigns depending on the digital marketing channel being targeted. Knowing them helps in determining which campaign works best for you and is able to create results that you are aiming to unlock.
Let’s take a look.
General Website Retargeting
It is the most common type of retargeting campaign that a business can run. It involves targeting users who have visited your website at least once (in some cases, apps as well) but didn’t convert (that is, turn into paying customers).
The interaction can be as simple as viewing a product page, looking for a specific product or service on the page, or abandoning the cart instead of placing an order.
Retargeting campaigns can ensure these customers are constantly exposed to the items they are left behind, allowing your brand to position itself as a priority when it’s time to make a buying decision. Cookie-based technology is used to make it easier to track data and show ads to custom audiences.
Search Network Retargeting
Search network retargeting is concerned with creating a customized audience on the grounds of keyword search behavior.
Due to this, businesses can show display ads to users who have searched for a particular keyword. This type of retargeting is beneficial in increasing brand awareness and relevance.
Whenever your target audience does a search using the trigger keyword, the ads begin to follow the user everywhere on the internet, from social media, other websites, as well as search engine results pages (SERPs). Such targeted ad campaigns are highly effective due to their personalization and being seen at a consistent frequency.
How Does Retargeting Work in Digital Marketing?
Aside from the psychological impact of retargeting ads, there are a lot of technicalities involved when it comes to how retargeting ads work.
Retargeting is made possible by the retargeting pixel, which is a JavaScript snippet that is embedded in a website. The retargeting pixel makes use of small pieces of data that are stored by web browsers to keep track of users visiting an ad or a webpage.
These small chunks of data are known as cookies. These cookies are fed to serve ads to the users again, constantly reminding them of a potential purchase they abandoned making.
Pixel-based retargeting is beneficial as it starts acting immediately, reflects the products or services that the user had browsed, and takes user behavior into account to create retargeting ads.
Another popular way to ensure your retargeting campaigns remind potential users about your product or service is to use a list-based retargeting method.
This method involves gathering contact details of your target customers from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and the website itself (in the form of banner ads) and sending out brand correspondence emails that are specifically personalized to cater to their interests.
Such retargeting techniques allow a business to decide whom to include in the list, actions that will trigger the mail, and frequency at which the mail will be sent out. It offers more control over retargeting campaigns as businesses can only reach out to prospects who are particularly interested in their range of products or services.
When Should You Use Retargeting Campaigns?
While retargeting ads are effective, it is still highly recommended to have a consistent monthly traffic of at least 100-500 website visitors for an average of 6-8 months.
Any lower than this can result in your ad campaigns not performing their best. To maximize your budget’s potential, make sure that you are conducting a thorough keyword search and competitor analysis along with understanding what your target audience is looking for.
Retargeting vs. Remarketing
Retargeting is concerned with reaching previous site visitors by using ad campaigns to entice and encourage them to revisit the website and complete the desired action.
These ads are designed to help individuals become familiar with the brand and how your range of products or services can help solve a problem or improve their quality of life. The target audience is highly specific, that is, previous website visitors, resulting in convincing sales.
Remarketing, on the other hand, refers to personalized and highly targeted messages that are sent to users who have already made a purchase on the website.
The objective here is to nurture existing customer relationships by encouraging them to revisit and repurchase the service or product. Remarketing campaigns are highly personalized, making them very effective.
What Are the Benefits of Retargeting in Digital Marketing?
Here are some of the benefits of running retargeting campaigns for your business:
Reach a Warmer Audience
Retargeting marketing is concerned with reaching out to an audience that already had their first interaction with a business but chose not to make a transactional decision.
A wide range of advertising platform channels are used to reach potential customers and encourage them to take the desired action. Retargeting works as the audience getting targeted has some idea about the brand but hasn’t given much thought to engaging.
Improved ROI
Successful retargeting campaigns reach their target audience with a strong message and lucrative offers to people who have already visited your website and are showing an interest.
When the target users see the ads repeatedly, they start to grow curious or fonder of the products or services being promoted.
Eventually, a point comes when the user is interested in making a purchase decision to try the advertised brand. The ad spend in these cases translates to higher sales, improving ROI significantly.
Increased Brand Awareness
It’s not mandatory that your website visitors are in the mood to make a purchase. There’s always a possibility that they made a Google search at random, saw your website pop up in the results, and decided to check what your brand is offering.
Retargeting campaigns remind them about your online store’s presence and make them want to reconsider their needs while mentally creating space to try your range of products or services.
Retargeting ads create brand awareness by frequently coming into the feed of potential customers, be it on social media platforms or as banner ads.
Besides, as these ads focus on making the users aware of the potential benefits of using the products and services or how it upgrades their lifestyle, they are more likely to recall your brand name whenever a need arises.
Reduced Cart Abandonment
Cart abandonment is often an issue that many e-commerce websites face. It’s when potential customers add their choice of products to the cart but end up leaving the website without making a purchase. It indeed is a nightmare for many e-commerce businesses that can be solved with a remarketing campaign.
The users are shown the products they have abandoned in the cart, making them reconsider their decision and come back to complete the purchase.
Aside from showing the products that users have left in their carts, these ads also show other products that are available on the website, further enticing them to visit the website and checkout.
Targeted Messaging
Retargeting ad campaigns make use of data sets that have already been collected from any previous interactions, giving businesses an understanding of what their potential customers are looking for.
As retargeting ads make use of display advertising networks to reach their target audience, the existing data is used to create ad campaigns that are not only relevant to their needs but also help your potential customers envision how the purchase can change or upgrade their lives.
The specific nature of these advertising campaigns ensures your customers feel seen and heard.
Greater Customer Engagement
Retargeting ads help brands maintain brand visibility by constantly showing up in front of people who are already interested in your brand.
The consistency in brand exposure keeps your brand at the top of your customer’s minds, increasing the chances of them making a purchase whenever a need arises.
Besides, even if not with the intention of making a purchase, whenever your potential customers come across your advertising campaigns, they feel a connection, making them more invested in your brand.
Top Platforms for Running Your Retargeting Ads
To ensure your remarketing ads are driving desired results, it is important to choose a platform where your target audience spends most of their time and can be exposed to your ads on consistent basis.
These are some social media targeting platforms to run ads on:
Google Ads
Google ads is popular and incredibly effective when it comes to running targeted ads to capture attention of your potential customers.
With the feasibility of planning and launching customized ads and deep customer data insights, the digital advertising platform can help reach your target users without overspending on your budget. Google Display Network and Google Search can be leveraged to create and implement retargeting campaigns.
LinkedIn retargeting ads allows businesses to customize their ads depending on how their target audiences have interacted with the ad sets, website or the company’s page on LinkedIn.
Since the social media platform already has a buzzing crowd discussing futuristic possibilities and ideas, your displaying ads can attract the attention of your target audiences, increasing the potential to strike a conversion.
Meta Ads Manager
If you are looking for a social media retargeting platform, Meta can be of tremendous help. The Meta Ads Manager can create, launch, and manage Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Meta Audience Network ads for mobile and desktop users.
The data insights are constructive, allowing businesses to tap into user behavior and identify potential upcoming trends that can be used to gain a competitive advantage. The tool allows the creation of custom audiences and can be used to track pixels efficiently.
X Ads
Retargeting ads on X (formerly known as Twitter) are excellent for targeting people who have already engaged with your tweets or website. Since the platform offers incredible freedom of posting any type of content, brands can be experimental in creating ads and engage customers without any hassle.
Note: While using social media platforms to run your retargeting ads is an excellent choice, it is crucial to continuously analyze audience data, track user behavior and avoid creating irrelevant ads as they can instantly make your customers uninterested in your brand.
Best Practices for Creating Retargeting Ads
Now that we know the key benefits and platforms to run retargeting ads on, here are the best practices to keep in mind when creating your ads:
Create Highly Specific Ads
Creating ads without a specific motive will only result in excessive ad spending without a strong effect. Instead, focus on creating ads that make your target users familiar with your brand (since they have previously visited your website already) while emphasizing the changes they will experience once they have started using the services or products.
For instance, imagine being a ceramic store that sells a wide range of products made from ceramic and a customer searching for coffee mugs and pasta plates. While their interests are similar, it will benefit to show them different ad campaigns showing the target product they are looking for. This significantly increases your chances of making a sale.
Use Landing Pages That Match the Ad
Landing pages are critical to retargeting ads, as they are the pages the user lands on once they click on the ad. If your landing page is not aligned with the product or service mentioned in the ad, you will likely lose the opportunity to turn a lead into a customer.
The best way to avoid this is by using a minimal number of visual elements on the landing page, keeping the content specific to the ads you are running, and adding clear call-to-action buttons. Aside from this, ensure that your landing page has a hard-to-deny offer, is readable and directs your customers to take action.
Optimize Your Bidding
Bidding ensures your ad campaigns do not leave sight of your target custom audiences, encouraging them every step of the way to make a purchase on your website.
Insufficient bidding is ineffective and can make it challenging for your brand to create awareness about its range of products and services to boost sales. This is true for all the digital channels you are using to retarget your ideal customers.
To ensure you are allocating the right budget for your campaigns, plot touchpoints where your ads will be interacting with your customers and allocate appropriate budget. For instance, buying a set of pasta plates is a simple process whereas buying a car for a growing family is a long process, requiring more budget allocation.
Target the Right Audience
While the benefits of retargeting marketing are enticing, it is crucial to understand that they are effective only when your ideal customer has interacted with your website or social media presence; otherwise, you will be spending money on running irrelevant ads.
Placing pixel on your website’s homepage to trigger a retargeting campaigns may not always work. Instead, understand the individual interests of your custom audiences and create dedicated ad groups targeting their needs.
Minimize Ad Fatigue
Seeing the same ad repeatedly can lead to ad fatigue. This is bad news for businesses, as when ad fatigue strikes, your target audience will no longer pay attention to the ad’s content. To avoid this, consider creating different ad sets and running every campaign for a limited period of time.
The Future of Retargeting
Retargeting marketing is here to stay due to its effectiveness and ease of implementation. That said, there is scope for evolution in how we know retargeting and how marketers use the strategy to engage their leads into paying customers.
With the rise in AI and privacy concerns, there’s a possibility that the future will see a cookieless marketing approach backed by artificial intelligence. This will not only revolutionize how retargeting works but also give customers peace of mind regarding privacy concerns.