An Insight On The Retargeting Concept
Retargeting is being discussed all over the web these days. The online advertising space is full of information related to retargeting. It is a fact that retargeting can help your business in various ways. If you are aware of the concept of retargeting and if you desire to implement it for converting the prospects in leads, consider the information given below; this is all you need to know about retargeting….
A Prominent Retargeting Fact:
‘If you are not using retargeting as a part of your online marketing plan, then it might be the case that you are being retargeted currently by someone who is’
It is a fact that retargeting has secured a prominent place in the online marketing glossary. Inspite of this, many marketers are still not aware of how it works and how it should be used.
What exactly is retargeting?
Retargeting is the method of serving ads on the basis or previous engagement of the people. Although there are various types of retargeting, the most commonly used model is website based retargeting. Other forms of retargeting consist of search retargeting, email retargeting and SEO retargeting.
Website based retargeting comprises of displaying ads to the people who have visited your website after they leave the website. These ads are visible on many other websites on the web. This is an attempt of constantly keeping your brand in front of the visitors who are bounced; in context to getting them back.
How does retargeting work?
Website based retargeting utilizes the cookies in order to be in front of the previous website visitors. When a person visits your websites, a code given by your retargeter will add an anonymous cookie in the browser. There is a small file present in the cookie that stores all the information. This information is related to the website visit; however the sensitive information like visitor’s name, address, or any other information that is sensitive or reveals the personal identity of the visitor is not stored.
When someone visits your website, the cookie is dropped and gradually the visitor leaves and visits some other website. Through this cookie, the retargeter is able to know when one of the bounced visitors of your websites goes to some other website. In case there is any available ad space on that website, your retargeter will bid for that space in real-time and with the highest bid, the retargeter will get a hold on that ad space before the web page loads.
This process is completely automated and takes place within just a few seconds. By the time the web page is loaded completely, the respective ad space on that page will be purchased and your advertisement will be displayed along with the contents of that page.
Take a look at the infographic given below:
Courtesy : DPOM (UK)
Who can use retargeting?
There is a general misconception that retargeting only helps the websites related to the eCommerce industry. The reality about this – if you are of the opinion that retargeting will work for you…it will! Having said this, it is also true that retargeting is widely used by the eCommerce websites for getting back the bounced traffic and avoiding shopping cart abandonment.
- The B2B companies can benefit from retargeting, this will help them to stay in front of the leads always.
- Schools, colleges and the other businesses related to the educational sectors can use retargeting for increasing the enrolments.
- Recruiters can utilize retargeting for constantly keeping the companies in front of the deserving applicants and thereby enhancing the application conversion rates.
- The entertainment brands can use retargeting for increasing the ticket sales or merchandise sales.
These are just a few examples. In fact any website that does not have a 100% conversion rate can start benefiting with retargeting. Establishing a retargeting campaign seems easy and exciting and it actually is! However you may also end up doing mistakes and do more harm instead of good. Therefore, before beginning the retargeting campaign it is important to educate yourself and get complete information on retargeting.
Retargeting For A Start-Up
In terms of a startup, every decision and every dollar makes a big difference. Every marketing effort has incredible results in the initial phase. Retargeting at this stage can take your marketing efforts to the next level and ensure a competitive edge for your startup.
The information on how retargeting can be used by a startup business for creating an impressive impact is mentioned below:
Building A Community
Many marketers consider content marketing for boosting SEO. The social networking websites are affordable and efficient channels for the startups that look forward to build a powerful network, get in contact with the new potential customers and enhance the brand awareness. When you tweet, publish content through article or blog and connect with prospects, where exactly are you targeting them? Sharing your content via social networking websites means that you can direct the prospects to various landing pages and you can retarget the visitors accordingly.
For instance, if you tweet about your recently published blog post, and someone goes on to read the post, it is possible to pixel that visitor when they go to your blog. You can serve them with relevant and retargeted ads. Try not to jump to the sale right away. This is a visitor who is interested in your post content; therefore your retargeted ad can encourage him / her to download a white paper or an eBook. In the same way, if you have updated your LinkedIn profile about any upcoming event or promotion and if any user clicks on it, then you can show them the retargeted ads in order to encourage a sign up.
The Power Of Free Trial Products
Offering with free trial products is an amazing way for increasing the sign-ups. However, we all are aware of the fact that a free trial might not always lead to a sales conversion. Retargeting the customers who are using the free trial products increases the chances of getting a purchase. You must be careful while doing this. Your retargeted advertisement should comprise of the benefits of your paid products and it should also remind the users that their trial is going to end soon.
Digital Brand Creation
Creating brand awareness is one of the most important considerations for a start-up. If people have never heard of your brand name before, they might not start trusting your brand right away. Everyone wants to go with a company that has established a good brand name in order to be on a safer side. Retargeting has been proved to be a highly effective technique for brand recall. For instance, a user may come to your website because of the content that you have published or because of a PPC ad, however the user leaves the website in a short span of time due to some reason. By displaying advertisements to that user across the web on the prominent websites will enhance the trustworthiness of your brand. Users will start relating to your brand as they will come across your advertisements a number of times.
Apart from the aspects mentioned above, retargeting is extremely effective in increasing the online visibility in an affordable price. As a startup, your marketing budget might be smaller; however with retargeting you can create a great web presence in comparison to your competitors. Retargeting provides a great opportunity to the start-ups for increasing the customer engagement, enhancing the brand awareness, getting in touch with the prospects and thereby increasing the number of conversions.
Types Of Retargeting That Marketers Should Know
When it comes to retargeting, most of the marketers think of search retargeting. It is a fact that search retargeting is one of the fastest growing types of retargeting. However if you are looking ahead to engage the potential customers, then it is important to explore the other forms of retargeting also. Take a look at the most effective forms of retargeting mentioned below:
Search Retargeting
While working with search retargeting, you are going after the people on the search engines who have searched the keywords or phrases that are in context to your business. While using this form of retargeting it is important to consider that you are going ahead on the basis of assumption of the intention of the searcher. It is also important to consider that just because someone has searched a keyword related to your business, it does not mean that they are ready for purchasing the products immediately. Search retargeting also does not imply that you must immediately start displaying the ‘buy now’ banners to the people.
Site Retargeting
Site targeting is more effective and provides with a closer contact with the potential customers. This is because the visitor has already landed on your website. On the basis of the visitor’s activity on your website, you can mark them and chase them all around the web with your advertisements. For getting the best through retargetting, it is important to identify what exactly the visitor is interested in through his / her activity on your website.
SEM / SEO Retargeting
This form of retargeting is in close context with site retargeting. It works on the basis of the search terms used before clicking to or arriving on your website. For SEM/SEO retargeting, combine these two things together:
- The keyword used to land on your website
- The actions taken by your visitor on the website
This will enable you to have a new insight on targeting the customers. Utilize this information to project your messages to the potential customers.
Email Retargeting
The nature of this form of retargeting is obvious from the name itself. Email retargeting enables you to retarget people on the basis of the actions taken on the emails sent by you. It is crucial to take the engagement level into consideration as someone who opens the email should not be treated as someone who clicked on a link, or someone who forwarded it or for someone who didn’t open the email at all.
Contextual Retargeting
This is one of the most unique forms of retargeting that involves the exchange of pixels between the websites that are relevant to the searcher and then you can go ahead and target each other’s visitors. For instance, consider an airline and a local hotel website targeting each other’s traffic on the basis of destinations that were searched or booked.
Engagement Retargeting
This type of retargeting is not frequently used by the marketer. Engagement retargeting works great for the website owners who offer mediums of engagement like rich media, videos, flash games etc. On the basis of the type of action taken by the user, the marketers can get information on the level of engagement for serving the retargeted advertisements.
How do you decide which form of of retargeting is right for you? Take a look at this:
Courtesy : Chango
With various types of retargeting the marketers get better ways and also a new opportunity to tap the potential customers. If you are able to find the most relevant form of retargeting for your website, then you can surely expect huge boosts in traffic and an increase in conversions through the retargeting campaigns.
The information mentioned above will help you to create a retargeting strategy and use it for your business. Retargeting is an incredible tool that enables you to convert the existing website traffic and also helps in establishing a powerful brand. If you have not used retargeting till now, it’s time you started converting the prospects into leads by designing a retargeting campaign.
