What is Remarketing and How Does it Work

by Lindsey Winsemius - Posted 7 years ago

What is remarketing? Remarketing (also called retargeting) is a type of online paid advertising that allows you to show ads to people who have already visited your website or app.



Ever looked at some shoes or a toy but never purchased it, and then do you keep seeing that item while you browse the internet or log on to social media? THAT is remarketing. And it might be a little creepy for some, but it works.

Have you ever fallen victim to remarketing? I know I have. And here is why it is so effective:

You have access to people when they're most likely to buy. You have the option to reach people after they've interacted with your business. This could be when they're searching for your product, visiting other websites, and using other mobile apps. 

Perhaps a customer shopped your site but wanted to think about the purchase, or research other businesses. Remarketing will continue to remind them of your product even after they’ve left your website or mobile app. 



Why does showing the same product or brand help make a sale? 


Because familiarity breeds trust. Many studies have shown that the more we view a brand or product, the more likely we are to trust it. When a customer repeatedly is shown your ad, for a product or service they’ve already looked at, it builds up trust in your brand and products, resulting in an easier sale.


How can you use remarketing?


Google Adwords offers a remarketing feature, which would probably be the best place for beginners to start. The Google Display Network (GDN) consists of a significant number of Google partner websites that reach over 90% of people on the internet.
Many sites that allow paid marketing, including Facebook, include remarketing as part of their paid advertising options. 




What are some remarketing tips?

Make the most of your remarketing campaign by implementing these tips:

Segment your audience.

People who visit your website or mobile app are not all the same, so make sure you’re not showing them all the same ad or with the same frequency. Put your money on the best prospects.

Top Segmentation Tips to Master:

  • Segment sections of your website with the highest traffic (at least 5,000 cookied visitors) to ensure you maximise your return on investment.
  • To ensure a new segmentation list doesn’t overlap exclude people who are already being targeted on other lists.
  • Recency is an extremely important factor when segmenting lists – for example, users who have visited your site and have viewed your product a few hours ago are significantly more likely to convert than those who visited 2 weeks prior.
  • Match ‘like’ with ‘like’ – for example, if a customer has visited your blog you can then retarget them with gated content-heavy pieces like whitepapers and webinars.

Make the most of your small ad space. 

Use one compelling picture and matching text. For many products, the most compelling text is the rating or review. Keep it simple, relevant to the original page on your website they visited, and focus on the click.

Don’t miss an upsell opportunity.

You’ve invested in remarketing. They’ve made a purchase (or not). Now try to sell them something else! More than likely, their trust in your brand has increased, making them a perfect candidate for one of your other great products or services.
Get the most out of your ad dollars by remarketing and upselling customers.

Review your results.

You knew this one was coming. Don’t I always tell you to analyze and rethink your strategies? If you really want to succeed in any type of digital marketing, you need to be willing to review your results and make necessary changes. It isn’t just good marketing, it is common sense.

Tweak your audience, change your bids, try new ads, or even change your offer. Make small changes each time so you can see what changes are having positive (or negative) results. 




Why should you try remarketing?

It can increase your paid advertising ROI. On a well-run campaign, remarketing can increase your conversion rate, which will help you get the most out of your investment in paid ads.

Increase brand awareness. Even if customers are not making a purchase right away, by repeatedly showing them your products and brand, it will subconsciously build trust in your brand, which might make them more likely to purchase from you in the future.

It can recapture lost customers. Remarketing allows you to select people who abandoned carts as one group to remarket to. People abandon carts in the middle of making a purchase for a variety of reasons. Get those lost customers back by showing them the product they almost purchased and making it an easy click to get right back to where they left off using remarketing!




Different types of remarketing:

Google (and other display networks) offer several ways to remarket, including marketing to specific email addresses you upload, video remarketing, remarketing on mobile apps, search remarketing, and remarketing as users browse the web.


Considering trying remarketing? Have questions? We'd love to help! Ask them below in the comments or contact us.