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Retargeting: Helpful Tips for Beginners


Nathan Johnson - May 19, 2016 - 0 comments

Almost all web shoppers don’t convert or make a purchase on their first visit to a website. In fact, just a mere two percent of web traffic is hooked into a conversion on their initial visit. However, thanks to a tool known as “retargeting,” companies are able to reach out to the other 98 percent of their web traffic who haven’t made an immediate conversion.

Also known as remarketing, retargeting is a type of online advertising that lets you advertise to potential customers once they’ve left your website. In other words, it’s designed to reach people who have seen your website but have left. If you haven’t had good results with your web traffic converting or making buying decisions, here are some helpful tips for beginners regarding retargeting

How Retargeting Works

It’s important to understand how retargeting works. Retargeting is based on cookie technology that uses a JavaScript code by secretly following website visitors throughout the Web.

It uses retargeting marks to tag people who have visited a particular brand website, as well as the length of time they’ve spent on these sites. Besides targeting interested viewers, it also increases the overall return on investment (ROI) for an advertiser. The procedure works like this:

  • The first step is inserting a piece of code on a website, which is also called a pixel. This is invisible to an audience and doesn’t compromise website effectiveness.
  • Each time new visitors visit your website, the pixel drops a browser cookie that remains anonymous.
  • When these visitors, who’ve been “cookied”, search the Web, later, the cookies alert the retargeting provider to show ads. This ensures that ads are seen just to those visitors who have been to your site earlier.

Be Willing to Spend Money on Ads and Designs

If you’re looking to save money, don’t skimp on your budget for ads and designs. Usually, people aren’t attracted to cheap website designs. You may be tempted to cut corners, but later you’ll reap the rewards when you start seeing your your click-thru rates skyrocket.

Categorize Your Visitors

Consider that not all the visitors to your website are in the same category. In other words, separate your visitors into various groups. For example, have a “high intent” group, consisting of visitors who’ve spent more time at your site, visiting at least four website product pages. This is a good clue that they may be thinking about making a purchase. Thus, you should give them incentives to seal a deal by offering them voucher codes.

Designate another group for visitors who’ve actually thrown an item in your cart but have abandoned it. There’s a good chance that they may change their minds and come back to make a purchase. Consider the place where they abandoned your site, dropping a category page there.

Restrict the Frequency That Specific Ads Appear

Because you don’t want to appear too pushy in your retargeting, it’s a good idea to put a cap or limit on the frequency that specific ads appear to visitors. Rather than daily exposing your ads, have your retargeting ads appear about 17 to 20 ads each month.

When determining the frequency of an ad appearing, consider your objective. Also, think about the buying cycle stage that you believe your visitors have reached.

Consider Your Retargeting Options

When it comes to retargeting, there are two choices:

  • Using third-party platforms—These include platforms such as ReTargeter and AdRoll which control retargeting ads by running them across several networks.
  • Creating retargeting ads on social media networks—This entails creating retargeting ads and paying for the expenses themselves. Some of the most popular social media networks for retargeting ads are Facebook and Twitter. One benefit of advertizing on Facebook is that people can leave comments below ads and tag their friends.

Other Considerations and Warnings

  • Although retargeting is an extremely effective tool, it’s more successful when it’s included in a greater digital plan that uses content marketing such as Google AdWords.
  • Be sure to burn your pixels once customers have bought services or products requiring one-time purchases. This means that these customers won’t continue to see the ads after making purchases. Besides being annoying, not burning your pixels wastes money.

Retargeting can seem difficult when you first get started. If you need help in retargeting your ads, please contact us.

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