Retargeting has become the tactic of choice for the modern marketer - and for good reason. Also commonly referred to as behavioral retargeting or remarketing the term is defined as a type of online advertising where certain products or services are targeted to specific users based on their previous interactions with a brand.
When a user visits a particular online retailer’s website (for example) and browses for a product, a record of that interaction is stored on their computer in the form of a cookie. A programmatic retargeting campaign can then access that cookie the next time a user visits a site with an appropriate ad buy; view the record of the product the user was looking at and serve up ads that are designed to showcase that product in greater detail.
Because retargeting only focuses on previously engaged website visitors, it tends to be more effective than many other forms of online advertising.
Now you know how retargeting works, let’s look at 3 key reasons why you should be using it for your business:
What makes retargeting especially powerful is that it only targets users that have already visited your website. These visitors have already been exposed to your brand and are therefore more likely to be persuaded by continued marketing.
If the majority of your traffic is made up of one-time visitors that would have otherwise gotten away, retargeting allows you to continue advertising to them, to get them back into the conversion funnel.
Consumers tend to "window shop" as they surf the web. Sometimes they need to make a purchase immediately, but many times they are just gathering information for a future purchase. For example, perhaps a customer is looking to buy a pair of headphones as a birthday present. It's likely they will start looking about a month before making the purchase and will probably compare prices and features on several different sites. With retargeting, after viewing a specific pair of headphones, the consumer will see ads for them on their Facebook, on the dating site they visit, and even while researching another gift idea on a competitor's website. It serves as an effective and personal reminder to make the purchase.
Perhaps one of the best reasons to invest in retargeting is that it is cost-effective and offers a better ROI than many other types of online advertising.
Many businesses make the mistake of spending large amounts of money on bombarding people with generic ads for products that they are unlikely to ever be interested in. However, retargeting allows for more precise and personalized targeting, which results in better conversion rates.