Digital Media News

Retargeting can be an effective way to increase conversions among online customers, but many marketers aren't using the strategy to its full potential.

Many of us are shadowed around the Web by our favorite (or not-so-favorite) companies. You’ll be flicking through your friend’s Facebook photos, and an ad will pop up for the dress you were checking out the other day. This isn’t coincidental – it’s retargeting in action.

Retargeting is a hot topic in the online advertising space, as it gives marketers a chance to get their product in front of indecisive customers, or "window shoppers," with attractive, tailored ads that relate to an experience they had previously on your site. Basically, you get another chance to close the deal.

Despite the fact that retargeting has become an established part of the digital marketing lexicon, many marketers are still unfamiliar with what it is and how it should be used. So let’s look at how to do retargeting "right."

Despite the numerous success stories we hear from businesses using it, paid advertising continues to get shunned by many marketers and business owners. Some of the most common reasons ‘why’ include, “it’s too expensive”,or “we won’t have enough control over our campaigns”. 

The truth is online advertising has come a long way since the early days of human-based methods like phone calls, faxes andmanual insertion orders. The arrival of programmatic buying and real-time bidding has automated the buying process, placement and optimization of advertising, andput the power back in the hands of the advertiser.

DSP’s

Advertisers typically use demand-side platforms (DSP’s) to help them decide which ad impressions to buy, and for how much. For the uninitiated, a DSP is a piece of software used to purchase display, video, mobile and search ads, in an automated fashion. As more and more marketers recognize the benefits of programmatic, the number of DSP’s on the market is also increasing; leading marketers to wonder which platform they should choose. Our advice? ExactDrive of course!

Difference-making online advertising campaigns require innovative strategy, leading technology, careful planning and insightful analysis. ExactDrive’s Advertising Platform and strategic consultant team provides all four, making it easier for you to generate the results you want most. Retargeting coupled with dynamic ads is a very powerful combination. With that in mind we wanted to share with our readers a sample digital media plan that we recently created for a politically focused client.

Search retargeting is the first cousin of website retargeting and they often get along wonderfully when working and coupled together as a two-punch online advertising strategy. Different than website retargeting, which focuses on displaying advertisements only to people that have previously visited a specific website, search retargeting focuses on displaying ads to people that have previously searched for specific keywords or keyword phrases.

Simply put, search retargeting is a highly effective way to target people who have proven to be interested in certain topics, services and/or products based on their search history.

A lot of retargeting platforms push advertisers into buying ads on a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-action (CPA) basis. Many advertisers are just fine with this arrangement, as it comes with a long list of advantages, but to make fully-informed decisions about how you allocate your ad budget, it’s important to understand what’s going on behind the scenes.

Isn’t CPC basically a “risk-free” way of buying ads?

CPC buying seems like a logical way to buy ads: in order to generate sales, you need clicks, and you’re happy to pay up to $X per click in pursuit of your sales targets. If you don’t get clicks, you don’t pay a dime. Sales revenue rises and falls in lockstep with advertising spend. It’s the holy grail of advertising!

Online advertising can be stressful on a good day. On a bad day, it can generate a lot of fear and self-doubt. Lets discuss how to be aware of the fear and self-doubt and get it under control so you can spend the extra energy on managing a successful online advertising campaign.

Imagine The Following Scenario: You are an owner of an Italian restaurant in Chicago. Actually, you just opened your third location and the financial pressure is immense, expectations from your silent partner are growing and your wife is wondering when you are going to start spending more time at home seeing your family.

There’s no doubt that when NFL Super Bowl XLVIII kicks off on February 2 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos it is going to be a very tough fought and exciting game to watch.

Who would have thought retargeting is working too well? Was your significant other less than surprised when they unwrapped their present? Several friends have complained about retargeting ads showing up displaying potential gifts in banner ads to their significant other, the sassy kids are even less impressed, yawning while opening the bat mobile Lego they knew was already under the wrapper.  "Thanks Mom", they drone, so much for the surprise. I recently read the popular blog post, "How Ad Retargeting Ruined Christmas" by Danny Sullivan complaining about a similar scenario.