Retargeting: Paid Media Explained

Retargeting is a form of online advertising that allows businesses to stay connected with their audience, even after they leave their website. It works by tracking visitors on your website and serving them ads on other platforms they visit. This technique is a powerful tool in the world of paid media, as it helps to increase brand awareness, engagement, and conversions.

Retargeting is an essential part of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. It allows businesses to reach out to potential customers who have shown interest in their products or services but have not yet made a purchase. By serving these potential customers with targeted ads, businesses can remind them of their interest and encourage them to complete their purchase.

Understanding Retargeting

Retargeting works by placing a small piece of code, often referred to as a pixel, on your website. This pixel is unnoticeable to your site visitors and does not affect your site's performance. When a new visitor comes to your site, the pixel drops an anonymous browser cookie. Later, when your cookied visitors browse the web, the cookie lets your retargeting provider know when to serve ads, ensuring that your ads are served to only those who have previously visited your site.

It's important to note that retargeting is a tool designed to drive potential customers back to your site by reminding them of what they viewed on your site. It is not a tool for driving new traffic to your site. Instead, it works best in conjunction with inbound and outbound marketing or demand generation. Strategies involving content marketing, AdWords, and targeted display are great for driving traffic, but they do not help with conversion optimization. Conversely, retargeting can help increase conversions, but it can't drive people to your site. Your best chance of success is using one or more tools to drive traffic and retargeting to get the most out of that traffic.

Types of Retargeting

There are two main types of retargeting: pixel-based and list-based. Pixel-based retargeting is the most common type and works by using cookies to track website visitors. When a visitor comes to your website, a cookie is dropped on their browser. Later, when they are browsing other websites, the cookie tells your retargeting provider to show them your ads.

List-based retargeting, on the other hand, works by using lists of email addresses. When you upload a list of your customers' email addresses to a retargeting platform, it will serve your ads to those users when they are signed into the platform. This type of retargeting is particularly effective for reaching out to existing customers or leads who have already shown interest in your products or services.

Benefits of Retargeting

Retargeting offers several benefits to businesses. Firstly, it helps to increase brand awareness. By serving your ads to people who have already visited your website, you can keep your brand at the top of their mind. This can be particularly beneficial for businesses with longer sales cycles, as it allows them to stay connected with potential customers over a longer period of time.

Secondly, retargeting can help to increase conversions. By reminding potential customers of what they viewed on your site, you can encourage them to return and complete their purchase. Studies have shown that website visitors who are retargeted with display ads are more likely to convert than those who are not. Finally, retargeting can help to improve ROI. By targeting your ads to people who have already shown interest in your products or services, you can increase the effectiveness of your ads and get more value for your advertising spend.

Implementing Retargeting in Paid Media

Implementing retargeting in your paid media strategy requires careful planning and execution. The first step is to decide on the type of retargeting you want to use. As mentioned earlier, there are two main types of retargeting: pixel-based and list-based. The type of retargeting you choose will depend on your business goals and the resources you have available.

Once you have decided on the type of retargeting, the next step is to set up your retargeting campaign. This involves placing the retargeting pixel on your website or uploading your email list to your retargeting platform. You will also need to create your retargeting ads and decide on the platforms where you want your ads to be served.

Setting Up a Retargeting Campaign

Setting up a retargeting campaign involves several steps. The first step is to place the retargeting pixel on your website. This pixel is a small piece of code that tracks your website visitors and allows your retargeting provider to serve them your ads. The pixel should be placed on all pages of your website to ensure that all visitors are tracked.

Once the pixel is in place, the next step is to create your retargeting ads. These ads should be designed to remind your website visitors of what they viewed on your site and encourage them to return and complete their purchase. It's important to create multiple versions of your ads to test which ones perform best. You should also consider creating different ads for different segments of your audience to increase the relevancy of your ads.

Choosing the Right Platforms

Choosing the right platforms for your retargeting ads is crucial for the success of your campaign. There are several platforms available for retargeting, including Google Display Network, Facebook, and Twitter. The platform you choose will depend on your target audience and the platforms they use most frequently.

Google Display Network is a popular choice for retargeting as it allows you to reach your audience across a wide range of websites. Facebook and Twitter, on the other hand, are great options for reaching your audience on social media. It's important to test different platforms to see which ones deliver the best results for your business.

Best Practices for Retargeting

When implementing retargeting in your paid media strategy, there are several best practices you should follow to ensure the success of your campaign. Firstly, it's important to segment your audience. Not all website visitors are the same, and it's important to serve them ads that are relevant to their interests and behavior. By segmenting your audience, you can create more targeted ads and increase the effectiveness of your campaign.

Secondly, it's important to use frequency capping. Frequency capping is a feature that allows you to limit the number of times your ads are shown to the same person. This can help to prevent ad fatigue and ensure that your ads remain effective. Finally, it's important to test and optimize your ads. By testing different versions of your ads and optimizing them based on performance, you can increase the effectiveness of your campaign and improve your ROI.

Segmenting Your Audience

Segmenting your audience is a crucial step in any retargeting campaign. By dividing your audience into different segments based on their behavior and interests, you can create more targeted ads and increase the effectiveness of your campaign. There are several ways you can segment your audience, including by the pages they visited on your website, the products they viewed, and the amount of time they spent on your site.

For example, you could create a segment for visitors who viewed a specific product but did not make a purchase. You could then serve these visitors with ads featuring the product they viewed, along with a special offer to encourage them to complete their purchase. By serving your audience with ads that are relevant to their interests and behavior, you can increase the likelihood of them returning to your site and making a purchase.

Using Frequency Capping

Frequency capping is a feature that allows you to limit the number of times your ads are shown to the same person. This can help to prevent ad fatigue and ensure that your ads remain effective. Without frequency capping, your audience may become tired of seeing your ads and start to ignore them, reducing the effectiveness of your campaign.

When setting up frequency capping, it's important to strike a balance between reminding your audience of your brand and overwhelming them with ads. A good rule of thumb is to cap your frequency at 3-5 impressions per day. However, the optimal frequency will depend on your audience and the nature of your campaign, and it's important to test different frequencies to see what works best for your business.

Measuring the Success of Your Retargeting Campaign

Measuring the success of your retargeting campaign is crucial for understanding its effectiveness and optimizing your strategy. There are several metrics you can use to measure the success of your campaign, including click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS).

Click-through rate is the percentage of people who click on your ads after seeing them. A high CTR indicates that your ads are relevant and engaging to your audience. Conversion rate, on the other hand, is the percentage of people who complete a desired action after clicking on your ads, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. A high conversion rate indicates that your ads are effective at driving action. Finally, ROAS is a measure of the revenue generated by your ads compared to the cost of your ads. A high ROAS indicates that your ads are delivering a good return on investment.

Using Analytics Tools

Using analytics tools is crucial for measuring the success of your retargeting campaign. These tools can provide you with detailed insights into the performance of your campaign, including the number of impressions, clicks, and conversions your ads are generating. They can also provide you with information on the cost of your ads and the revenue they are generating, allowing you to calculate your ROAS.

There are several analytics tools available for retargeting, including Google Analytics and Facebook Analytics. These tools can provide you with detailed reports on the performance of your campaign and allow you to track the performance of your ads across different platforms. By using analytics tools, you can gain a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of your campaign and make data-driven decisions to optimize your strategy.

Optimizing Your Campaign

Once you have measured the success of your retargeting campaign, the next step is to optimize your strategy. This involves analyzing the performance of your ads and making adjustments to improve their effectiveness. There are several ways you can optimize your campaign, including testing different versions of your ads, adjusting your bidding strategy, and refining your audience segments.

Testing different versions of your ads can help you to identify what works best for your audience. This could involve testing different ad formats, images, and copy to see what generates the highest CTR and conversion rate. Adjusting your bidding strategy can also help to improve the effectiveness of your campaign. This could involve increasing your bid for high-performing ads or decreasing your bid for low-performing ads. Finally, refining your audience segments can help to increase the relevancy of your ads. This could involve creating more specific segments based on the behavior and interests of your audience.

Conclusion

Retargeting is a powerful tool in the world of paid media. It allows businesses to stay connected with their audience and remind them of their interest in their products or services. By implementing retargeting in your paid media strategy, you can increase brand awareness, engagement, and conversions, and get more value for your advertising spend.

However, implementing retargeting requires careful planning and execution. It's important to choose the right type of retargeting, set up your campaign correctly, and follow best practices to ensure the success of your campaign. By measuring the success of your campaign and optimizing your strategy, you can increase the effectiveness of your retargeting and improve your ROI.