In today’s competitive digital landscape, businesses are constantly looking for ways to stay top-of-mind with potential customers. One effective strategy to do this is remarketing. Most people at some point in their life have experienced this form of marketing.
For example, if you’ve ever visited a website, browsed some products and then started seeing ads for those same products everywhere you go, you’ve experienced remarketing in action.
But what is remarketing exactly and what makes it such a powerful strategy? In this article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about remarketing campaigns, including the different types, benefits and how businesses can leverage it to drive more conversions. Let’s dive in!
What is Remarketing?
Remarketing ads are a highly effective strategy businesses and marketers use to re-engage people who have previously interacted with a brand but did not convert. It involves targeting previous website visitors with tailored ads that remind them of the products/services you offer as they browse the internet and use social media.
Essentially, it is a way to follow up with potential customers who have shown interest in your brand but left before completing a desired action. Remarketing helps bring them back to your site and encourages them to complete the action you want them to take.
The primary goal of remarketing is to bring past visitors back to the site and get them to transition from potential prospects to paying customers. The reason this strategy is so effective is because it targets audiences who have already shown some level of interest in your product.
The truth is that users don’t often convert the first time they land on a website. Studies have shown that it usually takes multiple interactions with a brand before a user takes a significant action — up to an average of 8 touchpoints. Remarketing allows you to re-target these individuals, keeping your brand continuously on their radar and increasing the likelihood of a conversion taking place.
How Do Remarketing Campaigns Work?
The process of remarketing is relatively straightforward and can be broken down into 3 parts. Here’s a quick look at what’s involved in each step:
User Interaction: The first step is where a potential prospect visits your website and starts engaging with your content. This could include browsing products, reading blog posts or interacting with other elements of your site.
Tracking Mechanism: After this initial interaction, your website places a tracking mechanism on the user’s browser — a cookie or pixel. These tools allow the marketer to capture data about the prospect’s behaviour. This includes what pages they visited, what they clicked on and whether they added an item to their shopping cart.
Re-engagement: After the user leaves your site, the marketer re-targets them with tailored adverts that promote the brand’s products/services. For instance, the ad could include images of the specific product the prospect viewed or added to their cart. This encourages the prospect to return to the company’s website and complete the action.
Remarketing vs. Retargeting: Are They the Same?
While both remarketing and retargeting are often used interchangeably, the two are not the same. Retargeting refers specifically to using paid ads to target users who have previously visited your website. Whereas remarketing is more of a broader strategy.
It involves using a wide range of methods — and not only paid ads — to retarget previous website visitors. Furthermore, remarketing applies a much larger emphasis on using email to get prospects to return.
Think of remarketing as a toolbox and retargeting as one of the tools inside it — like a hammer (paid ads). The toolbox also includes other tools, like a screwdriver (email marketing) and a wrench (SMS), each serving different purposes.
While you can use each tool individually, they all work together under the broader concept of the toolbox, which is remarketing. So, in other words, while retargeting is a part of remarketing, remarketing itself is a more comprehensive strategy that extends beyond just paid ads.
Types of Remarketing Campaigns
Remarketing is an effective way to engage users who are somewhat familiar with your brand. That said, there are different forms of remarketing. Here is a quick rundown of the various types:
1. Standard Remarketing
Standard remarketing is one of the most common ways to retarget previous website visitors. It involves showing targeted ads to users who have already been on your website, yet did not convert. With standard remarketing, the ads are usually display adverts that appear on different websites across the internet — Google Display Network.
2. Dynamic Remarketing
Dynamic remarketing ads take standard remarketing a step further by showing more personalised ads based on the exact products/services a user viewed. For example, if a customer viewed a coffee machine, dynamic remarketing allows you to display an ad featuring that specific appliance as they are browsing on other websites.
3. Search Remarketing (RLSA)
Search remarketing allows you to bid on specific keywords to show ads to users who have previously interacted with your brand. For instance, if someone visited your site looking for a product but left without making a purchase, they might search for similar items later on Google. With the use of these Google ads remarketing campaigns, you can target users with adverts as they search for those specific keywords. Essentially, Search Remarketing uses Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA) to reach users who have already visited your site and are now performing searches on Google.
4. Social Media Remarketing
As you would probably have guessed from the name, social media remarketing uses platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to target users who have interacted with your brand. It allows you to create custom audiences based on user behaviour and show them tailored ads in their social media feeds.
For example, someone who engages with your brand on Facebook may see ads for your products as they continue to browse their feed. Social media remarketing is especially effective due to its highly visual nature and precise audience targeting options.
Benefits of Remarketing
Remarketing offers several key benefits that can help your business grow and achieve better results. Here’s a quick overview of some of them:
1. Higher Conversion Rates
Since remarketing ads target users who have already shown interest in your brand, the likelihood of them converting into paying customers is significantly higher compared to a broad campaign aimed at entirely new users. The beauty of this approach lies in its use of familiarity. In other words, by focusing on an audience that’s already familiar with your products, remarketing helps maximise the efficiency of your ad spend and drives better results.
2. Improved Brand Recall
Even if users don’t immediately make a purchase, remarketing helps keep your brand front and centre. Allow me to explain: The more users see your ads, the more familiar they become with your products. This ultimately translates to higher brand recognition and the potential of future purchases.
3. Cost-Effective Customer Acquisition
Remarketing ads are often more cost-effective than other forms of digital marketing because they focus on warm leads. Rather than spending resources to attract new users, you’re re-engaging people who are already familiar with your brand. This approach typically leads to a higher return on investment (ROI).
4. Opportunities for Upselling & Cross-Selling
Another excellent benefit of Remarketing is that it serves as a great way to upsell or cross-sell to existing customers. It lets you target users who have already made a purchase with ads featuring complementary products. This creates a win-win situation: customers get relevant recommendations for products they actually need, while your business benefits from increased repeat purchases, which ultimately boosts your revenue.
Conclusion
Remarketing is a powerful tool in the digital marketing world that can help increase conversions, improve brand recognition and maximise ROI. By targeting users who have already shown interest in your products, you can bring them back and encourage them to take the next step.
If you’re ready to dive into remarketing or want to elevate your paid ads campaigns, contact Snowball Creations to see how we can help you achieve real results.