It’s well known that as little as 2% of a website’s visitors turn into actual buyers. From the remaining 98%, some might leave after spending time consuming content while others might exit from the checkout page – never completing the purchase and never to return. Ouch.
Do you want them back? Well, yeah… of course you do!
So, how do you do it? … One word:
Retargeting
Retargeting is simply advertising to the 98% who leave your website. Whether your goal is to finish a sale, grab a new client or increase brand recognition – retargeting will bring ‘em back. There are four types of retargeting:
Site Retargeting: With this method, those who visit your website are tagged with a code – and as they go around the Internet they’ll see your ads enticing them to come back.
Search Retargeting: This method targets web users who’ve searched for particular search terms that are relevant to your business.
Email Retargeting: If one of your customers abandons their cart, you can send them an email enticing them to come back. That’s an example of how this method works. Some companies have been known to email a discount coupon to motivate the customer into completing the purchase.
Contextual Retargeting: Websites in similar fields share data to cross-target their customers. So let’s say company A and company B have an agreement and a customer leaves company A’s website to go to company B’s website –ta-da! … customer sees A’s ads on B’s website.
Why should you use Retargeting?
Retargeting reminds your buyers why they wanted to buy your stuff or do business with you in the first place.
- It boosts your brand recognition.
- It increases the effectiveness of parallel marketing strategies like content marketing, PPC and SEO marketing.
- It’s effective. According to SeeWhy’s research, retargeting brings back 26% of site visitors.
The Process
Retargeting begins with signing up on an ad network like Google or Facebook. It’s best to use multiple networks, this way you can pretty much reach anyone who is using the web – visitors may run from your site, but they can’t hide!
The most important piece of this process is to segment your audience into different groups. Let’s take a look:
Audience Segmentation – dividing your audience
A website visitor who landed on your home page and exited out – is not as important as one who clicked out after spending 5 minutes on your check out page. Not rocket science of course. But it illustrates how your web site visitors have different intents. To bring them back and do it effectively, they need to be retargeted appropriately.
Using analytics, you can categorize your audiences along logical lines. Then use your ad network’s tools to target with different levels of intensity – and length. This important step allows you to target the right people and use your dollars wisely.
What could go wrong with Retargeting?
Imagine yourself in your customer’s shoes. Would you want to be bombarded over and over for weeks on end with your ads? Not really, right?
More than simply ignoring your ads – there is a real chance your customers will feel negatively about your brand. So tread carefully.
Best Practices
- Always use a call to action on your ads.
- Use your brand logos, colors and elements on your ads to improve brand recall.
- Use A/B testing to see which ads perform better.
- Use your website data – for example website visitors who read specific blog articles could be targeted with relevant ads.
- Keep testing to see what works better.
- Don’t retarget customers who’ve already bought your product.