What Are the Benefits of Retargeting?

Why Should a Business Consider Using Retargeting?

It takes time, money, and effort to bring people to your website. Once they’re there, they might read some of your content, review your products – and maybe even load up a shopping cart. But what happens when they leave?

Without a strategy in place, this is basically a lost opportunity. But with retargeting, you’ll have a chance to reclaim this potential sale.

What Is Retargeting?

In case you aren’t familiar, retargeting is a strategy that allows you to advertise directly to someone who has visited your website in the past. Relying on stored information on your customer’s browser, you can choose to automatically display advertising welcoming them back to the site, generally paying only for the people who click on the ad.

Retargeting is available through a variety of different platforms, including search engines like Google and social media platforms like Facebook. You’ll have full control over your campaign, including how much you spend, where your ads are placed, what types of people you target, and more.

The Benefits of Retargeting

So why should you consider using this strategy?

• More conversions. The bottom line for retargeting is that you’ll have the opportunity to generate more conversions – in other words, more people buying things from your website. Let’s say 3 percent of your visitors ultimately purchase something from you. If your retargeting ads bring people back to your site 10 percent of the time, you’ll see a boost in conversions of 10 percent or more. Plus, if you integrate your retargeting strategy with other digital marketing approaches, you can push your conversion rate even higher – thanks to the higher brand awareness you’ll be facilitating.
• Higher brand awareness. Let’s talk about brand awareness. Advertising works not because it’s especially good at convincing people in the moment that they need to buy a product – but instead because it makes a brand more familiar to a customer. Then, when the customer encounters that brand again, they’ll be slightly more likely to buy that product. Retargeting ads are displayed to people who have been to your site already, reinforcing the image of your brand and keeping it top of mind. It becomes especially powerful when you’re displaying ads across multiple platforms. While some users do express annoyance at being bombarded with these types of ads or discomfort that they’re being tracked, the majority of users subtly come to grow more familiar and more comfortable with your brand. The next time they visit your website or the next time they have a need you can fill, they’ll be more likely to think of your brand first.
• Specific appeal opportunities. Your advertisements are only as powerful as they are relevant. The most effective ads are ones that have been specifically tailored to a specific person in a specific position. If you know your target customer has visited your site in the past and already has an impression of your brand, you can write your new ad directly to them. Oftentimes, this leads to higher engagement rates and, eventually, more conversions.
• Edge on the competition. In the digital marketing world, competition can crush you. If you have a major competitor with a greater share of the market, a huge budget, and more experience, it’s hard to get an edge. When a visitor leaves your website, it represents a critical opportunity for your competitors to swoop in and steal the deal. But when you place high-quality retargeting ads, you can get the edge; you’ll have one more opportunity (and sometimes multiple opportunities) to bring that customer back and prevent them from going with the competition.
• Customer information. With retargeting, as with many digital advertising strategies, you’ll have the opportunity to study the data associated with your campaign. For example, you’ll be able to see the correlations between a person’s onsite behavior on your website and how they respond to your ads. Over time, you’ll be able to learn much more about your target audience and ultimately create better ads – and not just retargeting ads, either.
• Cost efficiency. Finally, you should consider the fact that retargeting is highly cost-efficient. Compared to other advertising strategies, you’ll pay a lower amount, and you’ll only pay for the clicks you generate. Plus, if you work with an ad agency to manage your retargeting campaign, you’ll generally pay little compared to the benefits you get. In nearly all cases, the ROI of retargeting is high.

Retargeting isn’t the right strategy for every business, but if you find that your website loses first-time visitors, or if you just want a better chance at getting repeat traffic, it’s often a cost-efficient investment. Make sure you research your audience and adhere to best practices for ad copy to maximize your chances of winning over these repeat visitors.