Good marketers know that it’s a rare occurrence for a new visitor to land on a website for the first time and buy a product right then and there. So where do the majority of customers come from? Repeat buyers.
How can you leverage that knowledge to increase our retargeting conversion rates? Remarketing.
It is no longer news that retargeting is one of the most effective online marketing strategies.
In fact, only 2% of users who visit your website for the first time are likely to convert, so businesses need a way to get the other 98% to come back and either make a purchase or complete a call to action. So far, retargeting has proven to be an efficient strategy in bringing back that other 98% that have already indicated an interest in your offer.
Studies have shown that 70% of customers who see retargeted ads are more likely to convert and that retargeting can help increase ad engagement by up to 400%.
What Is Remarketing?
First, let’s clear up the definition of remarketing and how it differs from/compares with retargeting.
Since about 79% of people abandon their online shopping cart, your main goal is to get them to finish their purchase.
Retargeting primarily uses Internet ads to entice interested prospects back to your website to finish a purchase. This tactic turns window shoppers into buyers. By adding pixels (a short snippet of code) to your website, you will be able to track the user’s actions through cookies placed in their browser (i.e. “follow” them around the web).
Remarketing entails gathering your site visitors’ info and then sending them emails to persuade them to return to their abandoned shopping cart on your website and complete a purchase.
These terms are often used interchangeably and, indeed, are quite similar: Both of these strategies are designed to bring back customers who have bounced from your website after performing a certain action in order to persuade them to make a purchase.
Here are a couple of stats that will probably make you rethink the power of remarketing:
- 97% of e-commerce purchases come from repeat visitors
- 90% of all Internet users are retargeted at some point by Google Display
- One online retailer increased their conversation rate by a 161% (compared to their previous campaigns) as a result of a remarketing campaign
If you aren’t in on the game, you’re missing out!
How Does Remarketing Work?
When we hear terms like “remarketing” and “retargeting,” we usually think of complicated pixels and cookies associated with Google or Facebook ads. However, the concept is actually a lot simpler than that.
Think about driving down a highway and seeing a billboard for McDonald’s with a picture of a hamburger that says the next exit is 15 miles away:
You glance at it but keep driving. In another 5 miles you see another sign. By now you’re starting to feel hungry after looking at all these signs with food, so when the next sign comes up 2 miles from the exit, you decide to get off the highway for some lunch.
This is a very simple remarketing example.
In this article we will mainly talk about optimizing your retargeting conversion rates online, though remember that your audience may be better reached by remarketing via phone, email or signs.
If you choose an online remarketing strategy, you might run ads through Google, Facebook or YouTube. These platforms use a system that uses cookie tracking to tag non-converting website visitors and then follow them around the web. Your previous visitor might be on another site but he/she can still see an ad for your site.
For example, I was looking at some electronics on Best Buy and later that day I was on another website. And guess what popped up on the side of my screen?
That’s right. This Best Buy ad is a good online remarketing example.
The potential for business growth and conversion rate increases can be staggering. According to an Adobe report, “retargeting is responsible for boosting ad responses by as much as 400%, and can help to improve brand recall and awareness in visitors.”
Okay, so how do you get started with increasing your retargeting conversion rate?
Dive Deeper:
- The Difference Between Retargeting and Remarketing
- A Simple Hack to Combine Facebook Ads and Google Ads
- The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Advertising in 2019
Before You Start: Crucial Remarketing Concepts for CRO
If you are focused on increasing conversions online, you need to have a few things in place before setting up a remarketing campaign.
Understand Your Buying Cycle
Setting up long cookie times that result in multiple remarketed ad viewings over time doesn’t make financial sense if your company’s buying cycle is short.
Think of buying cycles in terms of traffic temperatures.
A retailer like J Crew has short buying cycles. If someone is looking to purchase a new shirt, they probably won’t be looking for very long. The buying cycle might end that day.
In that case, you may be better off investing your ad resources elsewhere in order to encourage immediate purchases.
However, if you’re trying to sell industrial machinery for over $10,000, your buying cycle will be a little longer. So doesn’t it make sense to continue to retarget your prospects for several months?
Dive Deeper: Buyer’s Journey 101: What Your Email Data Says About Your Customers
Understand How to Measure the ROI of Remarketing Campaigns
Measuring the financial impact of multiple ad displays can be challenging, as it may be difficult to assess the value of each individual step in the view-through process.
And measuring analytics can be a tricky process, so make sure that you have a plan in place before jumping in.
As a result, remarketing is best used by companies with past experience running traditional PPC campaigns (or by those less-experienced advertisers who are willing to bring on professional consultants to ensure campaign profitability). If you are about to launch a remarketing campaign and want it to result in high conversion rates, make sure that you have a system in place to track ROI.
Setting Up Your First Campaign for Conversion Success
Remarket to People With High Intent to Purchase
Targeting everyone who comes to your site might be very broad and use up all of your ad spend. Instead, try to target people who have already been to a specific page, like a sales or cart page.
This is one of the best ways to easily increase your conversion rate, as you are simply cutting out a large number of non-converters in your testing group.
Target People Who Are Willing and Able to Buy
This one goes along with intent to purchase, but there is one subtle difference: Some people may be engaging with your content without the means to buy.
Does it make sense for Tesla to retarget 15 year olds? Probably not. Sure, they may have demonstrated strong interest, but they probably don’t have the money to buy one. Don’t waste your ad dollars.
If you’re wondering how well targeting a niche audience works, check out this Growth Everywhere video of Andy Mackensen of SnackNation and see how he targets niche audiences to grow his business:
Avoid Constant Use of the Same Ad Copy
You can ruin the success of your retargeting campaign if you continuously show the same ad copy and images to the same target audience. Showing ads similar to previously displayed ads can negatively affect your conversion rates because people will ignore ads they’ve already ignored before.
For example, if you are targeting a customer who bought one item from your store, you can make the ad copy about how another person who recently bought the same item liked additional items on your website. The addition of whole new ads can also be effective.
Dive Deeper: 8 Facebook Ad Copywriting Tricks to Maximize Conversions
Use Discount and Affordable Pricing
Cost is one of the top reasons why customers abandon their online shopping carts. This is why most e-commerce retailers will try to eliminate all shipping costs by employing a flat rate shipping service in order to help keep the overall cart total down.
When retargeting, keeping the price of your product or service as low as possible can go a long way to determine the rate of conversion of your ads. Wherever possible, offer discounts and free shipping when retargeting.
Dive Deeper: The Competitive Pricing Strategy Guide (Covers B2B and B2C Businesses)
Leverage Dynamic Retargeting
Dynamic retargeting is an excellent way to get people to engage with a brand that is already well-known:
“Remarketing allows you to show ads to people who have previously visited your website or used your mobile app. Dynamic remarketing takes this a step further, letting you show previous visitors ads that contain products and services they viewed on your site. With messages tailored to your audience, dynamic remarketing helps you build leads and sales by bringing previous visitors back to your site to complete what they started.”
The fact that your products have proven to be trustworthy can only add credibility to your retargeting campaign. For example, you can retarget people who are in the process of switching to a different brand or those who previously switched from your brand.
Dive Deeper: Retargeting 101: Why It’s Essential for Any Marketing Funnel
Exclude Current Customers/Clients
This is important because if you continue to try to sell to your current customers in the same way you sell to prospects, they won’t feel like valued customers. Make sure that you treat every single one of your customers with respect and make them feel appreciated. Remember that it is much more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep current customers happy.
Segment Intelligently
Have you ever seen ads that just make you wonder what the heck the marketer was thinking serving it to you? We already wrote a complete guide on segmentation, but I’ll give you an example here. If I were searching for car tires and was shown an ad about luxury resorts, wouldn’t that make you think that the luxury resort brand is crazy? Don’t let your brand turn into a laughingstock.
Use Frequency Capping
Frequency capping is a crucial strategy in remarketing to prevent ad fatigue and maintain the effectiveness of your campaigns. By limiting the number of times a user sees your ad within a given time frame, you can:
- Avoid annoying potential customers with excessive ad exposure
- Maintain the freshness and impact of your message
- Optimize your ad spend by not wasting impressions on uninterested viewers
A good rule of thumb is to start with a frequency cap of 15-20 impressions per user per month, then adjust based on your campaign’s performance and audience engagement.
Implement Burn Pixels
Burn pixels are an essential tool for maintaining the relevance of your remarketing lists. These pixels “burn” or remove users from your retargeting audience once they’ve completed a desired action, such as making a purchase. By implementing burn pixels, you can:
- Avoid showing ads to users who have already converted
- Focus your ad spend on potential customers who haven’t yet taken action
- Improve the overall efficiency and ROI of your remarketing campaigns
Set Up Cross-Device Remarketing
In today’s multi-device world, it’s crucial to reach your audience across all their devices. Cross-device remarketing allows you to:
- Maintain consistent messaging as users switch between devices
- Increase the chances of conversion by reaching users at different touchpoints
- Gather more comprehensive data on user behavior and preferences
To implement cross-device remarketing effectively, ensure that your ads are responsive and optimized for various screen sizes and platforms.
Last Thoughts on How Remarketing Can Help Increase Conversions
Remarketing has emerged as a powerful tool in the digital marketer’s arsenal, offering a unique opportunity to re-engage potential customers who have already shown interest in your products or services. By leveraging the data collected from previous interactions, remarketing allows businesses to create highly targeted, personalized ad experiences that speak directly to the user’s needs and preferences.
One of the most significant advantages of remarketing is its ability to optimize the customer journey. By strategically placing ads at different touchpoints along the path to purchase, marketers can guide potential customers towards conversion more effectively. This is particularly valuable in addressing common obstacles like abandoned carts in e-commerce or incomplete sign-ups for service-based businesses.
As with any marketing strategy, the key to success with remarketing lies in continuous testing, learning, and optimization. Marketers should pay close attention to metrics such as frequency, reach, and conversion rates to fine-tune their campaigns for maximum effectiveness. By approaching remarketing thoughtfully and strategically, businesses can significantly boost their conversion rates, improve ROI, and drive sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.
If you’re ready to level up your retargeting efforts, Single Grain’s retargeting experts can help!👇
For more insights and lessons about marketing, check out our Marketing School podcast on YouTube.
