Remarketing vs Retargeting

Two marketing tactics that are so similar yet so different! These two concepts share a common goal and that is to help you bring visitors, who have previously expressed interest in your brand, back to your website to complete the desired action.

In the eCommerce world, approximately 70% of visitors add items to the cart and leave without making a purchase, so tackling the issue of shopping cart abandonment is more critical than ever. Let’s explore these two concepts in more detail, how they differ and how you can use them to generate and nurture leads.

What is remarketing?

Have you ever received an email or a series of emails after you have visited a website, added items to your basket but then left without making a purchase? The brand has used email marketing in an attempt to motivate you to return back into the sales funnel and finalise your purchase. Since you have clearly shown interest in the product or service, there’s a good chance that a little email reminder will do the trick and motivate you to take the desired action.

What is retargeting?

How many times did you see an ad on social media or search engine for the product or service you have recently viewed on a website you visited? Thanks to cookies that are set in your web browser, the brand can retarget you with ads based on the interaction you have made with the products or services on their website or based on the history of your online searches.

The difference is simple: remarketing involves sending targeted email campaigns to those who have interacted with your website, whereas retargeting involves placing targeted display ads elsewhere on the web and targeting a broader range of consumers.

Both remarketing and retargeting campaigns can be an extremely effective component of your inbound marketing strategy and can help with increasing conversions. In fact, people are 70% more likely to convert when they are retargeted, whether through email or display ads, so you should definitely consider using both marketing tactics to stop missing out on potential customers.

Our advice would be to use remarketing ads to send visitors a reminder about what they have left behind, but also try to make offers (for example a discount code) or upsell similar products or services. In regards to retargeting ads, we would advise you to use it if you want to reach new people who are likely to be interested in your business because they have taken actions online that are similar to your existing customers.

Retargeting allows you to reconnect in a meaningful way with people who, for one reason or another, cared enough to visit your site in the first place.

This is how you create additional conversion opportunities, with previous website visitors, by serving ad banners on partner sites, while they are searching on the internet and social media.

What difference could an extra brand impression make in your business? Maybe quite a lot, experts say.

Statistics show that websites that retarget their visitors with display ads are 70% more likely to convert on your website.

Still have questions about how it works?

Here is a simple breakdown of how retargeting tracks your website visitors.

How Retargeting Works

Retargeting works by showing your online ads to those viewers who have visited your website. As your potential customers continue to search the web, long after they’ve left your website, they will find your ad “following” them from site to site, increasing their awareness of your brand and creating that valuable familiarity.

Digital ads from WebTargetedTraffic include retargeting that uses a tiny bit of code called a pixel. The pixel is unobtrusive—your site visitors won’t notice it, and it won’t affect your site’s performance. Every time a new visitor comes to your website, the code drops an anonymous browser cookie. Later, when your cookied visitors are on other websites, such as ESPN, Yahoo News, The New York Times, or even reading their Facebook feed, the cookie will let Adwerx know when to serve your ads.

Retargeting even encourages the home shopper to learn more about you. This means that home shoppers who are retargeted are that much more likely to go to a search engine and search directly for your name!

Retargeting is effective because it builds on an interest already expressed: the car dealer already knew you liked that red convertible. Home shoppers already visited your site in their journey to buy or sell a home. Some worry that retargeting abuses user privacy. But retargeting pixels do not collect any personally identifiable information, such as names, addresses, or even IP addresses. All digital targeting is completely anonymous. Retargeting uses cookies, which are small text files that store information. This cookie stores anonymous data about whether or not a user has visited a certain site…and that’s all.

Home shoppers have already told you what they want. By retargeting them, you will just be helping them to get it!

Why Your Business Needs Retargeting

Retargeting campaigns can create greater potential sales by constantly and consistently keeping your business front and center with your potential customers, when they are ready to buy.

Whenever your site visitors sees your ad banners, your business gets a bump of credibility and awareness.

The high click-through rates and higher conversions, typical with retargeting campaigns, highlights the potential value of great branding and awareness.

When to Use Retargeting for Your Business

A business with an online marketing strategy, can benefit from running a retargeting campaign.

If your website gets traffic, you have the opportunity to turn them into customers for a fraction of the cost of your investment to get them to your website in the first place.

If your business has an active pay per click campaign, it would be advantageous to run it in conjunction with an retargeting campaign.

While the initial cost to acquire that click was several dollars, you can continue to track that potential customer for fractions of a cent per exposure.

Retargeting on Facebook

Retargeting on Facebook has become an indispensable tool for business owners, driving conversions, downloads, and lead generation.

Your customers check Facebook multiple times a day on multiple devices. Facebook retargeting allows you to reach them across desktop and mobile with customized dynamic ads.

You don’t have to be friends to benefit!

Reach customers across devices with retargeted ads right in their News Feed and Right-Hand Column. Get the right ads to the right customers at the right time.

Valuable Tips for Better Retargeting

Nobody wants to waste money on purpose! Below are five tips to improve and optimize a retargeting advertising campaign for your business.

1. Showing too many ads: Don’t annoy your potential customers, there is a difference between informing and annoying. Make sure to set a cap on hoe many impressions you show in a day.

2. Not enough exposure: Not showing your ad enough would be equally a waste of money. Do your best to find the sweet spot. It varies for business to business.

3. Design better ads: Do your best to put together banners that will not only build up your brand but encourage and inform your potential customers to complete their purchase.

4. Don’t forget to segment: One of the biggest advantages to retargeting is the ability to segment and target your website traffic. Take advantage of this by delivering ads that meet the specific needs of your perspective customers.

5. Measure success: Nobody knows anything…except the audience. Put methods into place to track the success of your retargeting campaign. Set up conversion goals and landing pages dedicated to your retargeting inventory.

Conclusion

A visitor might get distracted or lose interest, have to answer their phone or take their dog to the bathroom – you just don’t know. Retargeting allows you to seek that person out and give them a reason to check out your site again.

Make sure to capitalize on its potential without wasting money or annoying potential customers.