This is the final installment of our four-part series on digital marking, and we’re going to finish up by talking about retargeting efforts through paid advertising.
One of the most frustrating parts of the marketing process is watching potential buyers walk away, and this is what the retargeting process is all about – getting those interested parties to come back and look at your site again, with the aim of converting them. Retargeting is a powerful tool with a proven track record for bringing back customers who just weren’t ready to buy the first time around. You have to be careful how you proceed, though, or you risk either alienating visitors or wasting money on tactics that get you nowhere. Here are a few guidelines to keep you on the right track.
Be clear on your objectives. Not all retargeting is about pushing sales – you can also use retargeting to raise awareness for certain products, aspects of your brand, or even information that you provide on your site. When you’re setting up targeted groups for your ad campaigns, be clear on what you want each ad to achieve, so that you’re not sending mixed messages to the wrong groups. Using retargeting for lead generation or even just to get eyes on your blog can be a great long-game strategy when combined with more direct sales tactics.
Keep your focus specific and relevant. One of the biggest mistakes with retargeting efforts is that they can easily be too general. While it may seem like a good idea simply to use one ad campaign to cover everyone who has visited your site, you’ll find that the conversion rates are not much better than they were the first time around. If you take the time to retarget for particular actions on your site – for example, visits to specific product pages or blog posts – you’ll find not only better engagement, but better results in terms of ROI.
Don’t overdo it. One of the main arguments against retargeting is that it can quickly get overwhelming, and end up annoying the very customers you’re trying to entice. This is why there are plenty of tools out there to help you control how your ads are displayed. Most social networks offer frequency caps so that your ads aren’t shown too often to the same targeted users, and burn codes can help you exclude redundant ads for users who have already gone back to your site and made a purchase.
Since most visitors to your website won’t convert on the first visit, retargeting is an important part of the conversion process. As with most marketing techniques, experimentation and testing is key, so be sure to keep track of what you’re doing and check in regularly to see how things are progressing.
Cogo Interactive is an award-winning digital marketing agency specializing in online marketing strategy, web design, SEO and social media marketing. We work with clients in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC and nationally.
