Every digital marketer knows web traffic does not always equal sales. In fact, the average conversion rate for a website is under three percent. But before you think that 97 percent of traffic is useless, remember there’s still significant value in that traffic. Retargeting is a marketing strategy that focuses on bringing back the vast majority of potential customers who didn’t convert when first visiting your website and closing the deal.

Here’s your chance to learn more about retargeting and the benefits of retargeting ads for your next ad campaign.

What Does Retargeting Mean in Advertising?

Retargeting is the process of showing consumers your ads after they have left your website or interacted with your social media content without making a purchase. This helps your company stay in contact with potential customers who have shown interest in your brand.

How Does Retargeting Work?

Retargeting uses tracking technology like pixels and unique device IDs to capture potential customers’ basic information (IP address, demographics, geographic info, and interests) and provide relevant ads as they browse the web.

Tracking pixels (sometimes called tags) capture data from website visitors. Those tags can be used to follow potential customers across platforms to serve ads. Google’s Remarketing List for Search Ads (RLSA) also offers search engine retargeting, meaning your ad will show up when the user searches for related keywords.

Unique device IDs, on the other hand, are found on mobile devices like phones, tablets, and laptops and capture data to create a profile of the user. This is useful for top-of-funnel audience building but is also useful in retargeting. By capturing a site visitor’s unique device ID, you can serve them ads across several platforms and formats without having to place several separate tags on your website.

4 Benefits of Retargeting Ads

Here are four of the biggest benefits of retargeting to keep in mind for your next ad campaign. 

1. Reach a hotter market

Unlike other marketing methods that might cast a large net to find a few individuals interested in your specific product, retargeting campaigns only target consumers who have already visited your website. They have already shown interest in your brand by coming to your website so they are much warmer and further in the sales funnel. As such, be sure to tailor your specific messaging, ad copy, CTA, and corresponding landing page to this audience. Hitting them with the same top-of-funnel ads over and over is an easy way to waste ad spend.

2. Gain strategic insights

As part of your retargeting process, you have the opportunity to learn more about your audience. Rather than making assumptions about your target demographic, you’ll learn who’s genuinely interested in your brand. 

From there, you can optimize your ad campaigns and speak directly to their needs with more data points and information that they care about. More information brings more customization, which will create positive interactions with your brand. 

3. Improve brand awareness

The typical marketing rule of thumb says it takes seven impressions with a brand for a consumer to become a customer. Retargeting helps you speed up that process by targeting those who have had at least one impression from your website. With continual reminders to these potential customers, you will keep your brand top-of-mind. 

4. Improve ROI

Retargeting should be a top priority in your marketing efforts. After all, these are people who are already familiar with your brand and considering purchasing. Driving them to conversion should be much easier than starting with a new customer at the top of the sales funnel. Since the customer journey is much shorter, you’ll get a much better return on investment using retargeting.

Where Can You Use Retargeting Campaigns?

Here are several platforms where you can leverage retargeting in your next marketing campaign.

Social Media

Social media retargeting is an excellent place for companies to reintroduce products and services to customers. Temporary promotional offers through social media retargeting give consumers an added incentive to return to your website and make a purchase.

Retargeting on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn is a great way to reach out to customers because sponsored content and ads are placed naturally alongside organic social media content. This puts your brand shoulder-to-shoulder with your prospects’ friends, family, and coworkers. When the campaign is successful, it makes your brand feel like an established part of their life. 

Display Ads

Display ads are a simple, eye-catching way to reach out to your target audience, no matter where they are on the internet. As long as the website they are browsing has ads, there is a chance your marketing campaign could reach them. Retargeting display ads are a cost-effective and engaging way to drive target customers back to your website. You can choose to use banner ads to showcase what the individual already viewed on your website, or you can introduce different products or services they may have missed. 

Email Marketing

Email retargeting is another tool to help reduce bounce rates, increase conversions, and drive new revenue. The biggest benefit of email marketing is the direct personal contact you get with customers, so you can address each one individually and truly personalize the content. Retargeting with an email campaign has to be handled slightly differently because it requires the customer to provide their email contact information. That displays trust on their part and needs to be treated with respect. Misusing an email campaign by sending constant, repetitive, or low-quality emails can potentially do more harm than good to your brand. 

Retargeting is Only One Piece of the Puzzle

Many digital marketers see retargeting as a single point-solution to help bring back missed revenue. But Agility knows that multi-channel retargeting ads are just a few of the advertising touchpoints that lead to conversion. Using detailed data, precise targeting, and machine learning-driven optimizations, we know where and when to reach your customers to provide the most efficient path to conversion. It’s called precision advertising. Learn how Agility’s can help your business with Agility.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between retargeting and remarketing?

Retargeting is a strategy used to serve ads to prospects who didn’t initially convert or buy. Remarketing is typically a post-purchase strategy to cross-sell or upsell to existing customers. That said, be aware that Google Ads uses the term remarketing to talk about retargeting.

What metrics are important in a retargeting strategy?

Key metrics in retargeting are generally similar to normal advertising campaigns but can focus on down-funnel metrics as well. They include:

• Lift and Incrementality

• Cost Per Mille (CPM)

• Effective CPM (eCPM)

• Click-Through Rate (CTR)

• Lead conversions

• Conversion Rate

• CPL

• Abandon Cart Rate

• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

• Return on Investment (ROI)

Other metrics might be added or changed depending on your business. An e-commerce company’s advertising key metrics will differ from a B2B SaaS company’s.

What are the keys to hat Are the Keys to a Successful Retargeting Strategy?

Successful retargeting starts by understanding your customer’s intent. Why were they on your page? What are they looking for? Why didn’t they find it there? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you tailor your messaging, offer, and call-to-action. Retargeting across several platforms will help increase brand recall. Avoiding ad fatigue and serving sequential ads can drive higher conversion rates too.

Choose Agility

Agility is the best choice for your retargeting campaign needs. Our platform helps you deliver ads that convert—all while saving money and increasing customer loyalty.

You can access analytics in real-time, at any time, and take advantage of our in-house design team, which offers complimentary creative services to enhance your ads. Contact us today to get started.