Perhaps while browsing the web, you’ve noticed that a certain advertisement follows you around the Internet as you move from one website to another. And look, it’s an ad for a website you’ve recently visited. How did they know?!!
This practice is called “ad retargeting.” If a surfer clicks on a pair of skinny jeans on a site, what better way to advertise said jeans than to show them over and over again to someone who was already interested enough to see them?
Browser Cookies: They Are Out There
Hansel and Gretel, famous in fairy tales, left breadcrumbs as they walked through the woods so they could find their way home. Internet users unintentionally leave cookies or small pieces of text while browsing the web.
Some cookies are generated by the websites a person visits, so if you check out backpacks on LL Bean, they will store data about your visit in a cookie that is then placed on your computer. Other cookies are called tracking cookies and are used by third party sites for advertising purposes.
Ad retargeting focuses on conversion
Online retailers work very hard to convert browsers into shoppers. Marketing experts tell us that only 2% of website traffic converts on a first visit. When browsers click on products to learn more about them, they provide the e-retailer with invaluable information about the type of product they are interested in and even about the price range and desired features.
According to CMO.com, an online space for marketing managers, website visitors are 70% more likely to become customers when they are the focus of ad retargeting.
Ad retargeting is not complex
Small business owners can easily introduce ad retargeting into their marketing strategy. Google AdWords, for example, offers an easy-to-use tutorial on building remarketing lists, the foundation of an ad remarketing campaign, and creating a campaign that targets the defined list. Other online marketing companies, like ReTargeter, do the setup work for tech-shy business owners.
Ad retargeting shows growth as a trend
Marketing experts have identified ad retargeting as a tactic that will be used much more liberally for the foreseeable future. Perfect Audience, an online company that supports customers who want to manage their own ad retargeting, has created a platform to help those customers get their retargeted ads out there on Facebook.
This platform is currently being used to promote more than 800,000 products. According to Digiday’s The Retargeting Barometer Report, 1 in 5 marketing managers now have specific budgets for ad retargeting. All indicators point in the direction of more ad retargeting.
Of course, some online shoppers get upset when those skinny jeans start following them around the internet. But according to eMarketer, 30% of surveyed e-shoppers feel good about retargeting, while 11% have negative feelings about it, and 60% are sitting on a very long e-fence.
With all the research pointing to increased conversion for business owners using ad retargeting, it’s certainly time to take a genuine look at this tactic. I have used retargeting successfully in the past when promoting my own high converting internet marketing offers to new potential customers online. If you’d like to take a look at my system, or even have it implemented, click here.