Retargeting: The Essential Strategy Your Business Can’t Afford to Ignore
It’s a harsh reality: Around 98% of your website visitors leave without converting. That lost opportunity is significant, considering you paid to bring those potential customers to your site in the first place. But what if there was a way to stay top-of-mind and reel them back in?
There is, and it’s called “retargeting”.
What is Retargeting?
Retargeting, sometimes called remarketing, shows your ads specifically to people who have already visited your site or interacted with your brand. This targeted advertising is a super-effective way to coax those “window shoppers” back to your site to hopefully become buyers.
Why Your Business Absolutely Needs Retargeting
Retargeting delivers tremendous value for any business looking to boost conversions and get the most bang for their marketing buck. Here are some of the key reasons you simply can’t afford to ignore retargeting:
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Higher Conversion Rates:
Retargeted visitors are substantially more likely to finalize a purchase or contact you for services. Why? You've already established brand familiarity, they know your products or services, and there's a level of trust. -
Boost Brand Awareness:
Even if they don't click immediately, retargeting keeps your company front and center in the consumer's mind. Increased brand recognition leads to more future opportunities. -
Cost-Effective:
It's far cheaper to re-engage an interested audience than to continually acquire new leads from scratch. Retargeting boasts a significantly higher ROI than most other digital marketing strategies. -
Second-Chance Sales:
Most customers won't convert on their first visit. Retargeting gives those hesitant buyers the gentle nudge they may need to move from browsing to buying or contacting you. It's your second chance to make a compelling impression. -
Competitor Defense:
Chances are, if people are browsing your site, they're also considering your competitors. Retargeting keeps you in the game, reminding customers why they were interested in you in the first place and making sure you're not outshined by the competition.
Retargeting Best Practice Guide – Are We Doing it Right?
Time to put your marketing manager on the spot! Here’s a checklist of retargeting strategies they definitely should be implementing for both ecommerce and professional service providers:
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Strategic Segmentation:
Not all audiences are created equal. Divide your past site visitors into groups based on behavior:
- Viewed product(s)/services but didn't add to cart/request quote
- Abandoned their shopping cart
- Engaged with your social media but didn't visit the website
- Visited informational content pages but did not visit commercial/service pages
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Tailored Messaging:
With those segments, you can show specific, relevant ads. Someone who dropped their cart gets a reminder (maybe even a discount!) while a product viewer sees ads for that specific item, or related products. Service providers can send targeted messages about specific services the visitor showed interest in. -
Dynamic Retargeting:
This takes things to the next level. Dynamic ads automatically show the exact products or services a user considered. It's personalization done right. -
Frequency Capping:
Bombarding someone with the same ad over and over gets annoying, fast. Set a limit on how often individuals see your retargeting ads to avoid audience fatigue. -
A/B Testing:
Retargeting, like every marketing strategy, demands experimentation. Tweak ad text, visuals, and offers. Split testing helps you hone in on what works best with your audience. -
Cross-Platform Power:
Website visitors are only part of it! Retargeting works across social media, on search engines, and via display ads, ensuring a comprehensive approach.
What’s Next? Retargeting Action Plan
If you haven’t fully utilized retargeting yet, now is the time to start. This isn’t some optional tactic; it’s critical for every business that wants to maximize their marketing budget.
For those already running retargeting campaigns, here are some key questions to ask your marketing team:
- Are we segmenting and personalizing messaging effectively?
- Are we fully leveraging dynamic retargeting?
- Have we tested different ad frequencies to find the ideal balance?
- Are we constantly A/B testing our creatives?
- Are we retargeting across multiple platforms, not just the website?
Are You Missing Out on Retargeting Gold?
If you haven’t fully grasped the power of retargeting yet, now’s the time. This isn’t some optional tactic; it’s critical for every business that wants to make the most of their marketing budget. Talk to your marketing team, and find out how they’re utilizing this powerful tool!
If your business could use some support, WT Digital Agency specializes in creating and executing highly effective retargeting campaigns.
About the Author
Kevin Bossons
General Manager
With over 15 years of experience in digital marketing and search engine optimization, Kevin has grown from an SEO contractor to General Manager at WT Digital Agency.