Retargeting Ads - Everything You Should Know as a Business Owner

In an ideal world, every client that lands on your website buys a product, signs up for your newsletter, downloads your ebook or takes any action you consider a goal. Reality could not be more different with the average conversion rate across all 14 industries being 2.9%. 

Converting leads into long-term satisfied customers is a long and winding path, retargeting makes it a little easier. 

Getting a user to enter your website is only half the battle. 

Until a sale is made, your plan to profit may still be hindered. As I’m sure you’ve done online shopping is vastly different, shoppers like yourself slip away for various reasons, whether it be a distraction, a website crash, the internet stopped working the list goes on. 

Whatever the reason may be, there is no way to effectively prevent the user from leaving your website by closing the tab. However, there are ways you can try and fix the problem. Retargeting is that solution. 

Did you know that:

• Retargeting users is 8 times cheaper to reach per click compared to getting new users to click. 
• 75% of consumers notice retargeted ads. Retargeted customers are three times more likely to click on ads than non-retargeted users. 

If you’re still on the fence about running retargeting ads for your small business, book a call with us and see if they’re right for you. 

What are retargeting ads?

If you run a small business and sell products or services online, you know advertising plays a critical role in driving people to your website. But what if they aren’t ready to buy or get distracted when trying to make the purchase?

Did you know that 97% of people who visit your site for the first time leave without buying anything and then they’re lost forever? 

Retargeting campaigns remind your website, visitors of your products and services, after they leave your website without buying. I’m sure you’ve experienced this yourself when you leave a website, you keep getting those ads over and over again. It leaves that brand imprinted on your brain. 

You can do the same thing with your brand - leave it printed on your potential customer's minds. You can do it with multiple different platforms, such as Google Ads, Facebook retargeting, LinkedIn Ads and other retargeting platforms. A lot of companies are catching on to this, not only does retargeting bring customers back but it helps you as a business connect with customers and increase your customer loyalty. 

Before someone buys a product, they need to feel like they know you. Retargeting allows you to reach an audience that has already expressed interest in your products. 

Additionally, it’s a lot more cost-effective than other forms of advertising. 

When should you use retargeting campaigns? 

• Retargeting is meant to be a long-term marketing strategy for businesses that already have a steady flow of visitors. It’s recommended that if your website gets at least 100 monthly visitors, Google remarketing ads are definitely worth it for you.
• Promoting your best sellers. Retargeting ads are a great way to showcase your top-selling products. Promoting items your current customers love is a great way to show it to others who’d love it too.
• Building brand awareness. Most people need to feel they know you before they decide to buy your product or service, retargeting ads keep your brand top of mind for potential customers who aren’t ready to purchase on the first time. 

Types of retargeting ad campaigns 

Display ads

It’s more than likely you’ve experienced retargeting yourself. You know when you’ve just left a website and gone onto another and you’re seeing ads for the previous website? That's retargeting in action. They’re often displayed as a dynamic banner or text ad on another webpage. 

Emails 

Have you ever left items in your shopping cart and just haven’t gotten around to paying, only to receive an email in your inbox about your unpaid cart? That’s email retargeting. It’s used to try and bring you back to that shopping cart. 

Search 

Picture this scenario: You’re an avid traveller planning your next adventure. You’ve been researching eco-friendly luggage options, looking for something durable and sustainable. As you search Google for the best travel gear, an ad for a sleek, eco-conscious carry-on bag appears at the top of the search results page. This personalised ad is made possible by Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSAs), a smart retargeting feature within Google Ads that taps into your previous browsing activity to deliver highly relevant suggestions based on your interests.

Social Media 

Platforms like Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn offer brands a direct link to customers. Social media retargeting ads capitalize on this connection. Built-in features such as shares, likes and comments further extend the reach of your ads, the more interaction the more exposure you get!

Benefits of Retargeting ads

Immediate effect: Retargeting is fast, once it’s set up it’s automated and needs no human interaction (provided you set it up properly) Your website visitors can start seeing displayed ads as soon as they’ve left your site. 

Efficiency: Retargeting helps to streamline the cost of your campaigns. It allows you to target just those users who have, implicitly or directly expressed interest in your product or service.. 

Several pieces of evidence show that retargeted ads are not only more visible but also more effective than regular ads. 

• An impressive two-thirds of those surveyed said they noticed the ad just because they had researched the product before. While this may not necessarily read as a purchase, the brand still gets the valuable mindshare. (Regular ads would go unnoticed due to the so-called banner-blindness)
• Around 90% of surveyed users have either a positive or neutral reaction to retargeted ads. This is partly due to their higher relevance to the user than the spray and pray ads. 
• The average click-through rate for retargeted ads is about 0.7%, while display ads rate 10 times lower at only 0.007%. 

The challenges with retargeting

• Avoid going overboard. Retargeting is both effective and intrusive, so it’s important to use it carefully. While it may be tempting to bombard users with every ad you’ve got simply because they’ve visited your website once, this approach could backfire. Seeing the same ad repeatedly for weeks can feel more like being stalked, which is far from the impression you want to leave. Striking the right balance is key to avoiding being overly intrusive.
• Privacy Concerns: Many consumers feel that retargeting ads invade their privacy, leading to discomfort and negative perceptions of the brand. Approximately 34.8% of consumers are somewhat concerned, and 18.87% are very concerned about being tracked and targeted with ads based on their online behaviour
• Ineffective Targeting: Without proper audience segmentation, retargeting efforts may fail to resonate with users. If ads are shown to individuals who have already converted or those who are not interested, it can waste the advertising budget and reduce the overall effectiveness
• Poor Landing Page Experience: Directing users to generic landing pages that do not align with the specific ad they clicked on can result in a poor user experience and lower conversion rates. Ensuring that landing pages are relevant and optimised is crucial to success

All in all retargeting ads are a great way to get back those visitors who you thought got away, provided you have a relevant product or service to offer them.

If you’re curious as to what retargeting can do for you and your business, book a call with us at Conquer The Internet. You’ll have a chat with our founder Matt, no sales jargon just a chat to see if we can help you!