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Reconnecting with the past

Peter Garrett

DATE: 11th May 2020
CATEGORY: acquisition
TAGS: marketing strategy, pay per click marketing, remarketing
AUTHOR: Peter Garrett


Put yourself in pole position

Remarketing is a clever way to reach past visitors to your website as it involves showing targeted ads to them. As this process allows you to gather interest after an initial enquiry, it tends to attract a high ROI. Just like Google AdWords, it’s based on a pay-per-click model so advertisers are only charged when leads return to your website.

Remarketing is often used in collaboration with a paid search campaign so that the investment in initial leads could still show interest and convert at a later stage. This also increases the ROI of your AdWords campaign at the same time.

A second bite of the cherry

One of the biggest concerns organisations have about remarketing is not wanting to scare potential customers away. Imagine leaving a store empty-handed because you didn’t see anything you wanted to buy but the sales person nevertheless followed you and talked to you about all the items you didn’t purchase but did show an interest in.

Consumers visit websites at least six times on average during the purchase process so you reap the rewards if your remarketing hits the spot.

Reconnecting with the past

What we’re seeing

The temptation to continue to track and promote beyond the point at which your prospects may be interested could be interpreted as online stalking. Beware of the pitfalls below when you’re encouraging visitors back to your website.

OVER TARGETING

We want our visitors to remember us but at what cost? You want users to remember you for the right reasons of being interested in what you have to offer, and to engage with your message. However, all too often we see banners following us around the internet. This can lead to companies alienating their target audience and irritating potential customers. Be sure to set a frequency cap on your adverts so you don’t bombard users. We recommend a frequency cap of 3-5 times a day. Remember, less is more!

Reconnecting with the past

FAILING TO EXCLUDE SENSITIVE CATEGORIES

When you choose to remarket to people once they have left your site, you don’t know what other websites these users will go on to visit. For example, an American firearms organisation targeted the keyword ‘shooting’ in YouTube however their adverts were displayed over a video of President Obama’s eulogy for nine shooting victims in the US. Although this is an extreme example, it shows the damage you can do to your brand if you don’t consider current social topics.

DISPLAYING A SHOPPING CART FULL OF ITEMS THE CUSTOMER MAY ALREADY OWN

The reason remarketing for retailers is especially powerful is you can display the exact products your visitors have looked at but have not yet purchased in a bid to tempt them back to their cart. However, marketers aren’t tracking purchases or abandoned shopping carts.

NO CLEAR CALL TO ACTION

Make sure your adverts give the user a clear idea of what you want them to do next. Marketers who don’t have clear calls to action find that click volumes can suffer and they miss the opportunity to attract the user back to the website.

FAILING TO UNDERSTAND USER BEHAVIOUR

It’s all to easy to adopt a blanket approach as marketers are always busy but don’t forget why you’re using remarketing and what its full capability really is.

Much more than just first impressions

Whilst there are some serious pitfalls to avoid, many organisations are reaping the rewards of running remarketing campaigns. Ensure you get in front of the right users at the right time with our 10 tips below.

WHAT COULD DAMAGE YOUR BRAND?

Consider any current social topics or political issues that you should stay away from. Are all the categories appropriate? If you ask these questions now, you’re much less likely to have encounters when your campaign launches.

USE SEGMENTATION

Audience segmentation is important. Not only will you waste your marketing spend if you serve up purchased goods, you’ll also put people off from returning to your site. It’s important to track if users have returned following their initial visit and converted in some way.

BE CONSIDERATE

Don’t bombard potential customers because if you do, they are much more likely not to convert. Set a frequency cap on your adverts.

CREATE CALLS TO ACTION

Make sure you define the action you want someone to take. It may be ‘Buy Now’, ‘Learn More’ or ‘Request a Demo’. By defining what you want the customer to do, you’ll be more likely to get the outcome your business wants.

Reconnecting with the past

CONSIDER USER BEHAVIOUR

If a potential customer views a page but doesn’t convert, think about why this might be and what might draw them back to that same page. Why not promote a sale or some other incentive using a segment from that page’s content?

AVOID MOBILE APP TARGETING

Remarket on larger screens and leave mobile users alone. According to Google, 50% of mobile ad clicks are accidental. Targeting customers on mobile apps will alienate and frustrate them, rather than encourage them.

IT’S ALL ABOUT TIMING

Your analytics may suggest that your customers are more active at the weekend. Make sure you use this useful information to customise your adverts.

Reconnecting with the past

REMEMBER YOUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS

It’s all too easy to concentrate on luring customers back. You must also keep a constant eye on the consumers you do have. Consider avenues of cross-selling and up-selling.

FIND THE RIGHT STRATEGY FOR YOU

There are several types of remarketing so find what works for your company. After all, there is more than one way to re-engage.

BE CREATIVE

Your ads need to be eye-catching because all too often consumers will ignore them altogether. How can you make them stand out against your competitors?

Be bold & be brave…

Marketers can get so worried about getting their remarketing campaign wrong, that they shy away from it altogether. However, the process is hugely successful for brand building and helping companies reach their sales objectives. Remarketing conversation rates increase over time whilst also being one of the cheapest sources of website traffic.

To learn about how Google display campaigns can help you achieve your goals and speed up the purchasing process, get in touch with us.

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