Retargeting: a separate discipline in the online marketing world! It is a promising and frequently mentioned product among marketers, and it is becoming increasingly important in online marketing strategy. Alongside SEA and SEO, retargeting is being used more and more as an effective online marketing tool. And that is certainly justified, because the results speak for themselves.
However, the application of retargeting – also known as remarketing – is a sensitive issue and can have negative consequences if executed incorrectly. Many companies still use aggressive banners that chase visitors for months after they have visited the website. No consideration is given to the frequency of the advertisements or the possibility that a visitor may have already become a customer. This can be perceived as disruptive and negative.
I believe that if you set up a retargeting campaign correctly, there is little chance that the website visitor will view it negatively. In fact, it can prompt a visitor to take action and purchase a product after all. That is why I have gathered a number of tips for you on setting up an effective retargeting campaign.
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Okay, let's start at the beginning.
Retargeting involves re-engaging your website visitors via image or text advertisements on third-party websites. Visitors who have previously visited your website will see your advertisement on websites such as nu.nl or nos.nl. Essentially, these are the most qualified and interested visitors you could wish for.
Benefits of retargeting:
- You generate high-quality traffic;
- You can show a tailored message to a selected audience;
- The relevance of the banners is high, resulting in better results;
- Retargeting is cost-efficient because you advertise in a targeted manner;
- You create brand/product recognition, resulting in greater engagement;
- Relevant banners actually create a positive feeling – but be careful, advertise in moderation to avoid irritation.
Tips for retargeting
A solid strategy and good execution are necessary to run a retargeting campaign successfully. Therefore, I will give you a number of important tips for a successful campaign:
1. The right banner
Keep it simple
Ensure that the design and text are not too busy. Visitors decide in a fraction of a second whether or not to click on the banner. Too much visualization quickly becomes complicated, causing people to disengage.
AIDA and F- & Z-shapes
When designing the banner, make sure to consider the AIDA model and the F- and Z-shapes. The AIDA model is a marketing model consisting of four phases:
- Attention: In this phase, the online visitor's eye is drawn to the banner. A picture is often worth a thousand words! Therefore, it is better to use a photo than, for example, your logo.
- Interest: In this phase, the target audience's interest must be piqued. The visitor must feel that the message is relevant to him or her.
- desire: In this phase, the customer really needs to start wanting your product or service. Therefore, showcase the key selling points of the service, product, or company (USPs). Ensure that the unique features stand out.
- Action: Ensure that the visitor takes action now. Invite him or her to do what you want with the advertisement. This can be done, for example, by using phrases such as "Click here," "Reserve now," or "Do you want this too?"
We Western internet users are left-oriented and view banners and websites from left to right. We usually do this using an F-shape or a Z-shape. Therefore, incorporate the AIDA model into one of these shapes:
Size matters
Banners can be displayed in various places on websites. However, not every website offers the same dimensions for advertising space. I therefore recommend designing multiple banner sizes so that they can be displayed in several locations. These are the most commonly used sizes:
- Leaderboard: 728 x 90 pixels. Wide banners with limited height. Particularly suitable for incorporating longer text.
- Medium rectangle: 300 x 250 pixels. The square format makes the banner versatile; it offers many possibilities. The medium rectangle is often placed within pages and typically has a good CTR (click-through rate).
- Large retangle: 336 x 280 pixels. This is the big brother of the medium rectangle.
- Wide skyscraper: 160 x 600 pixels. Is often placed on the sides of websites.
2. Retargeting strategy
Varying bid, lifespan and displays
Every visitor views a website differently. Visitors who have only visited a website's homepage and then dropped off are less valuable than visitors who have visited more specific pages (such as a product page) and ultimately did not convert. It is wise to do something with this information. Where did they drop off in the purchasing process (the funnel)? The further someone is in the funnel, the more likely it is that he or she will make a purchase in the short term.
A successful retargeting campaign takes into account the various steps in the purchasing process. The bid and the campaign 'lifespan' are adjusted accordingly. For example, for the homepage, a long lifespan of several months is recommended with a relatively low CPM bid. CPM stands for cost per mille. Therefore, payment is not made per click, but per 1000 impressions of the image. If the visitor was already close to making a purchase, it is wise to increase the bid, but shorten the campaign lifespan to about a month. A CPM bid of €4 to €5 can be considered average in this case.
- Home Page: low bid, long lifespan
- Product page: average bid, average lifespan
- Shopping cart: high bid, short lifespan
The final product is also important for the lifespan. When searching on a flower website, the lifespan of the campaign may be shorter than if you have a website that sells cars.
It is wise to exclude visitors who have already made a purchase and visited the thank-you page. This ensures that visitors who have visited the '/thankyou' page are no longer confronted with the banners.
My tip is to limit the number of impressions. Good results can be achieved with retargeting, but avoid showing ads to the same visitor too often. There are several ways to set a maximum based on the number of impressions, also known as a frequency cap. You can choose a maximum number of impressions per day per user, or a specific period during which the ad is displayed. Advanced platforms often use automatic optimization, meaning less is bid on the CPM of your ad if the user has already seen it frequently. Be sure to take advantage of this! This prevents unnecessary expenses and user irritation.
Possibilities with retargeting
If visitors are well segmented, there are many interesting opportunities to start using and deploying retargeting:
- Create top-of-mind: By using retargeting, it is possible to get your brand top-of-mind with the customer, and customer loyalty can be stimulated through promotions. Use original images that ensure the customer remembers the advertisement.
- Improving consumer experience: Through retargeting, you can focus on the aftercare of the product or service. Consider approaching customers based on their recent purchases and focusing on service. For instance, you can contact customers with questions about the purchased product ("Are you still satisfied?") or inform them that they can contact the company with any questions. The potential spin-off from this can be priceless!
- Cross-selling or upselling: Visitors who have converted can be excluded from the campaign. But why wouldn't you convince this visitor of a matching product or accessory?
- Reviews: If you want to collect reviews from customers who have purchased your product, retargeting is a handy method. You can display an advertisement to converted visitors with a 'trigger' to leave a review.
- Actions: With a promotion, you can easily draw more attention to your banner and website and increase the number of conversions.
3. Improve CTR with retargeting
The click-through ratio is the ratio between the number of clicks on a banner and the number of impressions of that banner. By way of illustration: the click-through ratio is 100% when the banner is clicked as often as the frequency with which it is displayed.
A/B testing with different campaigns
It is important to have different campaigns so you can test what works better. Experiment with different colors, visuals, and text. Which text performs better? Is it better to use question marks or exclamation marks? Which colors are the most appealing? By conducting these A/B tests and optimizing well-performing campaigns, the final CTR will increase.
Humor helps
When a campaign has been running for a while, the final CTR can drop over time. Most people have already seen the advertisement and have become immune to it, so to speak. Try using different advertisements and incorporate humor! A humorous approach can help shake your audience awake again.
Dynamic banners
The use of dynamic banners significantly increases the CTR. The dynamic banners load the products that potential customers have just viewed in the webshop. The product that has been clicked a few times but not yet purchased reappears in the potential buyer's view. By re-showing previously viewed products, the CTR increases considerably.
4. Improve conversions
Relevant landing page
When people click on the banner, it is important that they land on a page that meets their expectations. Are you advertising a specific product? Then ensure that the visitor lands on a specific page. Are you using certain color settings or images in the banner? Then make sure this style is reflected on the landing page.
Retrieve abandoned shopping carts
On average, 67% of all online shopping carts are abandoned without checking out. There are several reasons why customers abandon their shopping carts prematurely. The three main reasons for this are:
- Unexpected additional costs;
- I was just looking around;
- I found a better price somewhere else.
How can you use retargeting to persuade these cart abandoners or other near-converts to convert after all? You can do this with the help of the following tips:
- A short lifespan, high CPM bid
Visitors who have filled a shopping cart but still left the site are often already in the final stage of the purchasing process. If they do not buy the product on the website, they will likely do so at a competitor in the short term. Therefore, it is best to choose a short period while simultaneously setting a high bid per CPM. This ensures the image is shown more frequently to the important group of abandoners.
- Emphasize no/low shipping costs
One of the main reasons for abandoning the shopping cart is unexpected extra costs, such as shipping costs. Use retargeting to make it clear that there is indeed an attractive offer regarding shipping costs, such as free shipping above a certain amount.
- Emphasize prices in advertisement
Online shoppers are often price-conscious and will stop shopping when they see a lower price elsewhere. Therefore, display a price in the advertisement if possible.
- Redirect to the converting page
Visitors who have filled their shopping cart sometimes decide to complete their purchase at a later time. It is therefore always advisable to retain the shopping cart cookie for longer. Visitors who have abandoned the shopping cart and click on the advertisement at a later time can return directly to the filled shopping cart or another converting page.
Use retargeting!
Retargeting can offer many benefits, provided it is used correctly! Pay close attention to exactly what you want to achieve with your campaign and avoid an overkill of banners. With this article, I have provided you with a number of tools for setting up a working retargeting campaign, but I can imagine that you still have plenty of questions. Our internet marketers have extensive experience setting up retargeting campaigns and would be happy to see what they can do for you. So, would you like to know more about using retargeting successfully and effectively? Feel free to contact us. contact via the contact form or by calling 0575 512 125.
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