How many times have you been browsing an online shop – either out of curiosity or necessity – and wound up not buying anything, only to have items follow you around the Internet, popping up in banner ads on other sites? This is a technique known by many names: Wikipedia calls it behavioral targeting, Google calls it remarketing and various companies refer to it as search retargeting, but a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; no matter what you call it, search retargeting is changing the landscape of internet marketing.
Retargeting has existed for years but its current incarnation was introduced to the web relatively recently and has gained popularity and widespread appeal in the past few years. The idea behind retargeting is a simple one: the more times an ad is viewed, the higher the chance that the product will be sold. Whereas in the real world, you might hear an ad for a casino on the radio twenty times before deciding to go gamble, the Internet is rife with distractions and has to show you something extra times before you’re moved to purchase.
How does it Work?
Retargeting uses information collected from the user during their browsing session to determine what type of ads to display for them. Basically, when a user arrives at an online storefront a piece of code is attached to their IP address. This code keeps track of any items they browse in the store, and if the user leaves the site without making a purchase, those items can be presented to them again elsewhere on the internet, essentially acting as a reminder a la, “Hey, remember those satin shoes you wanted? We still have them and there are only three pairs left!”
In a nutshell, retargeting offers marketers multiple chances to convert already interested browsers (what the industry calls “hot leads”) into buyers. The benefit is two-fold: the company gets a chance to recoup these fence-sitters and those fence-sitters get more relevant ads ideally leading to the purchase of items they wanted all along.
Why it Works
Internet shoppers are notoriously flighty; it’s easy to build a shopping cart and even easier to close the browser like it never happened. While some sites may be able to convert on the first visit, most consumers need two, three or seven exposures to an ad before they finally decide to commit. This is the case with almost all marketing. Retargeting directly addresses this statistical trend, and delivers results.
Success stories abound from businesses that were once wary about the effectiveness of search retargeting. You can often boost ROIs by better conversion ratios, better ad targeting, and better branding. Your online presence is magnified and oftentimes at a lower rate than pay-per-click campaigns.
With that said, retargeting isn’t likely to succeed on its own. While it works well with other marketing initiatives, it is no substitute for them. Maintaining an aggressive display advertising strategy that infuses retargeting is a solid plan for any online retailer looking to recapture potential revenue from the Internet’s many window shoppers.
