What is retargeting and why is it an interesting traffic source for your brand? Retargeting is not new, it’s closely connected to the evolution of the internet. Despite of this, there are many brands that are not familiar with retargeting and that are not spending a part of their online marketing budget in it. In this article we will have an overview of what is retargeting and how it works.
Back in 1994, the first clickable ad campaign was displayed on the internet. Next to the raise of the internet websites, the concept of cookie appeared in 1995. In 1996, “Doubleclick” (Google) launched its automated ad Exchange using cookies to capture the behavioral data from users and in 1998 they introduced “Boomerang”, the first retargeting solution.
What is retargeting?
In a ideal world, every internet user that visits your website would land on your site, check the product/service you are offering, decide whether he is interested or not, and purchase your product or become a lead. But in reality, things don’t work like that. A big percentage of the visitors who land in your website don’t convert as expected, and here is where retargeting can help you.
There are many retargeting technologies available, like search retargeting, email retargeting, and CRM retargeting, but the most frequently used is site-based retargeting. Retargeting ads are displayed to users who have already visited your website or users in your database, but that didn’t convert into a sale or lead. On top of this, retargeting technology can identify which product/service those users were interested in and display the same or complementary ones in the ads, so it can also be used to cross-sell or up-sell. In some way retargeting ads remind users that they have been interested in a concrete product/service but didn’t purchased it, and gives the opportunity to complete the process by clicking the ad.
How does retargeting work?
When talking about site-based retargeting, there are two main types of retargeting:
- Pixel-based
- List-based
Pixel-based retargeting
When a visitor lands in your website, a piece of code (normally called “pixel” and written in JavaScript) is placed on his browser. This is what is more commonly known as a cookie. This cookie stores information like the site visited, but not sensitive information about the user. When this user leaves your website without converting as expected, that cookie will allow retargeting platforms to know when this user is visiting another site. In case there is an advertising space available, the retargeting platform will bid for it and display ads based on the product/service he was interested in from your website.
List-based retargeting
If you have a e-mail database of user that visited your site but didn’t converted, or users that already purchased and you would like them to repeat, list-based retargeting can be an interesting option. The way it works is that you upload the list of email addresses to a retargeting campaign and this will allow the retargeting platform to identify these users when visiting other websites and display your ads to them. This kind of retargeting offers the possibility to customize the ads based on the target users, since the list can be segmented according to multiple criteria.
We at Clicktron Media are working closely with the major actors of the retargeting industry and we can implement your campaigns in multiple geos. Don’t hesitate to contact us in order to start your first retargeting campaign!