Why Retargeting is Essential to Your Digital Strategy
Do you ever wish you could follow your potential customers around – showing them products you know they’d love – until they finally make a purchase? With retargeting, your wish is a reality.
Retargeting, sometimes referred to as remarketing, is a form of online advertising. Simply put, this cookie-based technology allows you to convert “window shoppers” into buyers.
When a potential customer first visits your website, only about two percent of those shoppers make a purchase. The other 98 percent shop around, add something to the cart, and then leave before buying. Retargeting allows you to encourage that 98 percent of potential buyers to come back to your site and finish what they started.
How Retargeting Works
With retargeting technology, when a customer visits your site, a cookie is placed in their browser. This is like a code that allows your browser to track customers’ online activity. This doesn’t impact the consumers’ searches in any way. The cookie merely allows your retargeting vendor to place ads specifically on sites these potential customers visit in the future.
With this strategy, potential buyers constantly see your product, and your brand is always front of mind. This encourages buyers to go back to your site and complete the purchase they once thought about making.
Frequency is Key
You’ve almost certainly been a target of retargeting yourself. Have you ever searched for something like a new pair of shoes or a protein bar, and then had that same product pop up everywhere you go on the Internet? That’s retargeting.
The key to retargeting, and all advertising for that matter, is frequency. The more a potential buyer sees your product, the more likely he or she is to actually purchase it. You seldom purchase a product the first time you see it; Why expect your customers to be any different?
Placing a few, sporadic online advertisements is not enough anymore. Online shoppers are constantly bombarded with advertising everywhere they go, especially on the Internet. That’s why retargeting is an essential part of your digital campaign. With this strategy, you can advertise specifically to the customers that are already interested and far more likely to make a purchase. They’ve been to your site before. They’re clearly interested in what you have to offer. They just need something to push them over the edge. Repeatedly seeing advertisements for products they already want is the best way to do that.
Don’t let your potential customers leave with a full cart. Make sure you’re taking advantage of this technology, and turn your window shoppers into satisfied buyers.