Have you ever looked at a pair of sneakers online, then had ads for those sneakers follow you around the web? If so, you’ve seen Google Ads remarketing in action. Let’s say that after seeing the fourth or fifth ad for those shoes, you finally went back to the site to buy them. Then, you’ve seen the effectiveness of remarketing in action.
Remarketing helps you convert people who were maybe lukewarm about making a purchase. Like programmatic advertising, remarketing ensures your ads get in front of the right people at the right time. Let’s take a closer look at how it works and how it can help your brand make the most of Google Ads.
What Is Remarketing & How Does It Work?
Remarketing is an advertising practice that lets you show targeted ads to people who have already visited your site. Once visitors leave your site, they start to see ads for your brand, services, and products wherever they go online. An ad for your product might pop up while they’re watching a video on YouTube, or they may see a banner ad for your brand when reading a blog post or article online.
Remarketing, also known as retargeting, works thanks to cookies. Not those sweet treats people leave out for Santa, though. Cookies are little pieces of data that identify a user’s browser and computer. When you use remarketing, your initial effort would be to add a pixel or tag to your site. Whenever someone visits your site, the pixel puts a tracking code on their browser through cookies. The tracking code adds the visitors to specific audience lists, allowing you to serve up relevant ads to them across the internet.
Third-party cookies have been the foundation of retargeting ads for more than a decade. Companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon all use them for retargeting, as it allows them to differentiate between potential customers and existing customers. What you should be aware of is that there is a plan already in motion to get rid of Cookies for good – due to privacy concerns. Without this capability, businesses would lose the ability to tailor their offerings to the specific needs of different customers.
It’s easy to see why this technology has become so essential in today’s digital world. Luckily, Google is already moving in a new direction. Through the Privacy Sandbox initiative, Google is aiming to develop a set of open standards to fundamentally enhance privacy on the web. With this new initiative, Google is making it easier for developers to create web experiences that are more secure and private while maintaining the speed and effectiveness of their websites.
Remember, you can be as specific or general with your remarketing audiences as you want. The benefit of remarketing is that you already know what your audience is looking for, whether it’s a new kitchen appliance, pair of sneakers, or a dream vacation. Remarketing is an incredibly effective way to generate leads and connect with people who want whatever it is you’re selling.
Types of Remarketing
The beauty of remarketing is that you can get as granular or general as you want. The practice also lets you interact with past visitors based on where they visited your site and what they viewed on it. You can choose the types of remarketing to use based on your goals.
Standard
Standard remarketing lets you display ads to users who previously visited your website, then navigated away without buying anything. It’s a way to gently nudge past visitors toward a purchase.
Dynamic
Dynamic remarketing is the amped-up version. It reminds past visitors of your brand’s presence and goes a step further – it also shows them images of items they may have viewed or even added to their carts during their time on your site.
Email remarketing lets you make the most of your customer email lists. Start by adding your email lists to Google Ads. When your customers view websites while signed into Gmail or another Google account, they’ll see display ads from your brand.
Search Ads
Using remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) lets you customize your search campaigns based on a user’s past behavior, including whether they’ve visited your site in the past. RLSA sounds a lot like standard remarketing but is vastly different. For a user to see one of your ads when you use RLSA, they need to be actively searching on Google, using keywords you’re trying to rank for.
Mobile Apps
Mobile app remarketing is essentially dynamic remarketing but used with mobile apps. If someone uses your brand’s mobile app to do something, such as browse hotels, you can use mobile app remarketing to connect with them across other websites or apps, gently prodding them to complete their purchase or make a decision.
Video
Also known as YouTube remarketing, video remarketing lets you show personalized ads to people watching videos.
Google Ads Remarketing Campaign Setup
Remarketing might look intimidating initially, but once you’ve got a campaign setup and have done a few trial runs, it becomes a lot simpler. Zero Gravity Marketing is also here to help you figure out attribution models and the best way to set up a remarketing campaign.
The first step is to define your audience lists. You can target people who have visited your site, performed a specific action, such as placing items in a cart or browsing for certain products, or those who’ve spent a certain amount of time on the site.
Next, you need to turn on remarketing in your Google Ads account. From there, you can launch your first campaign. After it’s over, assess the results and make changes as necessary.
Power of Remarketing Banners
With remarketing banners, you can advertise to those past visitors by showing them targeted ads that appear in other parts of the internet that they visit. This will increase your conversion rates because it means the ads are being shown to those who are already familiar with your product or service and are more likely to convert when given the opportunity.
Remarketing amplifies the power of banner ads – while costing less than the typical Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign. If you have not seen the power of remarketing banner ads for yourself, get started today by working with a top-rated paid media marketing agency.
Contact ZGM for Google Ad Remarketing Tips
Does the thought of remarketing have your head spinning? Don’t worry, you don’t have to do it alone. ZGM is a Connecticut-based digital marketing agency that offers remarketing services. We’ll help you track down warm leads and turn on-the-fence visitors into customers. Contact us today to learn more.
