Re-marketing is a practice that truly works to encourage a person to click on the banner ad. Google paid advertising (Google Adwords) has the ability to use the new remarketing advertising, more commonly known as retargeting. You should try it out. After it’s set up, you add a small code snippet on your page(s).
Think of this scenario:
You’re on a website and you see a banner ad for a free eBook about being more environmentally friendly. This is something, which appeals to you so you click on the link, get the eBook and you move on with your life. Then you decide to go to another website for another reason, only to find that same banner or a banner from the same company. That advertisement stays on your mind a bit more. And you’re seriously considering clicking on it again to see what it might have to offer you.
But, again, you move onto what you were doing and you don’t click.
You go to another website and you see the banner again. You’re thinking about clicking it this time and you do so. You read the site and you end up making a purchase.
At first, this can sound like a banner ad that is stalking its customers, and to a certain extent, this is the case. But in reality, this is a form of marketing that helps customers who want to find out more information, but they don’t necessarily want to learn that information right now.
Re-marketing – the practice of marketing again and again to a customer, increasing your chances that they will make the purchase and you will earn profits. And once this system is setup and in place, you can walk away and watch it work for you.
Web surfers would be annoyed, no?
A lot of people who first hear of re-marketing are a bit skeptical because this doesn’t sound any different than the annoying banner ads of the past. This just sounds like a situation in which a person will become so irritated that the ad is ‘following’ them that they will avoid the company from that point on. Not so.
Here’s what usually happens.
You go to a site for something and you find a banner ad that intrigues you. You click it or you don’t click it, but either way, it’s intrigued you and it’s made you want to learn more. You don’t bookmark it, but you think that if it’s really important you will remember it later.
Most of us don’t remember what we’ve seen, though. We might remember the item, but in a few weeks or days, we’ve completely forgotten where we saw it and how we could get back to it. That’s frustrating, especially when it was a good deal. In order to go back to that item, you might spend countless hours or days trying to relive the initial surfing that brought you to the site in the first place.
With re-marketing, you don’t have to do this. You will click on a site, see the ad, and then if you express interest in the ad, you will see it again. Note that this is a system that only occurs when a person has expressed interest.
- Image by skampy via Flickr
Banner ads are not dead.
Yes, banner ads were thought to be the scourge of Internet marketing. And they were created at first just to get attention, any attention. While this might have worked when the Internet was bright and shiny, as people have become more educated about the Internet and how to use it, it’s become smarter to use advertising in a smarter way – as in re-marketing.
Instead of simply creating the boldest banner ads possible, smart marketers are looking to create banner ads that are enticing with smart copy and a call to action. In doing this, people will begin to take notice, without even realizing it’s marketing at work.
Banner ads are now seen as shortcuts to good offers. Though there are certainly some banner ads that are just as frightening to watch as ever, you may have already noticed that many of these advertisements are now perfectly tailored to your needs and to your shopping history. For example, you might have been at a site for golf shoes and then noticed a banner for golfing supplies a few hours later. Seems like magic, but it’s actually re-marketing at work.
Banner ads actually offer a few benefits that other advertising tactics do not:
- Image by @superamit via Flickr
- They’re more descriptive
When you’re looking to create a banner ad, you only have so much space, so you need to be as descriptive as possible in that space. With the right writer or ad creator, you will be able to grab the interest of someone viewing the ad immediately. - They’re more enticing
Banner ads look better than a simple PPC advertisement. They can be full color, have movement in them, etc. - They’re shortcuts
Instead of having to read a long list of search engine listings, you can already be on a website and see relevant banner ads off to the side. This will help you to get to where you want to go more quickly. - They’re NOT spam
While newsletters and email lists are still being used; they often get tossed in the spam pile, even if they’re offering something really special. - They’re creative
You can be as creative as you like in a banner ad, depending on your skills or the skills of the professional you have hired. You can make it look like text ads, and/or use text ads directly. You should test this. - They can be targeted to an audience
With many online tools, you can ensure that your banner ads are targeted to a specific audience who has already expressed an interest in the content of the advertisement.
What do you think about re-marketing? Have you tried it? Do you think it’s cheating the customer or visitors? Too much?
Helpful tools to start:
Google Remarketing
Perfectaudience.com
Adroll.com
Retargeter.com
Criteo.com
Related articles t0 remarketing and retargeting
- comScore Study Says Ad Retargeting Generates Strongest Lift (marketingpilgrim.com)
- Study: Ad ‘retargeting’ best at brand building (sfgate.com)
- On Retargeting: Fix The Conversation (battellemedia.com)
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Entrepreneur Magazine says Jon Rognerud is one of the most sought-after Digital Marketing Experts. His clients extend from high-end brands and middle-tier businesses in both B2B and B2C. His SEO website optimization book, "The Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Your Website" from Entrepreneur Press is in bookstores now.