Remarketing Audiences You Can Brilliantly Target with PPC

Recently one of my PPC clients shared with me that their new customer had been thinking about working with their company and had then suddenly seen ads for their company everywhere. “It’s a sign I should work with you!” they had exclaimed.

Now it would be wonderful to think we can all land new clients because the heavens will give them a “sign” to work with us, but it’s a bit more complex than that. When my client’s new customer researched their company online and then saw ads for them, it wasn’t a coincidence or a “sign” – it was part of a skillful PPC strategy.

That PPC strategy is called remarketing (aka retargeting). It keeps your brand in front of customers after they’ve visited your site or somehow engaged with your company.

A bit of code called a pixel allows companies to follow visitors online after they’ve left their site. By tracking website visitors, companies can display ads on other sites they visit. For example, if you visit ABC Widget’s website, and if they’ve got a retargeting strategy, you’ll probably see them pop up in ads on Facebook.

Remarketing the 98%

It’s a well-known industry stat that only 2-4% of visitors to your site will convert on the first visit. That makes remarketing an essential part of a comprehensive marketing plan to boost conversions. Remarketing is a tactic that targets the 96-98% of visitors who haven’t converted.

Studies show that visitors who see your remarketing ads are 10 times more likely to click on them and 70% more likely to convert once they’re on your site.

Remarketing with PPC is instrumental for ecommerce sites who want to reduce bounce rates and cart abandonment and is also key for B2B by staying in front of leads during longer buying cycles.

Targeting Your Remarketing Audiences

One size does not fit all in PPC remarketing, so a key component is speaking the language of your different types of potential customers to entice them to convert. You do this by segmenting your audience.

I’ve broken down the various types of audiences you can segment to maximize the success of your remarketing campaign.

Researchers

You can remarket to your audiences that are in the research phase and aren’t committing to taking action yet. By looking into your analytics, you can target this audience by how long they’ve spent on your site and what pages they’ve landed on.

Another way to target this audience is by site searches. What have they been looking for on your site?  You can tailor your remarketing ads based on what they’ve been searching for.

Blog Readers

Your blog readers can give you insight into what part of your messaging is resonating with people. You can adapt your ad strategy based on which blog posts have gotten the most visits, comments and likes.  

YouTube Viewers

Similar to your blog readers, your viewers on your YouTube channel are your dedicated fan base. What videos are most watched, liked, and commented on? Build your messaging around what topics or interests have appealed to your video viewers to show them your brand is what they’re looking for.

Intent Stage

This is those category of people who are really close to converting but just need a little extra encouragement to take the plunge. Targeting your audience who is in the intent stage addresses abandoned carts, product page visitors and sales page visitors. Through offering special incentives like coupons, discount codes and special offers, they’re more likely to hit the buy button.

Previous Converters

Don’t forget your audience who’s previously converted. Previous buyers are more likely to come back to your site, especially if you sweeten the deal with incentives like rewards or loyalty programs.

A Note About Remarketing Best Practices

I’ve written before about calibrating the frequency of your ads so you’re not overwhelming your audience, but also not getting lost in all the online noise. Too much and you can come across as a creepy online stalker; too little and you won’t see much return for your efforts.

It can be a fine line between “too much,” “too little,” and “just right,” so advertisers take special note of factors such as your audience and time frames when planning a remarketing strategy.

And no remarketing strategy is successful without a strong clear call-to-action. The best-performing remarketing campaigns use assertive calls-to-action to increase clicks and conversions.

The bottom line is, If you’re not using remarketing, your PPC campaign is missing out.

Share Your Thoughts

Is retargeting part of your online advertising strategy, or are you thinking about implementing it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.