What is remarketing?

Remarketing is a powerful digital advertising strategy that focuses on reconnecting with people who have already shown interest in your business. Imagine someone visits your website, browses a few products, but then leaves without buying anything. Remarketing allows you to show specific ads to that person as they browse other websites, social media, or even their email. The goal is to remind them of your brand, encourage them to come back, and ultimately complete a desired action, like making a purchase or filling out a form.

This re-engagement is made possible through tracking technologies like browser cookies or pixel tags. When a user visits your site, a small piece of code (the pixel) drops a cookie on their browser. This cookie then allows advertising platforms to identify that user and serve them your remarketing ads across various online channels. It's a way to keep your brand top-of-mind for an audience that's already familiar with you, making your advertising efforts much more efficient.

Why remarketing matters

Remarketing is a crucial component of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy because it focuses on a highly qualified audience. Unlike cold outreach, remarketing targets individuals who have already demonstrated some level of interest in your products or services. This often leads to several key benefits:

• Higher conversion rates: Visitors who see remarketing ads are often more likely to convert than new visitors because they're already familiar with your brand.
• Improved return on investment (ROI): Since remarketing targets warm leads, the cost per conversion is typically lower than for general prospecting campaigns, leading to better ad spend efficiency.
• Enhanced brand recall: Consistent exposure to your brand through remarketing helps keep you top-of-mind, building familiarity and trust over time.
• Personalized messaging: You can tailor ad messages based on specific actions users took on your site, making the ads highly relevant and compelling.

Types of remarketing strategies

There are several ways to implement remarketing, each suited for different scenarios and objectives:

Standard remarketing

This is the most common type, where ads are shown to people who have visited any page on your website. You can segment these audiences further, for example, by targeting all visitors to a specific product category.

Dynamic remarketing

Dynamic remarketing takes personalization a step further. If a user viewed specific products on your e-commerce site, dynamic ads can show them those exact products (or similar ones) in their remarketing ads. This highly relevant approach significantly boosts conversion potential.

Video remarketing

For businesses using video content, you can target people who have interacted with your YouTube videos or other video content. This is great for nurturing leads who have engaged with your brand's video storytelling.

Customer list remarketing

If you have a list of customer emails (e.g., from newsletter sign-ups or past purchases), you can upload these lists to advertising platforms. The platforms then match these emails to user accounts, allowing you to show ads to your existing customers or specific segments of your CRM.

Best practices for effective remarketing

To get the most out of your remarketing campaigns, consider these best practices:

• Segment your audience: Don't treat all past visitors the same. Create specific audience segments based on their actions, such as