Have you ever noticed brands re-marketing ads to you while you browse online? They are the ads that seem to follow you around online wherever you go. However, do you actually know what these digital “re-marketing” ads are and what they are doing?
As the name implies, re-marketing ads, in its simplest form, is when you are shown ads for the same brand multiple times. However, not all ads you see over an over are necessarily re-marketing ads. Sometimes we see the same ads online often, but that doesn’t mean they are following you around on purpose. It could just mean someone is paying a lot of money to broadcast their brand. Whereas, digital re-marketing is when users are tracked and followed around by brands in order to show these users more ads intentionally. Many people don’t know how this is actually done. Read on to learn more about this digital marketing strategy, how it works, and if re-marketing is right for your business.
What Digital Re-Marketing Ads Actually Are
Brand re-marketing in the digital world takes the idea of showing the same user the same ads repeatedly one step forward. It is accomplished by actually identifying users who have already taken some sort of action, like visited your company’s website, and then showing them specific ads as they continue to surf the Internet. The actions that digital re-marketing ads focus on can vary from visiting a website, to more complex scenarios, like submitting a contact form, adding to carts, and/or even purchasing something online. This is done by placing a small snippet of code on your website that can identify users so they can be tracked by your re-marketing ad campaign. Because the user has already shown specific interest, the chances of them completing a sale (again) are assumed higher than those who have not shown this interest. Digital re-marketing is technically and intentionally following web users around after they have taken some sort of important step on your website, in order to re-market ads to them in hopes of re-capturing their attention & turning them into a (repeat) customer.
The strategy is to keep your brand “top of mind” while the consumer shops around online. Yes, it can be a bit annoying for some users. However, it can also be very effective for some businesses too! Why do big world-wide brands like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, etc. continue to show consumers ads despite already being well-known brands globally? Well, because it can pay to stay top-of-mind! Read on to learn more about digital re-marketing ads, and if they are right for your business.
Search Should Still Come First
In order for digital re-marketing ads to actually work after the piece of code is placed on your site, the website still needs to receive traffic! There are a variety of ways to drive traffic to a website. However, one of the most common ways people use the web is by searching for something using a search engine like Google. Having a strong search strategy should usually come first before any type of re-marketing is attempted. Strategies such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and/or Google Search Ads are both good starting points. Click the link below to learn about these two main search strategies, or keep reading to learn more about re-marketing ads and if they are right for your business.
READ: SEO vs. Google Ads (SEM) – Which Search Strategy Is Right For Your Business?
Are Digital Re-Marketing Ads Right For Your Business?
Some businesses may want to jump right into digital re-marketing ads after hearing about them. This makes sense as most businesses want to stay “top of mind” with their consumers, especially if they have already shown interest by taking a specific action. However, re-marketing ads will have a different kind of impact depending on a business’ sales cycle length.
Businesses with Short Sale-Cycles
Some businesses have very short-term sales cycles. For example; a woman needs some tow truck services right away. After doing some basic searches online (probably using Google), a tow truck service provider is found. She visits the website, gets in contact with the business, and the sale gets completed that same day. In this scenario, the importance of having a strong search strategy to originally drive traffic to your website is paramount. But following this user around the Web advertising towing services is not really necessary. Re-marketing businesses with shorter sales cycles won’t have the same affect compared to businesses with longer sale-cycles.
Businesses with Longer Sale-Cycles
Lets try another example; a consumer is looking for a new car, and starts searching online. They do some comparison shopping research, they visit multiple dealership websites, and view several cars on these sites. Then maybe a few days, weeks, or months later they finally decide to get in contact with dealerships for test-drives, and to eventually complete a sale. In this case, a dealership can use re-marketing to ensure that their dealership brand stays top-of-mind while the consumer continues their research and gets closer to finishing the sale (which can sometimes be quite a lengthy sale cycle). If, during those days/weeks/months, the consumer keeps seeing ads for the same dealership they had looked at previously (or better yet, ads for the exact same vehicle they were considering!), the chances of them choosing that specific dealership brand are higher because they are staying top-of-mind with the consumer. This is the general idea of a digital re-marketing ad strategy.
Digital Re-Marketing Illustration
Below we have a custom illustration produced by our design team to illustrate the idea of digital re-marketing ads. This should help give a better idea how it works, as well as the advantages of using re-marketing ads online to promote your business.
Custom Digital Re-Marketing Illustration
The Bottom Line on Digital Re-Marketing Ads
The evolution of advertising has made its way online, and with advancements in technology, some very cool strategies are now available to businesses. Brand re-marketing to consumers who have already taken key actions like visiting your business website is one of these tactics, and they can be extremely effective. This is especially the case for businesses with longer sales cycles (greater than 1 day) that require consumers to “think about things”, but it can also always be a good strategy to simply stay top-of-mind. We suggest you speak to a Caorda digital marketing expert to learn more about whether this strategy is right for you and your business. We hope you enjoyed the post. Thank you for reading.