Retargeting with Google can be a powerful marketing tool. A new study from Marin Software looked at the challenges marketers face in Google Remarketing Lists for Search Ads, and came up with some actionable advice.
The study gathered 223 enterprise marketers and inquired about their retargeting practices and techniques. To be clear, marketing retargeting is when you create campaigns that market to customers who already visited your website but didn’t end up buying anything. Using search data and intent data, marketers can use Google RLSA to create campaigns tailored in a variety of ways to turn those leads into sales.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the study:
Everyone’s Doing It
The study found that the vast majority of those marketers, 88 percent to be exact, are already using remarketing techniques and 56 percent of them are planning on using them in the future. If you haven’t created your own retargeting campaigns, you might consider it. Remarketing is proven to yield positive ROI with higher CTR and lower CPA.
Search Retargeting Is Most Common
Of all the different types of retargeting that marketers use search is the most common. Search retargeting involves creating campaign lists based on search query. For example, you could create a marketing list that targets users who searched for a specific product. The campaign would then target people who use those search terms with content and ads that drive them back to website.
Understanding the Many Challenges
There are still roadblocks to overcome in the world of remarketing. Transparency, attribution, and list volume make up the three main problems that marketers face. Determining how effective their retargeting campaigns really are comes down to algorithms and lift tests. Those methods can show how much credit to attribute to their retargeting efforts and thus have an idea for how effective they are.
List volume comes down to the total number of users targeted in their campaigns. It seems to be a continuing problem both in quantity and quality, except for when it comes to display and social channels.
Transparency problems mostly lie in not being sure if ads were actually viewed. Click fraud is also a problem that can skew results.
Best Practices?
Marin Software recommends using intent data to target strong leads, and to discern leads that aren’t even worth following. Intent data can help you identify the right creative elements, the right messages, in order to produce the desired results.
Marin also recommends using intent data to create user personas. By doing this you can figure out exactly what type of customers you want to target, and how to tickle their buying bones. You can then leverage this information to create more effective campaigns.
Retargeting is Growing Because it Works
Trends indicate that marketers are increasing spending on retargeting campaigns, and they are doing so because it works. UK-based Watchfinder Clocks, for example, created a Google RLSA campaign and not only increased online sales but also drove more customers to its boutique in the London Royal Exchange. The ROI on this campaign turned out to be an astounding 1300 percent.
Retargeting is one more way that a company can generate sales leads and grow its profits. Savvy marketers would do well to learn the intricacies of Google RLSA, and commence their own retargeting campaigns.
Main image via Searchenginejournal
