Have you visited a website and left without buying anything only to see an advertisement on Google from that very same website? Eery isn’t it. Then you go another site that has advertising only to see another advertisement from that previous site. You think, this is getting downright weird. I’m not sure if you should be alarmed or not. What you are being exposed to is known as Retargeting in the online marketing world. The theory is that since you visited BestBuy.com for example, you have a shown a predisposition to Best Buy. Google and others believe therefore that if you are shown ads from Best Buy you will be inclined to act on that message more than someone who has not been to BestBuy.com. You have been retargeted. It is possible to do this because coding known as cookies are dropped into your browser from the Best Buy site which are then “read” by search engines and ad networks who then deliver ads to you based on those cookies.
An easier explanation would be an example from the offline world. Let’s say you went shopping for furniture. The first store you visited placed an electronic device on your car while you were in the store. This electronic device was then activated by the store manager once you left without purchasing that nice leather sofa you had been interested in. You drive a few blocks and all of the sudden an advertisement on the radio is from that same furniture store disclosing a sale price on that very same leather sofa! Viola! You are back in the store buying the sofa!
Retargeting can be a very effective method to capture a customer who has been to your site but didn’t purchase.
Some facts about retargeting
Forrester Research predicts that spending on display advertising will represent 36 percent ($27.6 billion) of overall interactive marketing spend by 2016.
Used improperly, your brand appearance can become irritating or even appear intrusive.
Targeting your subscriber for longer than a week is highly irritating for your viewers and wastes your marketing budget.
(the above are from ClickZ.com)
The bottom line is that retargeting done correctly can be very successful. Please give me a shout for more information on retargeting or to discuss how a retargeting program can help you.
