Increase Your Small Business Sales with Retargeting Advertising

Have you ever visited a web page to consider purchasing a product and then later seen an ad for that same exact product pop up while visiting another site? If so, you’ve witnessed display retargeting.

Display retargeting is an advertising tactic that targets interested consumers and leads them to reconsider potential purchases. This tactic is an effective and inexpensive way to market your business on the Internet.

What is Retargeting for Small Business?

Retargeting allows your business to target website users with digital ads after they have left your online store. The goal of these ads is to remind the users how your product can address their specific needs and encourage them to return to your website to purchase this product. These ads are effective in reaching out and reminding potential customers about their prior interest in your business on the Internet and your products.

How does Small Business Retargeting Work?

There are two different methods of retargeting: pixel retargeting and list-based retargeting.

• Pixel retargeting works through JavaScript code, known as a pixel, that you place on your website. Each time a visitor views a page on your website, this pixel places an anonymous browser cookie in that user’s browser. Once they leave the page and browse other websites, this code will let your retargeting provider know that these visitors are interested in your product and they should start seeing corresponding retargeting ads.
• List-based retargeting allows small businesses to upload lists of existing customers and/or prospects and target specific ads to users with these email addresses. Once the list is uploaded, these specific users will begin to see your retargeting ads as they browse the Web.

Both of these methods are effective ways to keep current and potential customers interested in your small business offerings. It’s also a scalable, efficient method to drive business on the Internet.

Small Business Retargeting Tools

AdRoll is by far the most popular and widely used retargeting tool for small businesses. It offers mobile, Web, and social media retargeting to help small businesses engage, convert, and measure prospective customers and accelerate business growth. AdRoll provides small businesses with a designated account representative to provide specialized support. It is easy and inexpensive to use, making it an excellent tool for small businesses who have little to no experience with retargeting.

For more information about the different retargeting tools available, check out this article, 14 Retargeting Tools for Better Brand Awareness and Conversion. 

Tips to Consider When Retargeting

The following tips will help you make the most of small business display retargeting for your small business.

Segment Your Audience

Different types of visitors behave differently on your site, and the way that they behave often corresponds to their level of interest. Because of this, it’s important to segment your audiences so that you can target different users with ads corresponding to their level of interest.

For example, you may have two different Call to Action (CTA) buttons on a product page of your website:

1. Download a product case study

2. Add the product to your shopping cart

These two users are in different parts of the sales funnel. Users who click the first CTA are still in the educational phase, while users who click the second are ready to purchase the product. You should develop different ads for these two distinct groups that offer targeted information based on their past behavior.

Create High-quality Ad Content

It’s important to create high-quality content for your display retargeting campaigns. Here are a few tips to consider:

• Use compelling copy that serves a purpose: Your retargeting audience has already expressed interest in your business, so there is no need to include generic, introductory copy around your small business. Instead, use copy that addresses their hesitations and convinces them to reconsider purchasing a product or service from your business in a concise way.
• Showcase products that the user is interested in: If a user has already shown interest in a specific product, you should create ads that include imagery of that product. This will help remind them of their interest in your small business offerings.
• Include clear CTAs: Your ads should also include a clear and direct CTA so that users know to take the next step and return to your business on the Internet.
• Make sure that your ads are the right dimensions: The most common ad sizes are 300×250, 160×600, 728×90, and 300x600.

Analyze Your Data and Optimize

Be sure to set up goals for each of your retargeting campaigns so you can track success. A few common goals and corresponding metrics to track include:

• Brand Awareness: Impressions

• Engagement: Clicks

• ROI: Conversions and cost per conversion

Make sure to check your campaign metrics frequently and update your display ads based on their performance.

Conduct A/B Tests

There isn’t one specific ad format and design that will work for all audiences. Because of this, you may need to conduct an A/B test to see which type of ad performs best amongst your audiences.

In its most basic form, A/B testing is the process of testing two different versions of an element on a retargeting ad or landing page to understand which version performs better with a given audience so that the element can be optimized accordingly. Some examples of elements that you can test on a retargeting ad include headlines, imagery, CTAS, and size.

A/B testing allows small businesses to make data-driven decisions to improve their marketing activities and their bottom line. Retargeting is a great way to drive the traffic that your site deserves and to grow your online sales. Don’t be afraid to test out various different retargeting approaches—you may develop your most effective online advertising strategy yet.