How to Convert Window Shoppers with Google Remarketing

With summer upon us, I was recently in the market to buy a tent for an upcoming camping trip. The requirements for the tent were:

• Easy to set up
• Durable enough to withstand the elements
• Spacious enough to accommodate four people without feeling cramped

Before settling on a brand, I began researching tents on my smartphone. I read several product reviews, and visited sporting goods websites to compare prices. I also watched YouTube videos to witness the ease of tent set up. After several days of research, I narrowed the list down to two options and finally made a purchase on my laptop. I also bought a camp stove, lantern, and other gear.

According to Google, this shopping behavior is considered typical:

• 93% of people, who use mobile to research, go on to complete a purchase of a product or service
• 96% of shoppers won’t make a purchase on their first visit to a site
• 49% of customers visit two to four websites before they decide on which item to buy
• 70% of remarketed customers are more likely to make a purchase and spend close to 50% more than the average online shopper

Savvy marketers know that to convert today’s online shoppers they must rely on a technique referred to as remarketing.

What is Remarketing?

Remarketing requires a tag on specific pages of a website, which then places cookies on the browser of someone who visits your website. Marketers can utilize Google to target those users, who have visited specific pages of the site, with unique ads during subsequent Google searches or on other websites that are part of the Google Display Network.

How to Leverage Remarketing?

How you choose to set up your remarketing campaign depends on your business goals and the types of customers that you are trying to reach. Here are some simple strategies to get started.

1) List Segmentation – The most basic way to create a remarketing list is tag all site visitors. A broad list can be further segmented based on specific marketing objectives. For example, utilize a list to re-engage visitors who abandoned a shopping cart. Or, create a list of converted customers and target them with similar or ancillary product offers. Non-converters could be added to a list and remarketed in the coming hours and days or blocked from seeing your ads.

2) Customize Ad Copy – Since site visitors have already shown an interest in your product or service, develop customized ads to promote a specific product, feature complementary products, or create a special exclusive offer.

3) Bid Adjustments – You can also adjust your bidding strategy by audience. For example, someone who has already visited your site is probably farther down the sales conversion funnel than someone who is just beginning their search. Therefore, you can increase your revenue and ROI by bidding more aggressively to your remarketing lists than your regular search campaigns.

4) Broaden Keywords – Expanding keywords can help increase conversions by getting ads in front of a wider audience. With remarketing, you can drive conversions from new searches by bidding higher on generic keywords, or by changing existing keywords from narrower match types to broader match types. When targeting past site visitors, choosing a broader keyword match type can help you improve your campaign performance.

How to Set Up Your Remarketing Campaign

Setting up a remarketing campaign is easier than it seems.

The first step is to place the Adwords remarketing tag, a small snippet of code, on your site. To get the tag in Google AdWords, go to Shared library and Audience, click on the Tag details button, and select the Set Up button, and then click the link View Adwords tag for websites. For mobile campaigns, click on the link View Adswords tracking ID for mobile apps. Follow the instructions to receive your remarketing code and paste it into every page of your website.

Go to the Audiences page in the Shared library and click the + REMARKETING LIST button.

When the settings page opens, name your remarketing list, choose the platform (websites or mobile apps), and then select which past site visitors to include on your list. Choices include:

• Visitors of a page
• Visitors of a page who do not visit another page
• Visitors of a page who did visit another page
• Visitors of a page during specific dates
• Visitors of a page with a specific tag
• Custom combination

Once you have selected a page for your remarketing list, copy the URL and paste it into the rule box. Here you can choose if the URL contains that specific URL only or includes the Referrer URL. With the check box below, you can decide if you want to include past visitors who match these rules.

After you paste the URL, you can choose additional business rules for your URL using a variety of parameters.

Next, choose the Membership duration. When you create a remarketing list, you can decide how long a visitor’s cookie stays on your list. For remarketing lists for search ads, the maximum membership duration is 180 days; on the Google display network, the duration can range from one to 450 days. Google recommends a membership duration that’s similar to the length of your sales cycle. The final step is to save your campaign set up.

Conclusion:

• When it comes to convincing the people who visit your site to take action and convert, one visit is typically not enough. With remarketing, you get another chance to bring shoppers back to close the deal. However, use frequency capping so ads don’t annoy visitors.

• Remarketing lets you tag and segment past site visitors and deliver relevant ads for search and display campaigns based on the actions people have taken on the site.

• Real-time bidding with remarketing helps you reach customers across thousands of websites in the Google Display Network and determines where they will best respond to your ads, and automatically tailor your bids accordingly.

• Wherever your past site visitors are searching on your keywords or browsing on the Google Display Network, you’ll be able to reach them with search, display and mobile web ads with customized messaging, relevant products, and targeted offers.

For more information or help with your Digital Strategy, call Kona Company at (312) 620-2449 or contact us online.