For organizations that convert sales through their websites, digital advertising can be a powerful way to drive online users to your products. Most online ads target new customers and bring them to your website for the first time. However, the path to buying is not always linear.

In a perfect world, online ads would attract customers to your website, where they would educate themselves about the company and the different products to buy a product that suits them. In reality, buyers need time to think about making a purchase. They click through websites quickly and spend more time viewing what is most interesting to them. They often leave the website soon after and forget to return again.

Retargeted advertisements are online advertisements displayed to people who have already visited your website, have searched for similar products, or are already a contact in your database. This audience is already aware of your website and has likely already browsed particular products. This is a great audience to target because they do not need as much time to think about making a purchase and marketers have the opportunity to deliver hyper-relevant content based on their past interactions with your website. Retargeting allows marketers to choose their own budget and constantly adjust tactics based on the data.

How Does Retargeting Work?
There are three main types of retargeting: list-based, search-based, and pixel-based. List-based retargeting can most easily be defined as already having a list of pre-vetted contacts, which can be uploaded to platforms, like Facebook. This allows marketers to serve ads just to these contacts, which can be much more tailored than generic ads.

Search retargeting advertises on platforms like Google to users based on a recent web search related to your products. This type of retargeting does not require the audience to have visited your website or contacted your company before. However, they have proactively searched for similar products and are therefore likely to be interested in your products.

Pixel-based retargeting advertises to users who have already visited your website. It is very easy to set up; just place a pixel, which is a small snippet of code, on the back end of your website. The pixel places cookies in the browsers of website visitors and tracks their behavior. When they leave your website, your ads are displayed on the websites they visit afterward.

These ads can be hyper-relevant and display the exact products they have been viewing. This is a great tool to remind people to return to your website once they have given some thought to buying the product. It also provides data from Google Analytics or the platform itself, which can be used to further personalize each ad. Additionally, you can choose how often ads are displayed, which website pages should trigger ads, and which geographic locations or demographics to target.

Consider Your Goals for Your Retargeting Campaign
Think about whether your goal is to increase sales or increase awareness of your brand. There are several retargeting platforms available with different options and features. Some focus more on web campaigns, which are great for serving a lot of impressions and increasing brand awareness. Others offer social media campaigns, which can achieve high engagement from the audience. If you are already running digital campaigns that drive traffic to your website, retargeting can be a great addition and give your sales an extra boost.