How to Convert Visitors to Customers with Re-targeting Campaigns? 

 

For the majority of e-commerce platforms, one of the primary concerns is the high bounce rate and the low conversion rate from website visitors. Results from some studies reveal that 98% of the visitors leave the website without converting and only 2% of the traffic converts on the first visit. This indicates that there is a very high percentage of users who interact with your website but do not make a purchase on their first visit. 

The most reliable way to drive these visitors back to your website and convert them is through ‘Re-targeting’. It is a form of digital advertising that helps you keep your business at the forefront of bounced traffic after they leave your website. 

What Are Re-targeting Ads and Why Should You Use It?

The extensive investment and efforts put in drawing traffic to the website will go in vain if the visitors do not convert. This is where re-targeting comes into play. 

Re-targeting ads increase the regular click-through rate by 76% than general display ads. It is a strategy to capture the attention of the ‘window shoppers.’ Each time your ad is advertised to customers, brand awareness increases while maintaining the product memory. 

After Google Search Ads, re-targeting is the most significant ad campaign that you must run. Constructing an effective drip marketing strategy is only possible with re-targeting ads. 

 

Re-targeting operates by adding JavaScript codes to your web pages. Every time a user visits your site, it drops an anonymous browser cookie, which then works on tracking the user as they browse online. Whenever this user lands on another site with the same ad network provider as you, they start seeing your re-targeting ads. You can own different snippet codes and tailor your ads based on the action completed by the user. This will significantly increase the conversion chance. Criteo is one of the most top-notch re-targeting platforms that can be leveraged to achieve a personalized shopping experience.

What Are the Best Practices for Re-targeting?

1. Timing is fundamental: There are different factors to consider based upon the phase of the customer journey - 

1. 1. Time difference between the first visit and the first ad 
   2.  Frequency of ads.

For instance, if a particular shopper adds a commodity to cart and does not finish the transaction, they would be instantly re-targeted with discount coupons as the intent to buy is stronger. 

Considering category behavior is also very important. For example- people shopping luxury products can be targeted later while those buying for travel purposes can be targeted immediately,  as the consideration stage is more drawn out for the former. A frequency cap must be set to avoid over-exposure. This ensures that you avoid displaying too many ads which could end up annoying a potential customer.

2. Structure of campaign: Defining the goals is the first step in structuring campaigns - whether it is awareness or conversion goal. This depends on where the visitor lies in the marketing channel. You should structure your campaign according to the engagement. 

a. Awareness campaigns - This goal can act as the precursor to conversion campaigns, directed to the ones that have had      minimal interaction with your website. The key focus should be on delivering the value you offer as a brand. The key metrics considered here would be impressions and engagement.

 

 b. Conversion campaigns - All the information required to make a particular decision should be provided to the users. This can be done with a precise call-to-action strategy that leads them to a specific landing page. For example, if a user had visited the product page earlier, it shows a certain level of interest. Highlighting key benefits in the re-targeting ad and elaborating on how it caters to the user’s needs on the landing page will be very beneficial. Specific actions such as website clicks, form submission, or cost-per-lead will define the success of conversion campaigns. Once the goals are defined, you can work on segmenting users based on behavior.  Use information like age, gender, interests, and location to build qualitative user profiles, narrow your targeting  areas, and optimize ad expenses.  3. Target existing customers: Various platforms provide you with the option to target customers up to a significant number of days after their visit. For instance- Google provides you with a window to target a user up to 540 days after their last visit on your website while Facebook provides a window of up to 180 days. 

You can utilize this window to re-engage with old customers for new product launches, time-bound offers, and shopping events. For instance, when conducting clearance sales or launching upgraded versions of older products, you can target consumers who have purchased your products in the past and have a greater brand affinity.  4.Know the limit: It is very crucial for you to determine the path and limit of your campaign. Re-targeting a user who is not interested in your product is a complete waste of your efforts and marketing budget. You should also transfer those customers who have already completed a purchase to a separate campaign. 

This campaign can include other goals such as up selling or cross-selling to avoid spending ad money on already achieved actions. To pause ads for such visitors, you can use burn snippets, which eliminates converted users as well as those who did not click on the ad after a predefined number of impressions.  

Re-targeting ads strategy or Search Engine Marketing Strategy is an essential step towards improving your in-store conversions. It offers website owners an opportunity to make hyper-focused, data-driven decisions to convert casual browsers into customers. By using the aforementioned steps you can significantly notch up your conversion rate and increase your sales.

About the Author: 

Kiran Patil is the founder and CEO of Growisto, an E-commerce marketing and technology company based out of Navi Mumbai. He has 16+ years of experience in e-commerce, phone commerce, and digital marketing. Growisto helps brands & private labels to grow their businesses on platforms such as Amazon and their own website. Kiran is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and has worked with companies like Evalueserve and Future group before starting his entrepreneurial venture. His personal interests include traveling, cycling, and trekking. His work has been featured in Entrepreneur, Business2Community, Yourstory, Inc42, Indian Retailer, and many others.

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