Have you heard of ‘Search retargeting’?

If you have not yet heard of this new mantra in online advertising it is time for a quick crash course on it.

So first, what is ‘Retargeting’?

Retargeting or ‘’leadback’’ as it is commonly know is when customers who have already shown an interest in a particular product, service etc. are specifically targeted for online advertising. Online advertisers recognize the higher potential of conversion in such customers and therefore specifically identify and target them for future advertising.

For example: As you might have already observed in the past, when you visit a website to shop for something, say clothes, you may not actually purchase anything. The next day you might then observe that when you are going through your usual news pages that the coat or dress you looked up on the shop yesterday magically shows up on your web page along with the online retailers branding. This in turn might prompt you to go back to the shop and buy that coat you checked out yesterday.

This is digital marketing at its best. Effectively this means that a customer’s passing interest in a product, brand etc. has been captured and subsequently converted into a sale. Even when the user / customer does not purchase anything the very next day the online retailer can still target the customer for future advertising, messaging etc. and eventually have a sale.

How does this work?

Technically this is achieved by putting an anonymous cookie on the user’s computer. This is done when they visit and interact with your website or click on your ads. This cookie can later be recognized by the local advertising network or a server and immediately trigger it to place relevant ads on the user’s internet browser.

So what is the ‘Search’ in ‘Search Retargeting’ all about?

When retargeting of a customer is done based on their search activity alone it becomes ‘Search Retargeting’. This is effectively the capture of search keywords used by a user and online advertising based on them.

Search retargeting can be done either through

1. The recognition of users who arrive at your website through a search engine.

2. The recognition of users who searched specific keywords on a search engine.

So how can your online business benefit from this?

Among the raft of online advertising strategies available for digital marketing today search based advertising has proven to be the most effective. However, where it fails to be very effective is when you want to reach really niche yet motivated audiences and specifically target them. Generalized search advertising can be very expensive and in these hard times can put a strain on your already stretched advertising budgets. It is also limited in that you can respond to a user search at the moment of the search with a sponsored ad but are unable to capture the inventory of such users for future targeting.

‘Search retargeting’ ensures exactly this. It allows you to advertising specifically to customers who have an already proven interest your brand, product or service.

The strategy is two pronged.

1. When the user has arrived at your website through a search engine for an initial interaction, search retargeting gives us an opportunity capture this. We can later present ourselves back to them. This allows us to remind the user of the presence of our website and the service we provide in case of further need. This can enhance user recall of our brand and familiarity with our brand can lead to continuation of future interactions as well.

2. While retargeting with the above strategy can be of value the volumes generated through this strategy can be limited. The greater opportunity for search retargeting lies in the retargeting of customers using your targeted keywords. This is because search retargeting in this scenario helps you get your message to users who are already proven to be actively searching and are highly motivated. This is an opportunity which will help increase your presence among active information seekers for your specific target keywords. Only displaying sponsored ads in response to a search where the user click- through and subsequent conversion is limited and subsequently losing the customer is an incomplete strategy when you now have the opportunity to record this customer interest and retarget them with your ads. This will impact your product recall, brand recall, interest and overall generate improved conversions and over a period of time.

So what’s next?

If you are now convinced that search retargeting is the way forward what can you do next?

• Search engines. Both Yahoo and Google offer retargeting through their paid search marketing service. If you are already doing search marketing through either of them you can extend this to include search retargeting or ‘remarketing’ as Google calls it.

• Ad networks. Advertising agencies who usually offer targeting based on demographic and behavioural targeting also offer retargeting and search retargeting services. These agencies usually partner with operators who offer cookie management services and together they can help you get into this digital marketing strategy.

Need some help with this?

If you have not yet started any search engine related marketing or are only doing bits of it contact a reputable Digital Marketing Agency and they should be able to sort this out for you. Even if you are already into search engine marketing but would like to start looking at optimising your online marketing budget get in touch with a good Digital Marketing Agency or Digital Marketing Consultancy. While a Digital Marketing agency can do the whole job for you, a specialist Digital Marketing Consultancy can provide you with an optimal strategy for your objectives which you can in turn implement through your existing in house marketing team if required. You can decide whatever works best for you.

Digital Marketing is a specialist area where technical knowledge and more importantly previous experience count for a lot. It cannot be stressed enough that to optimise the results that you get out of your digital marketing spend go to a qualified Digital Marketing person either in house or externally and move your online business to the next level.

Qudos Digital is a leading digital marketing agency and can be contacted on 020 8891 2077 or info@qudosdigital.co.uk.

Digital Consultancy

Analytics Online Brand Management Conversion & Usability Digital Strategy SEO Consultancy Training & Recruitment

Contact Us

Qudos Digital
70 London Road,
Twickenham, London TW1 3QS
Tel: 020 8891 2077
Fax: 0845 280 0338
Email: info@qudosdigital.co.uk