Google Ads retargeting is a powerful way to gain and retain customers. Remarketing lists can be created in the Google Ads platform, and then used to create ads that serve across the expansive Google Display Network. Learn more about how to create these lists and ads, and how to set up great remarketing campaigns for your business.
We’ve all been there. We search for a product or service online, and visit the website of a retailer or provider. Suddenly, we see them everywhere. They are in our Gmail inbox, on our favorite website, and even in YouTube videos. How does this happen? And what is the purpose?
Google Ads remarketing is the reason for this. Businesses have learned that the customer purchase journey is a lot longer these days than it used to be. Or, rather, they’ve learned how to track the journey better. With all the data available,we’ve learned that very few people make a decision on their first couple of searches or clicks.
So what is the problem? And how can Google remarketing solve it?
Understanding the Problem
In almost any industry, you can see the implications. There are at least a dozen real estate agents clamoring for business in the same neighborhood. Their websites are all produced by a handful of providers, and are somewhat indistinguishable from the others. Companies like Curaytor, Chime, Sierra Interactive and Ylopo have homogenized the design process. Consumers are left being unable to distinguish between the local Keller Williams office and the local Berkshire Hathaway office. Even independent brokerages are using the same systems and designs.
Retailers, like Wal-Mart, Target and others are all selling the same products to consumers, at virtually the same prices. Consumers might have some brand loyalty, but if the price on a new TV drops by a few pennies, they will buy elsewhere.
Insurance brokers are ubiquitous. With high-priced Madison Avenue firms creating funny and catchy commercials for companies like Geico, Liberty Mutual and Farmer’s, the independent broker might have little chance of catching the attention of the consumer.
What all of this adds up to is that consumers have more choice today than they have ever had. In addition, the internet has provided them with the ability to learn almost anything they ever wanted to know about any product or service imaginable.
How Do You Stand Out?
The goal of marketing these days seems to be staying top of mind throughout the purchase journey so when the decision is made, you’re the one the consumer chooses. Making sure that happens isn’t always easy, but with the right tools, you can do it.
Google Ads remarketing enables you to track the customers journey and drive conversions. Just like any other remarketing effort, the objective is to stay top of mind and relevant to the consumer’s needs. Google Ads provides several ways to do this. We’ll outline these below, and also go over the mechanics of setting up effective remarketing campaigns.
Before that, let’s talk about what we mean when we talk about remaining relevant? Let’s say you’re selling shoes on your website. You sell various styles and brands. If someone is shopping for women’s dress shoes, it makes no sense for a display ad to be for men’s basketball shoes. Showing different styles of women’s dress shoes that you sell, or even retargeting with a sale on them, would be a more relevant ad. Can you remain relevant via Google Ads retargeting? Yes. How? Let’s explore.
First Things First
In order to set up remarketing campaigns, it helps to connect your Google Ads account to your Google Analytics account. By connecting these assets, you are feeding direct website data into your Google Ads, helping your ads learn and adapt to customer behavior, and also enabling remarketing features in your account.
Connecting the accounts is a simple process. Simply login to Google Analytics, go to your admin panel, and navigate over to the “Property Settings” column (in the middle). Select the Google Ads Linking option, and your ad account can be linked from there.
Now, how do you use remarketing audiences in Google Ads?
How To Use Remarketing Audiences in Google Ads
In order to set up audiences in Google Ads, you’ll need to navigate to the tools and settings menu (the wrench). From there, you can select “Audience Manager” from the “Shared Library” submenu.
Once there, you will see different audiences in your library. Google Analytics can provide different audiences, and we will cover that in our advanced audiences article.However, you can retarget the AdWords Optimized List and All Website Visitors. This is an excellent place to begin your retargeting efforts.
What Creative Should I Use for Retargeting?
The Google Display Network enables you to run banner ads, lightboxes, and other static image ads across the web. Your ads will display in apps, on websites, on desktop and mobile devices. You can also have video ads that run in-stream on apps and websites, provided you have the video uploaded to YouTube.
There are several ways to set up more dynamic retargeting, and we will explore that in our next piece on advanced retargeting and audience building. However, a great brand awareness video or graphics campaign should be helpful in getting you more results, higher returning visitors to your website, and more conversions.