Have you heard of the ‘Rule of Seven’? First used by the big movie bosses back in the 1930s, it’s the idea that a prospect needs to see or hear the advertiser’s message at least seven times before they’ll take action to buy. This idea - that familiarity breeds trust and brand engagement - holds just as true today.

Even if you have the best website in the world, lots of people who visit your site for the first time will leave before taking action. This is disappointing in itself but if you’re paying for those clicks through Google or Facebook Ads, it’s even more galling. 

There are lots of reasons why people don’t buy or enquire about your product or service on their first visit. It may be because they’re not interested in what you offer. But often it’ll be for another reason: they want to check out your competitors, they got distracted, they’re doing some more research, or maybe they’re not quite ready to buy but will be in the future. 

So how can you get them to come back to you? One word: remarketing.  

Here’s why remarketing makes sense for almost any business.
 

Lower Cost

Remarketing ads can offer exceptional value for money. Google and Facebook often see ads shown to a ‘warm’ audience like previous website visitors as more relevant and better quality. This means the amount you pay per click is lower. The cost per click for remarketing ads shown on the Google Display Network is generally way below the cost per click to a new or ‘cold’ audience on the Search Network. 
 

Higher Conversion Rates

People who are remarketed to are an incredible three times more likely to click on an ad than other audiences. Conversions (sign-ups, enquiries, sales) actually increase over time for remarketing campaigns. This goes against the perceived wisdom which suggests people become ‘blind’ to an ad after seeing it a number of times. In fact, research shows that while click-through rates fall over time, those people who do click on your ad are twice as likely to convert, even though they’ve seen your ad a few times already.
 

Remarketing Ads Need Not Be Annoying

Remarketing ads have got a reputation for being creepy and annoying. But that’s just when they’re done poorly. These days advertisers have a huge amount of control over where their ads are shown, and to whom. The ability to build up audiences of people who have looked at specific pages, or carried out specific actions on your website enables you to target people at a very granular level. You might decide to show a previous website visitor a special offer to entice them back to buy. Or you could create tailored offers featuring different products depending on what someone was previously looking at. Crucially, you’re then adding genuine value, and not just following someone around the web with a generic message.
 

The Ability To Personalise The Message 

There are a seemingly never-ending stream of remarketing options being introduced by the digital advertising platforms. Advertisers can use Google and Facebook’s latest features together to retarget users with relevant content and offers. And last year Google started recommending remarketing lists for search ads for more and more accounts. These mean that advertisers can now personalise the messages being served to people as they search on Google. 

Google Case Studies and our own experience suggest these can work really well: click-through and conversion rates tend to be substantially higher. And, of course, when you’re getting more sales for the same cost, your ROI will go up too.
 

Better Brand Awareness 

Remarketing gives people a gentle reminder to return to your site. It also has a powerful side effect: every time someone sees your branding and messaging, they’re getting to know and trust your brand, making it more likely they will do business with you in the future. Even better, because you’ll only pay when someone clicks on the ad, remarketing can be an incredibly cost-effective way to build a brand.

With Google and Facebook constantly upping their game and LinkedIn Matched Audiences now in full operation, the options for remarketing are getting better every day. Put simply, if you’re not using remarketing, you’re leaving money on the table. 

Feel like you’re missing out? Call us on 01732 449970 today to see how we can help you use better remarketing techniques in your digital advertising campaigns.

rebecca@ib3.uk