Optimizing Your Remarketing Approach for 2025!
As we head towards wrapping up 2024 and surge headlong into 2025, one of the many things that we have been thinking about is ways to improve client performance from both an efficiency (cost savings) and volume standpoint (devising ways to squeeze all the additional conversion volume and revenue that we can). One of the first things that comes to mind is remarketing; it is at once a strategy and a channel all its own – spanning every other channel at this point with only one real exception – organic search. Anything paid, including referrals, can fall into the scope of active remarketing.
And with the advent of AI, and namely predictive analytics, remarketing can now be executed at a rapid pace, at scale and with a level of confidence and visibility that we could not have even dreamed of just five years ago.
The most appealing thing about remarketing is found in the numbers. Across 2023 and into 2024, we have seen exceptional performance across both B2B and B2C sides of the business. We typically see a 50% lower cost per acquisition (CPA), a 25% increase in conversion rate (CVR), and a 20% lower cost per click (CPC). We cover this in more detail further on in this blog post.
But remarketing does not come without challenges. There are many different bid strategies, audiences, and types of remarketing to consider. Each has it’s own value proposition and if applied correctly, will absolutely drive higher volume and help you to expand your clients successes at scale. We have learning over the years how to strike a perfect blend a brand awareness with lead generation and also when to flip the switch on supporting omnichannel resources such as email and SMS. Also, you have to take into consideration the cookieless future that lies ahead. We are going to cover these topics and tactics (and MORE).
Disclaimer: We are Google and Microsoft, and Meta Advertising Partners. If you are looking for programmatic remarketing, you may be interested in reaching out to Brill Media.
Types of Remarketing
Digital remarketing encompasses various strategies that target users who have previously interacted with a brand, allowing marketers to re-engage potential customers and drive conversions.
Standard Remarketing
Standard remarketing is the most prevalent form, involving the display of tailored ads to users who have previously visited a website. These ads typically appear on display networks, such as the Google Display Network, reminding visitors of products or services they have shown interest in. The objective is to entice them to return and complete a transaction or take a desired action. To this day, the Google Display Network enables access to 90% of internet users in the United States.
Dynamic Remarketing (Including Dynamic Remarketing for Shopping)
Dynamic remarketing enhances standard remarketing by showcasing specific products or services that visitors viewed on a website. This form of remarketing often employs machine learning to optimize ad delivery and is particularly effective for e-commerce businesses, as it creates a more personalized experience by directly linking ads to the user’s previous interactions
RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads)
RLSA is a feature in Google Ads that enables marketers to customize their search ad campaigns for users who have previously visited their website. This allows for tailored bids and ads when these users search for related items, making the messaging more relevant and potentially increasing conversion rates.
Video Remarketing
Video remarketing serves ads to users who have engaged with a company’s video content on platforms such as YouTube or the brand’s website. This strategy can include displaying ads before videos (pre-roll), alongside suggested videos, or within a company’s video content. Video remarketing is gaining traction due to its ability to enhance brand awareness and drive traffic.
Social Media Remarketing
Social media remarketing functions similarly to standard display remarketing but focuses on users who engage with a brand on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Ads may appear in users’ feeds or as sponsored posts, targeting those who have visited a brand’s website or interacted with its content online.
Email Remarketing
Email remarketing utilizes collected email addresses to target users with personalized email campaigns. This approach allows brands to engage with visitors who have shown interest in their products or services but did not convert. Email remarketing is known for its high engagement rates, making it a vital tool for re-engaging potential customers.
Useful Information
I hear that one of the most effective ways to start the personalization process is through the use of audience segmenting. How does that work?
We have found it to be useful to tailor segments based upon behavior, purchase intent, and engagement levels. The criteria will certainly vary depending upon the client – whether B2B or B2C or even B2C with a sales cycle like pharmaceuticals. A powerful approach is to leverage CRM data with RLSA’s. This is highly effective in two ways:
1. Retarget customers who have interacted with your business in the past and improving the relevance of your search ads for these users, and
2. Through customer match – a feature that enables you to upload CRM data (like email addresses, phone numbers, or mailing addresses) to create custom remarketing lists. These lists can then be used in RLSA campaigns to target users when they perform searches on Google. Also, we can leverage CRM data for lookalike audiences across other platforms beyond Google Ads, like Meta, LinkedIn, and others. (And BTW you can use the Bing platform now to target users in LinkedIn (including LinkedIn profile targeting by job function, industry, company, etc).
Anyway lookalike audiences allow you to find new potential customers who have similar characteristics and behaviors to those in your CRM database, helping you expand your reach and acquire new users. This is really powerful. Here’s an example from an online pharma client last year; one morning, we became aware that the CVS simpledose offering was going out of business. (Side note: you can leverage free tools like Google Alerts to stay aware of major announcements like that within 24 hour cycles). So we immediately setup campaigns to generate immediate exposure for against searches on that query and variations of it. But not only that. We also used CRM data to mine for lookalike audiences. This client already had a ROAS of about 1,400% during the trailing 6-month period prior. The CVS simpledose remarketing initiative resulted in a peak of 6,922% ROAS alongside an incremental revenue gain of 190%. How? Personalization. We built specific personas around the senior and also the caregiver who was thoroughly annoyed by the sudden simpledose announcement.
On the direct B2C side it is much the same. There will be differences with straight B2B though and we have found that RLSA’s a very effective here – alongside LinkedIn targeting. A couple of years ago, we ran a number of campaigns for Inc. Magazine to drive up the registrants to the show. We use a combination of branded and non-branded campaigns. While brand comprised about 79% of all conversions, the overall CPA for RLSA was 50% lower than the standard ads – alongside an 18.6% increase in CVR. Also, RLSA’s ended up comprising an additional 14.6% conversions. So, a near 15% increase in conversions at a 50% lower CPA.
What about frequency caps?
We’ve found that this really depends upon a confluence of factors. The most important factor is intent, high or low. Intent is determined by interaction. On the B2C side consumers are usually in one of two camps – window shoppers or immediate buyers. Deciphering between them is fairly simple; obviously shopping cart abandoners would classify as immediate buyers. Window shoppers would entail homepage visits and/or high bounce rates. Urgency is also determined by seasonality. Heading into the holidays or on a day like black friday or cyber monday – we do not limit frequency. It’s really just a free for all.
We also have to consider the ‘open window’ for retargeting. There are few instances where more than 30 days is appropriate. Mostly higher ticket items like luxury goods might require an extended window. A shorter window for lower ticket items like perfumes will help avoid annoying users.
That said, we usually start more conservatively with 3-5 impressions per day. After that, we usually follow parameters by channel:
Display Remarketing: A common frequency cap for display ads is 5-7 impressions per user per day. This range is often enough to stay top-of-mind without overwhelming or annoying the user.
Search Remarketing (RLSA): For search ads, a frequency cap of 2-3 impressions per user per day is usually more appropriate, as search intent is generally more high-stakes and time-sensitive.
Dynamic Remarketing: Dynamic remarketing often works well with slightly higher frequency caps, given the personalized nature of the ads. Caps can range from 7-10 impressions per day, depending on the urgency of the purchase cycle as mentioned. Still, as our friends at Predictable Profits always remind us – ‘consumption drives conversion’.
I heard that it is easy to waste spend in remarketing. Is that true?
Yes, that is 100% true! It is crucial to update your exclusion lists. On average, estimates suggest that up to 30-50% of ad spend can be wasted on showing remarketing ads to users who have already completed the desired action, particularly if remarketing lists are not regularly updated to exclude them. Without proper exclusions, the ads continue targeting these users, driving unnecessary ad impressions and clicks. And not implementing proper frequency caps leads to repetitive ad exposure to users who may have already converted.
And let’s not forget Mobile App wasted spend!
Wasted spend in display ads, particularly those shown in mobile apps, can be significant. A considerable amount of advertising budget is often spent on ads appearing in unsuitable contexts, like mobile apps that do not align with the target audience. This misplacement can happen due to automatic ad placements across millions of apps and websites, where ads may show in non-targeted channels.
How crucial is it to align my remarketing strategy to the customer buying cycle?
It is absolutely crucial to think about where the customer is in the buying cycle – which is going to be different depending on whether it is a B2B or B2C customer. Not that there isn’t a C behind every B, but remarketing to a shopping cart abandoner vs. someone looking at the homepage for a managed IT services client is a different animal. Either way, again personalization wins. By the way, only 32% of marketers personalize their ads. Those who do will always win over those who don’t. And we cannot yet rely upon AI for optimal ad personalization. Personalization in the context of aligning retargeting strategies usually means tailoring your ads to the user’s prior interaction – such as showcasing products they viewed or offering discounts to entice them to return. More on that in a bit. How it works:
- So you want to retarget all site visitors within a given period, say 30 days. But you can get much more specific, for example targeting visitors of a specific page. Which again leads to the concept of audience segmentation. How about – if you are a B2B company, you want to retarget specifically to those who have viewed your pricing page – you can do so by simply adding the pricing page URL as the ‘visited page’ URL in the UI of the setup. It’s that easy. And from a B2C standpoint, it would be the same thing for high intent visitors such as shopping cart abandoners. This is where dynamic remarketing for shopping comes into play – which allows advertisers to show personalized ads featuring products that users have previously viewed or shown interest in. The power is in the automation process of showing the exact products that users are most likely to buy, based on their behavior on your site – and here’s where it gets scary – across other areas like the types of purchases being made elsewhere, or other sites being visited.
- Layered Targeting becomes really useful here as well. You can combine your remarketing lists with keywords to create extremely targeted campaigns. For example, you can target only users who visited your pricing page and are now searching for competitor names or product reviews. We did this very thing for a perfume retailer during the holiday season last year. So when those users who had visited the polo black page, for example, then went out and searched on a competitor name likewise, say fragrancenet, they also would see our client’s ad displayed prominently. Again, consumption breeds conversion. We saw a 45% lower CPA on that same product purchased through that campaign with an incremental revenue gain on that specific product of 75%. What did we do differently in that ad? We simply added a 15% discount code – which believe it or not users did not even enter during the checkout process.
Then there are In-Market Audiences – this default Google (and YouTube) segmentation enables us to easily reach intent-driven users. You can also create remarketing lists that include users who have previously visited your site and match in-market segments. Some examples of these are people searching for retail items like clothes, or electronics – or perhaps financial services. As of 2024, there are 1,300 in-market segments available.
For wider targeting, there are also affinity audiences. An Affinity Audience is a group of users who share broad, long-term interests and lifestyle patterns, as identified by Google based on their online behavior. Affinity audiences are designed to help advertisers reach potential customers who have demonstrated an ongoing interest in a particular subject area, such as sports, technology, or travel. You can narrow the targeting with layers here as well. For example, if you are selling running shoes, you can target the affinity audience of sports, with keywords such as ‘best running shoes’. These are the aforementioned ‘window shoppers. BTW you can measure both view-through conversions and click-through conversions here as well.
In summary, what other key metrics should I look at for my remarketing campaigns?
Naturally – the primary metric is how remarketing is impacting your bottom line. Like the example that we gave on the pharma client. While many do not consider it to be very important, we have found impressions to be important. The ‘sets of eyeballs’ that we are reaching – especially heading into the holidays or for those who are right now marketing feverishly as we are three weeks out from a presidential election – is huge.
While not as important as standard search, CTR is a factor as you need to know that you have some semblance of interest among those that you are retargeting. This will vary. Display – a good CTR is about .5%. For remarketing ads about 1.5%. RLSA should be more like 10% if done right.
We would also like to see conversions. So CVR is also a factor. But for a more holistic view, we also look at:
- View-Through Conversions: A view-through conversion occurs when a user sees an ad (e.g., a display or video ad) but does not click on it. The user later returns to the website and completes a conversion, such as making a purchase, within a set attribution window. VTCs are valuable for measuring the influence of display ads on customer behavior, particularly in raising brand awareness.
- Click-Through Conversions: A click-through conversion happens when a user clicks on an ad and subsequently completes a conversion (e.g., purchase, sign-up) within the attribution window.
Keep coming back to learn more, as this topic will continue to evolve and progress (perhaps dramatically) in the coming months!