Retargeting enables you to remind your customers of your products and services after they leave your website without buying. It allows you to show your visitors relevant ads when they visit other sites. Retargeting works with apps and search as well as website banner ads. Serious marketers today use retargeting as a vital tool to connect with their customers and increase their sales.

It would be ideal if customers always made a purchase on the first visit to your site. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. That’s where retargeting comes in.

• Retargeting helps remind someone of your product as they continue browsing the internet, whether they’re on social media, their favorite news site or researching your competitors.
  
  
• You can choose from a variety of ways to segment people based on their traits or behavior and target them accordingly, which allows you to create a relevant advertising experience that drives more purchases.
  
  
• No matter which segment you’re choosing, you’re targeting a group of people who have already indicated that they’re interested in your brand simply by visiting your site.

Retargeting generates greater online sales by keeping your brand front and center and bringing “window shoppers” back when they’re ready to buy. Every time your customer sees your retargeting ads, your brand gains traction and more recognition. The high click-through rates and increased conversions that are typical with retargeting campaigns underscore the value of good branding and repeated exposure.

The terms “remarketing” and “retargeting” are often used interchangeably, but they are not quite the same.

Retargeting: The term “retargeting” is often used when you are showing your prospects your ads on other sites in an ad network after they leave your site. Retargeting usually involves “cookies”.

Remarketing: The term “remarketing” is often used when you collect contact information from prospects in order to deliver email campaigns to them.

Retargeting works by utilizing “cookies”, a small piece of data stored by the Web browser that remembers users who visited your advertisement or webpage. Marketing teams can then utilize this cookie data to serve ads to the users again. By showing relevant, targeted ads to users that have shown an interest in your brand, you increase brand awareness and often total conversions.

Retargeting is most effective if you segment your visitors (e.g., people who looked at shoes vs. pants) and tailor the retargeting ads shown to each group, or you can decide not to retarget them at all (e.g., people who converted).

The best-performing retargeting creative has a clear call-to-action and promotes an offer.

Different products warrant different retargeting time windows. For example, people shopping for travel should be retargeted immediately; people shopping for luxury goods should be retargeted later.