Creep-Free Retargeting and More with SMX West Speaker Susan Waldes

If you’re already investing in PPC, retargeting is a logical next step. Retargeting, or remarketing as it’s sometimes called, allows you to keep track of your visitors and serves up your ads as they browse the Web to remind them of your products and services. But there’s an art to remarketing, and today, as part of our interview series with SMX West speakers, Susan Waldes of PPC Associates discusses why you should do it, what makes a great campaign and how to serve up ads without giving off the creepy stalker vibe.

Jessica Lee: Why do online businesses need to consider retargeting?

Susan Waldes: Visitors to your site (or YouTube videos, or email opens) not only have expressed an interest in your offerings, but also in your brand. As such, this is usually the most valuable segment of people you can target. The ROI is almost always there with the right gentle reminder.

Beyond that, smart retargeting campaigns also look at increasing lifetime value of users, increasing loyalty, driving social engagement with the brand and increasing average order sizes.

What are some of the aspects of an effective retargeting campaign?

Creative is often the focus of retargeting, but retargeting can be successful even with your standard creative. The two things that advanced marketers focus on in retargeting campaigns are:

• The right cookie length
• The right impression cap

Are people seeing your ads at the right time in the purchase cycle and with the right frequency to drive re-engagement but not become weary with over-saturation?

What are some elements of great ads for remarketing?

Great remarketing ads are smart about providing gentle and compelling reminders while being mindful not to overdo the “creepy” factor and make users feel they are being stalked.

They acknowledge sensitivities, and offer some value-add to customers that re-engage, like a promo or free shipping offer that encourages people to pull the trigger.

They target people at the right time and with messaging that aligns with where they are in the funnel. They use the brand and logo prominently in the creative and appear in the right places.

Thanks for the insight, Susan. You can stay connected with Susan Waldes on Twitter @SuzyVirtual. If you’re headed to SMX West next week, don’t miss Susan in the session, “Ready, Aim, Fire … Then Retarget!” on March 11 at 10:45 a.m.

Jessica Lee is the founder and chief creative for bizbuzzcontent Inc., a marketing boutique that focuses on digital content strategy and professional writing services for businesses.

See Jessica's author page for links to connect on social media.