Just because a website receives tons of traffic, it doesn’t mean all these potential customers will ever buy a product or service. To turn visitors into paying customers, it takes a broader understanding of marketing techniques. Knowing how and when to implement retargeting or remarketing strategies can mean the difference between success and failure in online marketing.

What is Remarketing?

Only about two percent of people who visit your website will end up paying for your product or service. Retargeting is a way of encouraging past visitors to take action and finally become paying customers. There are a few ways in which you can approach retargeting. However, retargeting mostly concerns the placement of ads that target users who have taken specific actions on your website.

First-time visitors of certain websites might be encouraged to return and purchase a product or service at a discounted price. For example, a potential customer might visit a website selling shoes. Although they may buy nothing, they may receive an email with a code for 10 percent off their first purchase. These kinds of offers will bring in revenue very quickly.

What is Retargeting?

Retargeting ads to potential customers is slightly different. A cookie is a small chunk of information stored on a potential customer’s computer when they visit a website. This information is then used to send targeted ads to the website when the potential customer visits again. These potential customers can be tracked across various websites and be presented with the same targeted ads.

For example, a customer might visit an online retail store and seem interested in a specific jacket or a particular type of jacket. Although they might make a purchase, they might find ads for this coat, or type of coat, from that website. These ads will keep appearing on websites that accept these cookies until they finally make a purchase. The websites may or may not be associated with the same product or service, however.

It will probably take a combination of both retargeting and remarketing techniques to get the best results. With a little experimentation, marketers like you can find loyal customers that will purchase your product or service multiple times over.