Author Archives for Jonathan Niv

This is a guest post by Jonathan Niv of Dispop, a leading direct and retargeting display advertising for SMBs. Dispop offers $75 in ad credit and a free set of custom-designed banner ads for members of the Clever Zebo community. Claim this deal by reaching out to Dispop. Mention code “CLEVERZEBOPROMO.”

There was a time, not too long ago, when an abandoned cart or lost visitor more or less guaranteed that you have lost a sale. A person visited your website, made the effort to add some items to the online cart, browsed around to investigate your products, and yet for some reason didn’t complete the transaction. There could be any number of reasons behind this, but the bottom line is that you lost a potential customer. Well, this is no longer the case.

Today we have a marketing tool which enables you to easily reach these “lost” customers and bring them back to complete the transaction: retargeting.

Why does retargeting work?

Retargeting works by tracking the movements of visitors through your website. This enables you to target a selective group with your ads as opposed to targeting a broad audience. This means that marketers now focus on the customer as an individual rather than having to target a whole demographic.

Targeting individuals enables you to spend your marketing budget where it becomes most effective, targeting only users whom you know are interested in your products. This greatly increases the conversion rates associated with retargeting and provides much higher return on investment when compared with other forms of advertising.

To increase the performance of retargeting campaigns you can create even more specific campaigns by segmenting your visitors into different audiences.

Segmentation & increasing relevance

One of the ways to increase the performance of retargeting campaigns is to make the ad more relevant to the targeted user. To do this we must segment users into groups in order to determine which ad group we would like to serve.

Segmentation by sales cycle

In many cases, primarily for e-commerce, it is advisable to segment your visitors based on where they are in your sales funnel. For instance, you can decide to aggressively target any visitors who have placed an item in their shopping cart. Users who have not placed an item in their cart will be targeted less frequently and with a different message.

Segmentation by product type

If you have several different product types it is recommended that you segment visitors based on which type of product they were viewing. As an example, visitors who viewed men’s clothing items will be shown an ad relevant to the products they were browsing while visitors who viewed women’s shoes will receive a very different ad relevant to them.

5 tips and retargeting best practices for fantastic ROI

1. Segment your audience for best results

The more specific the ads are to your audience the better the performance and higher the conversion rate. Creating specific segments for particular products, product types, or types of account can drastically improve your return on investment and lead to an amazing campaign.

2. Ads should lead to a dedicated landing page

The landing page should be an extension of the banner ad. It should have the same look and feel as the ad which generates the interest, while providing a clear and concise message which will not overload the visitor with too much information.

3. Use the right ads and a clear CTA

The ad needs to call attention to itself and your product/service with attractive products, special offers and discounts, i.e. ‘Daily Deals,’ ’50% off,’ ‘Free Shipping,’ or ‘Free!’ This message should be short and to the point, and should be the first thing a user notices. The call to action is usually made of text or a button with phrases like ‘Buy Now,’ ‘Learn More,’ ‘Sign Up,’ or ‘Register Here.’ It should be a short and clear command, prompting viewers to click on it.

4. Sweeten the deal

It is often recommended that you provide a special offer to retargeted customers. These visitors have already viewed your website and products, and may require a cherry on top in order to guarantee that they purchase. Depending on your product this offer can be anything from a slight discount to free shipping.

5. Creative optimization

Avoid ad fatigue by injecting new creative designs into your campaigns frequently. The more often a user see’s your ad the less effective it becomes. Within several weeks a banner may lose its edge and the conversion rates may begin to drop. To combat this we recommend adding new creative designs to your display campaign every few weeks.