Re-engaging past website visitors is a huge opportunity for eCommerce businesses, and one that many simply aren’t leveraging.

The fact is, these visitors have already expressed an interest in your brand and products, and while they may have come and gone, they definitely don’t need to be lost opportunities and you can still convert them into new sales. How? With a simple retargeting strategy.

What exactly is retargeting?

Retargeting is a form of online advertising that enables you to serve ads to past website visitors, in-turn keeping your brand in-front of this bounced traffic.

Specifically, once someone has visited your site, an anonymous browser cookie will be dropped, and when this past visitor browses the web, a re-targeting provider such as AdRoll or ReTargeter will expose them to your online ads. 

Now, if you’re still wondering what makes retargeting a worthwhile investment and why it is so beneficial to eCommerce businesses, then the simple answer is the fact it re-engages an audience who have already engaged with your brand, potentially having shown intent to purchase, making them far more likely to be receptive to these ads.

In fact, with an effective retargeting strategy, as many as 70% are more likely to convert on your site.

With that in mind, here are some simple retargeting ideas that you can implement to drive more sales, as well as some key considerations to ensure you are getting the most from your campaigns. 

Show ads to those who have abandoned shopping carts.

The fact that as many as 75% of online shopping cart purchases are abandoned means there could be a significant number of potential customers out there for you to try and convert.

As you know, the reasons as to why exactly these visitor’s gave up on purchasing your item in the first place can vary significantly, from a complicated checkout process, to lack of time, or potentially even the fact that they were simply adding items to their basket to save for later.

Retargeting, or in this case dynamic retargeting, gives you a platform to put these item(s) back in front of these customers, and remind them of the products they have potentially considered purchasing. 

Showcase similar products.

While there is no denying that ads that show previously viewed products will be more effective than general ads, it is worth considering that ads that highlight similar products can also be effective.

This is particularly prevalent if the reason they did not purchase was because the item was to expensive, and therefore by being shown an alternative product, they may be persuaded to return to your site and continue their product research.

Alternatively, this tactic gives you the opportunity to provide them with a wider range of products that you sell, based on their interests. 

Use retargeting to influence a potential customer.

With effective website tracking, you can monitor a potential customers website activity and serve them ads that might help influence them to make the purchase.

For example, if someone keeps visiting your site and looking at the same (or similar) products, they could well be doing their research and comparing your prices with other merchants, therefore why not consider using a retargeting ad that highlights your free or reduced delivery offer, or perhaps a limited discount code that might help to encourage them to convert.

Ensure you’re no longer targeting converted customers.

Assuming that your retargeting ads are effective and are successful in generating sales, you will need to ensure that these converted customers stop being targeted with these ads.

Failing to do so can not only lead to an irate customer base, but can also lead to wasted advertising spend.

To avoid this you need to make sure you’re retargeting provider is aware that an individual has completed a purchase, which can be done with the use of a burn pixel, a simple tracking code that is placed on the post-transaction page.

In addition, you might also want to consider using a frequency cap, which limited the number of times a user is exposed to your ads.