How to avoid mistakes when using retargeting?

Users in extremely rare situations decide to immediately buy a product or order a service after the first visit to the site. Retargeting is a great way to remind yourself, set a lost soul on the path that truly leads back to the shopping cart, or subtly push them to buy a related product. A powerful sales tool, if misused, can irritate potential customers. To avoid becoming a monkey with a grenade, learn more about common retargeting mistakes.

Disadvantages of Retargeting

Yes, there are, and in connection with the topic raised, it is necessary to talk about them first of all. Despite all sorts of advantages and benefits (primarily for advertisers), do not forget that retargeting is the same advertisement, only in profile, and users' attitudes towards it may be different.

There are not so many disadvantages of retargeting, but they are.

1. Obsession. Incorrect settings can cause ads to be shown much more often and for longer than necessary to run an effective campaign. A visitor could simply by mistake visit the site once, and he was already bombarded with promotional offers.
2. Inconsistency with the user's goals. After buying a car, for obvious reasons, the client is unlikely to be happy to see numerous ads for the sale of similar cars.
3. Inconsistency between online and offline purchases. When visiting the site, the client can place an order simply by calling, but at the same time, he is very likely to end up in the retargeting lists anyway.
4. stress effect. Some users feel uncomfortable because of the constant harassment of promotional offers, so often targeted banners can see the mark "Why am I seeing this ad?" By clicking on it, the user receives comprehensive information about the principles of retargeting.
5. Invasion of privacy. To some extent, retargeting and collecting information about user preferences can be seen as a control system and an attack on the privacy and freedom of Internet users.

To a large extent, painstaking and thoughtful ad setup, as well as a thorough analysis of the effectiveness of an advertising campaign, helps to level these shortcomings.

The main mistakes in setting up retargeting

Consider the shortcomings that can be made when using retargeting technology using the example of the most popular platform - Google Adwords remarketing services. Inaccuracies in targeting directly affect the effectiveness of an advertising campaign and can lead to unjustified monetary costs.

1. Lack of audience segmentation is the main and most common mistake. Displaying the same ad to all users without exception is contrary to common sense and the principle of personalized retargeting.
2. Unreasonable term and frequency of impressions. Limiting impressions for a single site visitor will prevent ads from going over to the annoying spam camp. In addition, for different types of goods, the recommended storage periods for cookies vary significantly. For example, it will take a maximum of two weeks to make a decision on the purchase of small household appliances, while the final intention to conclude a real estate purchase agreement may take months, and sometimes even years.
3. Inconsistency in remarketing lists. After purchasing the desired and long-awaited tablet, the client sees an advertising message from the same online store with an offer of an identical device, but at a discount. It's embarrassing and inappropriate. Combined remarketing lists can help you avoid this oversight.
4. Irrelevant offers. Do not forget about seasonality and offer site visitors to buy gifts for March 8 all year round.
5. Display time not set. Depending on the type of target audience, the display hours are also selected. There may be a lot of options, but in any case, it will be a blunder to show ads 24 hours a day.
6. Features of ads are not taken into account. With text ads, everything is more or less clear, but there are some nuances in using graphic ads. Google certainly offers templates, but everyone knows that only exclusive banners can be attractive and memorable. To achieve maximum efficiency, it is necessary to develop a minimum of 10 image ads in various formats. It should also be remembered that the "career" of the banner is short-lived and fleeting. High click-through rate is observed in the first 14 days, then the interest of users gradually fades away. Periodic updating of the design of banners increases the effectiveness of advertising.

It will be very difficult to achieve impressive sales growth, even without making the above mistakes, without constant monitoring and auditing the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. Test, take risks, check, track, compare - and you will have new customers.