Remarketing Vs Retargeting: Are they the same?

Introduction

Remarketing vs. Retargeting are two powerful digital marketing strategies used to re-engage potential customers who have previously interacted with a brand’s website, app, or other digital platforms. While the terms are often used interchangeably, they have differences in their application and objectives.

Remarketing primarily focuses on reconnecting with users through email marketing or direct outreach after they have engaged with a brand’s website or products. On the other hand, retargeting mainly involves displaying ads to users across various websites and platforms after they’ve interacted with a brand’s website or app. 

Both strategies aim to improve conversion rates by targeting users who have already shown interest in a brand’s products or services. They capitalize on the principle of ‘repeated exposure’ to reinforce brand awareness and influence purchase decisions.

In this article we will understand the differences between Remarketing and Retargeting and see why they aren’t the same. Let’s dive in!

Remarketing Vs. Retargeting: Understanding the terms

To understand remarketing and retargeting perfectly, let’s look into the definitions of these two closely related yet distinct digital marketing strategies.

What is remarketing?

Remarketing is a strategic approach that involves reconnecting with users who have previously visited your website or interacted with your product or service. This technique predominantly operates through display advertising, presenting targeted ads to individuals across various online platforms after they’ve navigated away from your site. 

The primary objective of remarketing is to reinforce brand awareness, nurture potential leads, and encourage users to return and complete desired actions, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.

What is retargeting?

Retargeting encompasses the broader online landscape, allowing advertisers to reach out to users across various digital channels, not just on their own website. This might involve displaying ads on social media platforms, search engines, or other websites within a network. 

By casting a wider net, retargeting aims to maintain a brand presence in the user’s online journey, fostering familiarity and enticing them to re-engage with your offerings.

Understanding these two terms are pivotal for crafting effective digital marketing strategies tailored to specific business objectives.

Remarketing Vs Retargeting: 6 Key differences

While remarketing and retargeting are often used interchangeably, they encompass distinct strategies in digital marketing, each with its own focus, targeting methods, and objectives. Here are five key differences between remarketing and retargeting:

1. Scope of targeting:

Remarketing: Primarily focuses on engaging users within the advertiser’s digital territory, delivering ads on their own website or affiliated platforms.

Retargeting: Expands the reach beyond the advertiser’s website, targeting users on various online channels, including social media, search engines, and external websites.

2. Targeting strategy:

Remarketing: Concentrates on reconnecting with users based on their interactions and engagements within the specific digital ecosystem of the advertiser.

Retargeting: Takes a broader approach by targeting users across the entire online landscape, irrespective of the initial website they interacted with.

3. Ad display locations:

Remarketing: Displays ads predominantly on the advertiser’s website or affiliated platforms.

Retargeting: Enables ads to appear on diverse online spaces, extending beyond the advertiser’s website to include social media, search engine results, and third-party websites.

4. Audience familiarity:

Remarketing: Leverages the familiarity users have developed with the brand during their past interactions on the advertiser’s platform.

Retargeting: Aims to maintain brand presence throughout the user’s online journey, reinforcing familiarity across different digital touchpoints.

5. Customization options:

Remarketing: Offers a high degree of customization for ad content based on user behavior within the advertiser’s website.

Retargeting: Provides flexibility in tailoring ads to user preferences but may require coordination with external platforms for a cohesive message.

6. Conversion tracking:

Remarketing: Relies on conversion tracking within the advertiser’s domain, providing insights into on-site interactions and actions.

Retargeting: Requires integration with multiple platforms for comprehensive conversion tracking, as user interactions occur across diverse online spaces.

Understanding these distinctions empowers marketers to strategically employ either remarketing or retargeting—or a combination of both—to meet specific campaign objectives and engage with their target audience effectively across the digital landscape.

Remarketing vs. retargeting: When to use each one?

Determining whether to use remarketing or retargeting depends on specific marketing objectives, the stage of the customer journey, and the desired engagement level with the audience. Understanding the distinctions between the two can help in choosing the right approach for different scenarios:

When to use Remarketing?

1. Direct Engagement and Relationship Building: Use remarketing when aiming for direct engagement and relationship nurturing with known users. It’s ideal for reconnecting with users through personalized emails, direct messages, or tailored content based on their past interactions. This approach is effective for building trust and guiding users through the conversion funnel.

2. Targeting Known Contacts: When you have access to user contact information like email addresses or phone numbers, remarketing becomes more feasible. It allows for direct communication and personalized outreach to these known contacts who have shown interest in your products or services.

3. Conversion Follow-Up: Remarketing is beneficial for following up on abandoned carts, incomplete purchases, or unfinished actions. Sending reminders or incentives via email or direct messages can prompt users to return and complete their intended actions.

4. Building Brand Loyalty: Use remarketing to foster brand loyalty by delivering tailored content, exclusive offers, or personalized recommendations to existing customers. It helps in retaining customers, encouraging repeat purchases, and increasing customer lifetime value.

When to use retargeting?

1. Broad Audience Reach: Retargeting is effective when targeting a broader audience segment based on their online behavior, without having direct contact information. It’s suitable for displaying ads across various platforms like websites, social media, or search engines to remind users of products or services they viewed.

2. Behavior-Based Ad Placement: Use retargeting when focusing on behavior-based ad placements. For instance, displaying ads related to specific products or services a user viewed on your website when they visit other sites or social media platforms. It keeps your brand visible and reinforces interest.

3. Engagement Across Multiple Channels: Retargeting allows for engagement across multiple channels beyond direct communication. Utilize it when you want to reinforce your brand’s presence by displaying visual ads, banners, or video content to users as they navigate the web.

4. Prospecting and Lead Generation: It’s useful for prospecting and reaching potential leads who have shown interest in your industry or related products/services. Retargeting helps in nurturing these prospects with relevant content, guiding them towards your website or landing pages.

Choosing between remarketing and retargeting involves considering the level of direct engagement needed, access to user data, and the desired reach across various digital touchpoints. Both strategies can complement each other in a comprehensive marketing approach, targeting different segments of the audience at various stages of the customer journey.

What are examples of retargeting and remarketing?

Retargeting and remarketing employ various strategies across different platforms to re-engage users who have interacted with a brand’s digital assets. Here are examples showcasing how these tactics are implemented:

Retargeting examples:

1. Display Ads across websites: A user visits an e-commerce site, adds items to their cart but leaves without completing the purchase. Later, while browsing other websites or social media platforms, they encounter ads displaying the exact products they viewed, reminding them of their interest and enticing them to return and complete the purchase.

2. Social media retargeting: After exploring a travel website for vacation packages, a user receives ads on their social media feeds showcasing similar destinations or travel deals. These ads are targeted based on the user’s browsing behavior on the travel site, encouraging them to revisit and explore further.

3. Search engine retargeting: Someone searches for specific software solutions, visits various product pages, but doesn’t request a demo. Later, when they search again or use related keywords on search engines, they encounter ads promoting the same software solutions they previously viewed, directing them back to the website for a demo request.

Remarketing examples:

1. Abandoned cart email Remarketing: A customer adds items to their cart on an online retail site but leaves without completing the purchase. Shortly after, they receive an email reminding them about the items left behind, along with an incentive like a discount or free shipping, encouraging them to return and complete the purchase.

2. Personalized email Remarketing: A user signs up for a software trial but doesn’t engage beyond the initial setup. The software company sends personalized follow-up emails with tips, guides, and case studies tailored to the user’s industry, showcasing the software’s benefits and encouraging further exploration.

3. Re-engagement email campaigns: A subscriber hasn’t opened emails from a clothing brand in a while. The brand sends a re-engagement email with a special offer or sneak peek at upcoming collections, enticing the subscriber to re-engage with the brand and possibly make a purchase.

Both retargeting and remarketing leverage user data to deliver targeted and personalized content, whether through ads across various platforms or direct communication like emails, aiming to re-engage users and guide them towards conversion by reinforcing brand presence and offering relevant incentives or information based on their past interactions.

Conclusion

Retargeting and remarketing stand as pivotal strategies in the modern digital marketing landscape, offering nuanced approaches to re-engage users and guide them towards conversion. 

Retargeting shines through its utilization of data-driven ad placements across diverse digital platforms. It operates by leveraging user behavior, utilizing cookies or tracking pixels to display targeted ads to users who have interacted with a brand’s website or digital assets. 

On the other hand, remarketing centers on direct engagement and personalized communication with known users. It involves reaching out to individuals through channels like email, personalized messages, or direct outreach based on their contact information or past interactions. Remarketing excels in nurturing relationships, providing tailored content, and guiding users through the conversion funnel by fostering trust and delivering specific incentives or information.

Both strategies, when harmoniously integrated, synergize to enhance a brand’s digital presence and conversion rates. They leverage user data ethically, respecting privacy while delivering personalized experiences that align with users’ preferences and behaviors.

In conclusion, the effectiveness of retargeting and remarketing lies in their ability to engage users effectively at different stages of the customer journey.