33 Retargeting Campaigns You’ve Never Heard Of Before (Part 1: First 12)

Have you ever thought of retargeting as playing fetch with a dog?

The goal is always to bring the ball back, just like your visitors and lost conversions.

And while you may not have a dog or started your first retargeting campaign yet, you know that getting good at something takes practice and experience.

Retargeting is no different.

Remember: sucking at something is the first step to becoming sorta good at something – GIF source

So right now, I want to share 33 different types of retargeting campaigns that we run for our own clients and how you can run them too. This week, I will give you 12. Next week, we'll do the rest -- so you don't get worn out reading.

But first…

What Is Retargeting & Why Should You Care?

Let’s take a common example:

A visitor hits your website or landing page without converting. You then add a cookie/pixel to their browser or capture their email address to then have your image ads, text ads, or emails follow them around the rest of the web until they hopefully come back and convert.

Kinda looks like this. – image source

That’s retargeting in a nutshell.

Some people also call it remarketing, and for the sake of clarification, they’re essentially the exact same thing, although Google wants to keep calling it remarketing.

Now to the fun part:

If done right, retargeting can outperform all other digital ad channels. 

CMO.com published 15 mind-blowing stats on retargeting that almost had me pee my pants (I drank a lot of water and coffee that day):

• Retargeting can bring the highest lift in brand searches by 1,046%
• The average CTR is 10x higher than that of regular display ads
• Retargeted visitors are 70% more likely to convert compared to ones who aren’t

As you can see, it’s easy to know that retargeting works, but it’s a lot harder to actually make it work.

Now, don’t get me wrong–grouping all your visitors into one audience and hitting them with the same message can definitely get you conversions. In fact, that’s what many people do.

You don’t have to be perfect about retargeting, but if you are interested in taking your efforts to the next level, then keep reading.

Let’s dive into the different types of retargeting campaigns that you can take advantage of, as early as today.

1) Sequential Retargeting

Do you have a long sales cycle? Or do you have a complex buying process with multiple touch points? If so, then sequential retargeting could be huge for you.

Just like email nurturing pushes visitors down the conversion funnel, depending on what emails are opened and clicked through, sequential retargeting works the same way.

You group your audiences in different categories or lists and include/exclude them depending on the landing pages, durations, or downloads they’ve been taking action on.

When those actions are taken, a new set of ads with new messaging are launched to get the visitor to take the next step in the conversion process, while excluding them from the old set of ads.

First, you learn more, then you buy. – image source

Just like a regular Google Analytics goal funnel, you can use sequential retargeting to create more touch points and also learn where your bottlenecks are in the conversion process (to then fix them).

To give you some ideas of what your different ads could look like, take a peek at this example from Pagewiz:

Incorporate a mix of different offers and messaging.

As you can see, the first ad is trying to get the sale as fast as possible. If that doesn’t happen within a certain amount of time, then the sequential ads are pushed live one by one.

Quick Recap:

Sequential retargeting is the practice of varying the ad copy and messaging depending on where the visitor is in the conversion process, with the end goal of pushing them along.

Your goal as the advertiser is to use education, features, and/or benefits to eventually get them to buy.

2) Time Delayed Retargeting

If you run any type of cookie/pixel based retargeting, then there’s a good chance that your audience eventually has an expiration date (Google has a max time of 540 days for example).

But in this case, time is your friend, not your enemy.

Similar to sequential retargeting, time delayed retargeting basically works this way without the need of any action from the visitors:

• Week 1: All visitors see ad #1
• Week 2: All visitors see ad #2
• Week 3: All visitors see ad #3
• Week 4: All visitors see ad #4
• etc.

The best thing about time delayed retargeting, is that you don’t need accompanying landing pages or collateral to back up everything your ad says (although it won’t hurt if you do).

If you only offer one service, like how our PPC agency offers PPC management, then you can use your different time delayed retargeting ads to showcase different perks and values of working with you.

In fact, if you already have an email nurture campaign, you can take the subjects of those emails and turn them into retargeting ads. Here’s an example of how we could do it since our #1 goal is to get people to request a free proposal from us.

• Week 1: Example proposal
• Week 2: Screenshots of AdWords improvements
• Week 3: Types of packages we offer
• Week 4: Resources of thought leadership
• Week 5: Case studies
• Week 6: Example proposal
• etc.

For one of our clients, we decided to break up the audiences in monthly periods of 1-30 days and 31-60 days. Here are the results:

Next step would be to break it out in smaller time chunks.

As you can see, the 1-30 day campaigns and image ads are performing the best. The interesting thing is that both 1-30 and 31-60 have different offers, but none that are different in threat levels or channel temperatures.

What I mean by this is that the lead magnets in these campaigns are very identical (both PDF guides), so we could potentially ask for a bigger conversion commitment in the 1-30 day campaigns since they have the highest performance so far.

Quick Recap:

The longer visitors have been part of your time delayed retargeting campaign, the bigger the offer/incentive they need to act.

You may find that for the first two weeks (depending on your conversion cycle) your ads are just product/offer specific with your logo and unique value proposition.

For the next two weeks, you may offer a bonus or 10% discount to get them to act, where you then have a burn pixel excluding past visitors who have already converted so they don’t see the discount ads and complain.

3) Offer Change Retargeting

If you’re in the unfortunate bucket of having 98% of your visitors not convert after the first visit, then don’t fret. You could be in luck.

What I mean by that is that it could be your initial landing page offer/call-to-action that’s holding you back.

Many times when people chose not to convert (especially in lead gen situations), it’s because the offer was too threatening to them or you didn’t do a good enough job explaining the value of the offer. In other words: They may not be ready for a free consultation or free proposal just yet.

When this happens, you can actually use your retargeting ads, not only to drive more conversions, but also as a research tool to learn whether or not you should change your initial offer on your landing page to something different.

Let’s say that your initial landing page offer from search network PPC traffic is a free consultation that has a 2% conversion rate (only 2 out of 100 visitors want your consultation).

To retarget to the other 98%, you can pick an idea from the list below as your educational lead magnet, to bring them back to eventually want a consultation.

Which retargeting bait will you try first? – image source

Quick Recap:

There’s a reason why most people don’t convert on your site or landing page.

It could be that you’re not explaining the value of your offer well enough, or, it could that a different offer will work much better for you.

Remember: Visitors have options, and you’re not the only one who offers that product or service. Take the time and effort to educate and nurture.

4) Up-Selling Retargeting

Have you ever heard the saying “a buyer, is a buyer, is a buyer”?

It took me almost five years from hearing it, to actually understanding it.

What it means is that if someone has already bought from you, then they’re much more likely to buy from you again. 

In fact, 41% of overall revenue for eCommerce sites in the US are from repeat shoppers.

And that’s not even the crazy part. According to Adobe, repeat buyers are likely to spend 5x more than first time shoppers.

Here’s an email retargeting example from Amazon showing which cameras you can upgrade to.

Let’s be real, Amazon even knows what I had for breakfast. – image source

But what if you’re not an eCommerce shop?

If you’re in the lead generation business, then repeat buyers could mean referrals in the form of leads as you often see for service based businesses.

You can essentially create new retargeting audiences by targeting people who have visited your post conversion pages with new offers in the forms of upgrades or complimentary service add-ons.

Quick Recap:

When visitors buy from you, it’s because they trust you.

Don’t feel greedy or ashamed to ask them to convert again and to buy something at a higher price. If you truly bring value in your products and services, then they’ll be upset if you keep them secret.

5) Down-Sell/Cross-Sell Retargeting

Okay, maybe your visitors don’t want to buy more from you.

If that’s the case, then showcasing a different offer from their recent “No Thank You” on the up-sell offer could make a lot of sense for your retargeting campaigns.

Let’s say that we get you on board for our PPC services. Our next logical step as an agency would be to offer our landing page services as a cross-sell to you.

The beauty of this is that a true cross-sell is something that’s complementary to the original thing your visitor converted for, and it should help the performance of it too.

If we wanted to down-sell our landing page service, then we could potentially offer a free guide on it, with the goal of converting them in the future.

Quick Recap:

If someone buys an orange, up-sell a juice presser.

If someone buys the juice presser, cross-sell a recipe book.

If someone doesn’t buy the juice presser, down-sell them an orange peel artbook.

And then sell this “attraction” to SeaWorld – image source

6) Layer Retargeting (Google Analytics Features)

Have you ever thought of using Google Analytics data to create unique remarketing audiences?

If not, then here’s something new to take advantage of:

In a recent case study from ThinkWithGoogle, Periscopix helped Watchfinder (a leading watch store in the UK), create over 20 unique retargeting audiences that were split between location, languages, and on-site behaviors like cart vs non-cart visitors and time on site.

In addition to that, they found that certain ISPs (internet service providers) from the London financial district showed interest in their products, where they could then target visitors from banks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.

They also created multiple ad variations. – image source

After just six months, ROI from the retargeting campaigns proved to be around 1,300%, with average order values increasing 13% as well, ultimately leading to a 34% reduction in cost per acquisition.

Quick Recap:

Use additional insight from Google Analytics like time on site and geography to create unique retargeting audiences to target with matching ads.

The more data points you have on certain visitors, the easier it will be for you to determine how likely they are to convert from your ad messages.

7) Page Value Retargeting

Each page on your website has a different value when it comes to retargeting ROI potential.

If a visitor has only visited your homepage and no other pages (like you’ll often find when you look inside Google Analytics), then there’s a good chance that targeting them with retargeting is a waste of time, money, and impressions.

From single page bounce visitors to people who have been on your site or landing page for say, 2 minutes plus, it’s important that you spend and bid proportionally with those thoughts in mind.

Paying an average of $1.00 a click for an audience that has been on site for 2+ minutes will usually pay off quicker than paying an average of $0.50 for all visitors.

In addition to the value of these audiences being different, you’ll also find that they are more likely to convert on different retargeting offers.

People who have bounced from the homepage are more likely to convert on a soft/less threatening offer like an eBook download, compared to 2+ minute visitors who might be okay to convert on a free proposal offer.

Quick Recap:

Look inside your Google Analytics dashboard and find which pages on your website holds the most attention. Sometimes this is a demo page or the about page.

Once you’ve identified them, you can add multiple layers like certain page URLs, time on site, and geography to help craft your ads to be more tailored to that audience.

8) CRM Retargeting 

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool is usually one you’ll find companies using when they have to keep a lot of leads and prospects in order.

This type of retargeting campaign doesn’t actually need cookies or pixels to retarget. It runs on email addresses.

By exporting your CRM email list to a retargeting platform like AdRoll, you’re able to match the email addresses to social media accounts and other platforms (like Gmail) that know when the email address owner is logged in.

There’s no expiration needed on this type of retargeting. – image source

In a case study done with Kiehl’s, AdRoll helped them use their CRM emails by creating unique audiences/segments specific retargeting ad offers.

That gave them:

• A 12.9% ROI
• A 38% conversion rate (eCommerce mind you)
• A 3.2x extended web reach.

But what if you don’t use a CRM?

You can export emails from email providers like MailChimp, or even a list you already have. You can also rent email lists from publishers who have your target audience, which is what a lot of financial institutions do.

Quick Recap:

Your CRM potentially holds a motherload of information about the behaviors of your visitors. Use that data to create unique audience groups to then retarget to.

Many times, you’ll find the best uplift in performance from targeting old users/visitors that were once hot. This could help reignite them.

9) Bulk Email Retargeting

Staying on the topic of emails, you also have the option to target your email list directly through Google AdWords, Facebook, or Twitter.

Google AdWords has a feature called Customer Match, Facebook as a feature called Custom Audience, and Twitter has a feature called Tailored Audience.

Here’s a look at how Facebook Custom Audiences works. – image source

The biggest thing to keep in mind when it comes to bulk email retargeting is the “match rate” of emails to users on a given platform.

According to WordStream, the match types between Google, Facebook, and Twitter breakdown like this:

• Google = 50.4%
• Facebook = 48.99%
• Twitter = 10.2%

As you can see, the behemoths of the ad world (Google and Facebook) have such a strong match rate because of the usage of their platforms. Whereas not as many people are on Twitter (or use an email address that matches).

Once you’ve decided on which platform to use (maybe multiple), you can take advantage of the different types of ads and networks (especially on Google) to get your email list to convert.

Quick Recap:

Just like any retargeting campaign, don’t forget the power of segmenting your audience into specific buckets. Targeting all emails with the same message won’t be as powerful as it could be if you split things up.

10) Individual Email Retargeting

Did you know that’s possible to add a hidden HTML image tag to your emails that adds a cookie/pixel to the browser of the person who opened that email?

One of my favorite tools for creating this type of retargeting campaign is SiteScout.

Here’s a look at their retargeting tag creator. – image source

If you’re running promotions with your email campaigns, then you can create an additional ad set to follow people who have opened that email to amplify the promotion.

The retargeting ads also give targeted visitors a quick way to take advantage of the promotion instead of having to go back to the original email and clicking the link there.

Please note, that this will only work with web-based email providers like Gmail and Hotmail, and you want to make sure that the email recipient is allowing images to show in the email you send.

A quick tip would be to add other actual images to your emails so the recipients have a reason to allow them to show, now and in the future.

Quick Recap:

If you want to squeeze the most ROI from specific email marketing campaigns, then strongly consider using hidden HTML image tags as retargeting codes.

This will allow you to message match your email to the retargeting ads to reduce the time to convert.

11) Similar/Lookalike Audience Retargeting

When you’re creating retargeting audiences from your landing page and site visitors, PPC networks like AdWords and Facebook have ways to create similar audiences that show the same intent and browsing behaviors as your own list.

Through hundreds of different factors, you can target these similar audiences as regular retargeting campaigns, even if those people being targeted have never been on your landing page or site.

Google AdWords calls it similar audiences and Facebook calls it lookalike audiences.

Once you start creating your retargeting list from your own visitors, Google and Facebook will automatically create similar and lookalike audiences for you to take advantage of.

Notice the audience at the bottom. – image source

A lot of improvements have been made since Google first introduced similar audiences back in 2013, and today, you can expect around 40% increase in conversions using a feature like this.

Quick Recap:

Sometimes a similar/lookalike audience is much bigger than your original retargeting list.

Take advantage of it, but tread lightly. Your specific industry can have varying performance when it comes to how accurate and similar the borrowed audience truly performs.

12) Push-Along Retargeting

Do you have a conversion funnel with multiple touch points where visitors need help moving to the next step? If so, then push-along retargeting can be your new best friend.

Just like certain keywords can be tracked as to how far down the conversion funnel a visitor goes, you can do the same thing with your retargeting ads.

Looks like the top keyword is winning the funnel race. – image source

The goal here is to craft ads that hint to the next step the audience should take to get further down your conversion funnel.

Being similar to sequential retargeting, push-along retargeting focuses solely on action taken by the visitor in relation to the step in the conversion process. No time or other external factors are incorporated.

This is usually a stellar retargeting campaign tactic for SaaS onboarding issues.

Quick Recap:

Make sure your audience sizes are big enough for each step of your conversion funnel.

If you have less than 1,000 visitors in each step of step of your conversion process, then you may not get enough impressions, clicks, or conversions.

To be continued next week...