What is Search Retargeting

Search retargeting or search remarketing brings together the best of search marketing and online display advertising. It offers marketers the precision and efficiency of search and the reach and branding power of display.

Search retargeting is a form of behavioral advertising that target an audience based on previous searches they conduct on search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing. Unlike site retargeting, search retargeting is designed to find new customers which have never been to a marketers website before.

While search advertising is a method of placing online advertisements within the results of search engine queries, search retargeting attempts to extend the interaction with the same searchers when they move away from search query results pages to other online activities and websites. With paid search campaigns you may only see 3-5% click-through rate, and miss the users who are not clicking on your ads but clicking on the competition.

In other words, it gives marketers another shot to create awareness with those customers who initially searched on their targeted terms. Marketers can start with existing search keyword lists and not target with display ads.

Search retargeting offers search marketers numerous benefits, including reach, control, and transparency. And for many terms and verticals, search retargeting also provides the benefit of considerable cost savings. Marketers should derive the biggest cost-savings from verticals with the highest search CPC costs.

Getting Started With Search Retargeting

Start out with a broad list of keywords, and include high volume keywords that may convert poorly on search. Search retargeting allows you to see how each individual keyword performs, so you will want to pay attention to what keywords are converting and which ones are just costing you impressions.

Once you have started to see some volume, optimize the individual keyword bids and other campaign settings. Quite often, the initial CPC for a campaign can significantly be improved from its starting point by optimizing the campaign against the keywords used, the sites on which the banners are displayed, the time of day, and various other factors.

It is important to remember that your ads are now being shown to your target customer, one that searched for similar products and services on a search engine. So they may click on your ad and not convert immediately but search for your company later when doing more research. Search retargeting may boost lead generation in your organic and paid search efforts. You will also get a brand lift, and your company will appear larger than it is, as with regular site retargeting. A consumer may think that your company is everywhere, when really you are just retargeting them.

Search Retargeting offers more available inventory and less advertiser competition, it may help to lower CPC prices and generate new leads.