What is remarketing/retargeting?

Remarketing and retargeting are often used synonymously in the field of search engine advertising (SEA). In practice, this is understood to mean that users should be addressed again with the help of advertisements after visiting a website. In theory, however, the terms differ from one another. The difference lies in the targeting of the methods.

Remarketing

Remarketing measures are used to target website visitors again after they have left the website with the help of ads. For example, a person may have been interested in a product on your site but not purchased it. Within remarketing, measures are then taken whereby a corresponding ad is displayed on other websites or platforms. The first step is to record what the user was interested in. This makes it possible to create targeted content for the respective interests, so that a corresponding ad is then created to increase the likelihood that these people will return to your website and buy the product in the end.

Retargeting

Retargeting is also about being able to reach your website visitors again later via ads. The difference, however, is that with the retargeting method, all people who have been on your website are addressed - without taking into account the time they spent on a particular website or the content they engaged with. Ads that you place on other websites or platforms at a later date are therefore displayed to all these people without any targeted content adaptation.

Ideally, a targeting strategy should be in place for the creation of ads in general. Because whether certain groups or all website visitors are addressed with later ads, there should always be a recognition value of your products or services. Through this measure, website visitors can become customers at a later point in time by carrying out a conversion, such as the purchase of a product. Possible channels for the placement of ads include the Google Display Network, the Google Search Network or YouTube.

Remarketing and retargeting give companies the opportunity to build trust. This often applies to unknown brands or new products where users wait some time before making a purchase, as their decision to buy is not yet firm. However, by waiting for this time, there is a risk that an offer will be forgotten. At this point, remarketing offers a major advantage over retargeting, so that your offers are remembered and visitors return to the website: Since the respective interests of website visitors are recorded, ads can be played out more individually and thus increase the probability of a conversion.

However, it is important here that the cookies of a website must be accepted for effective tracking in order to be able to store relevant information on user behavior. Users must be informed about cookies and must consent to their use. They may therefore only be tracked if they have opted in.