Publicado en
September 19, 2023

Retargeting and remarketing: Understand their differences and boost your results

Laura Arias
Marketing & Demand Generation Specialist

In digital marketing, especially in the world of paid advertising, there are two terms that are often used interchangeably but that have significant differences are: “retargeting” and “remarketing”.

These two techniques allow you to: reach users who have already visited or interacted with your website or application in order to boost conversion.

In this article, we explain each of these techniques, their impact on an international marketing strategy, some examples of use and how they can be a perfect combination with key tips.

What is retargeting?

Retargeting is a digital advertising strategy designed to reach users who have previously visited your website or interacted with your brand online in some way. These ads are shown on other websites or apps, as well as on social media.

It's a second chance to attract a potential customer who showed interest but didn't complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. The main objective of retargeting is to remind these users of their initial interest and to motivate them to resume the buying action.

Retargeting works through the use of tags, pixels, or other codes that collect information and they allow us to identify users who have visited a product or service on your website or application, thus showing your ads while browsing other sites.

Retargeting stands out as a effective strategy for reaching international audiences, since it allows you to adapt your ads according to the geographical location and browsing behaviors of users. For example, if a user from Spain visits your online store and shows interest in a product, you can show them specific ads when browsing other websites, reminding them of that tempting offer.

What is remarketing?

Remarketing, on the other hand, focuses on the email marketing. It consists of sending personalized emails to people who have interacted with your website or application in the past.

These emails are designed to reactivate the user's interest and bring them back to your website or online store. They can be used to promote products or services, to offer discounts or to gather information about the interests of users.

Remarketing is based on the idea that a potential customer who has interacted with your brand in a meaningful way in the past is more likely to become a loyal customer in the future.

This technique collect the information that users have left organically when filling out a form on your website or application.

Remarketing can be a powerful tool for maintain long-term relationships with international clients. After a potential customer from another country has interacted with your brand, you can use personalized emails to keep them informed about special offers, product news, or relevant content.

What are the differences between retargeting and remarketing

Now that you understand the basic definitions of retargeting and remarketing, let's explain the differences and some fundamental similarities:

Broadcast channel

The main difference between retargeting and remarketing is the means used to reach users. Retargeting uses ads, while remarketing uses emails.

Main objective

Retargeting focuses on recovering visitors who didn't perform a specific action on your website, such as a purchase. It aims to increase brand awareness and sales.

Remarketing, on the other hand, is a broader strategy that encompasses all users who have interacted with your brand online. It aims to win back potential customers and increase brand loyalty.

Scope

Retargeting is limited to visitors to your website, while Remarketing covers a wider variety of interactions with your online content.

Personalization

Both retargeting and remarketing are based on the personalization of messages and advertisements to adapt to user preferences and interaction history.

Customer lifecycle

Retargeting focuses on the specific stage of website abandonment. Remarketing spans the entire customer lifecycle, from awareness to retention.

What is the best strategy for my business

The best technique will depend on your business objectives and your target audience.

If your goal is increase brand awareness and sales, retargeting can be an excellent alternative. If your goal is win back potential customers and increase loyalty for the brand, remarketing may be the most appropriate technique.

You can also choose to combine these two techniques and create a joint strategy.

Retargeting and remarketing, a perfect combination

The combination of retargeting and remarketing is a highly effective practice for boosting brand awareness, increasing sales, and fostering customer loyalty. This strategy can be implemented in two ways:

Lead generation and conversion

An effective way to take advantage of both techniques is use retargeting to Capture leads and remarketing to turn them into customers.

For example, by targeting ads to users who visited your website but didn't complete a purchase, you can offer discounts or coupons to motivate conversion. Once a user makes a purchase, remarketing comes into play by sending emails with special offers and product tips.

Segmentation and personalization

Another strategy consists of use retargeting to segment users according to their interests and then apply remarketing to personalize the message.

For example, use retargeting to show ads to users who have visited your website and have shown interest in a specific product. These ads may show additional information about the product or even recommendations for similar products. Remarketing can be activated with personalized emails based on the user's interest to motivate the purchase process.

The combination of retargeting and remarketing optimizes results, reaching users at different stages of their buying process and improving the chances of conversion. This strategy offers a powerful synergy to boost the success of your online business.

Tips for creating effective retargeting and remarketing campaigns

To create effective retargeting and remarketing campaigns, it's important to consider the following tips:

Implement the Tag precisely

Make sure that the retargeting tag or pixel is well integrated into every page of your website. This action lays the foundation for the success of your future strategies. This is a piece of code that is placed on your website to collect information about visitor behavior.

The implementation of the retargeting tag varies depending on the advertising platform you're using. and the type of tracking you want to do on your website.

Segment your audiences

Create specific audiences for your retargeting and remarketing campaigns. This way you ensure that your ads are shown to the right people.

AI can help you identify the users who are most likely to become customers.

Use relevant images and text

Your ads must be relevant to the interests of your audiences. It will help you increase the likelihood that users will click in them.

It offers incentives

Incentives, such as discounts or coupons, can help increase conversions.

Optimize your strategies by audience and context

Don't underestimate the power of optimization. Adjust your campaigns based on the geographic location, devices used, ages and time zones of your audience. This strategic approach will help you maximize your return on investment and achieve stronger results.

Measure your actions

Keep track of your campaigns for see what works and what doesn't. This way you can optimize your ads or messages and get better results.

Retargeting and remarketing are powerful techniques for improving customer conversion and engagement in the competitive world of digital marketing. By understanding their differences, you can choose the one that best suits your business objectives or combine them strategically to boost your results.

At Novicell, we offer paid advertising services, including retargeting and remarketing, to boost your digital goals anywhere. Our personalized, data-driven approach ensures that your advertising investment turns into tangible results. Contact us, we will advise you in the best way.