Google Extends the Offer with Remarketing
This week Google launched its “Remarketing” product to all Adwords advertisers. The offering is available only within the Content Network, and does not involve any search retargeting. However, it does open the door to some interesting opportunities and combinations. Essentially, the ‘Remarketing’ tool allows for advertisers to display specific ads on the Google Content Network to users who have visited specific pages of their site in the past. Described by Google as ‘Interest Based Marketing’, it allows for the targeting of every product to users that have already displayed interest. When considering that Google’s content network (including YouTube) reaches approximately 80% of the online audience, this really does create a new dynamic for Adwords advertisers.
The Remarketing feature is conveniently located in the Audiences tab right next to the Ad Groups and Settings tabs. The ‘Add Audiences’ button allows the advertiser to set up various audience lists that correspond to selected ad groups. A tag is then produced for each list; which must be placed within the coding on the chosen website pages.
The advertiser can then go on to create ‘custom combinations’, in which the several audience lists can be applied to a specific ad group with the option of targeting all of them, one or more of them, or to exclude them (negative audiences).
For example, a Premiership team website could target ticket sales to users who had visited the ticket sales page or the match schedule. They could also promote merchandise to users who had visited the online shop page. Furthermore, they could offer the VIP TV package to users who had visited the on demand channels as well as the team community section, but not discount tickets page. In this respect the ‘Remarketing’ feature has the ability to transform Content Network ad groups into highly targeted and most likely highly converting campaigns. Especially considering that these content ad groups could be targeting all of the users that arrived on a site through paid search ads, but did not initially convert.
The first reactions to this for a lot of internet users were that it is an invasion of privacy, and in some respects just downright creepy. Google has been criticized for a lot of privacy issues lately, especially with regards to Google buzz. But to be honest, when it comes to this, I don’t believe that the enhanced relevance of ads that a user will experience is a negative thing. Users will always be faced with online ads. That’s what pays for the whole dam thing. So why not have ads that you are most likely interested in, and in some cases will be benefited by, as these offers are likely to be cheaper than any similar purchases offline. However, Google realises that for this to work perfectly is overly optimistic so they have created a spot for you to view what Google thinks your preferences are, and opt out if desired.
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