Last week Google announced their latest AdWords development – dynamic retargeting for all advertisers with a Google Merchant Centre account. The launch of this new feature takes AdWords retargeting to another level by allowing users to focus on a product level for the first time.
Dynamic retargeting has been in beta for some time but is now widely available and could be big news for retailers. It is also expected to be available to travel advertisers later this year and other verticals in the future, so it’s a key one to watch.
What is dynamic retargeting?
Quite simply, it allows advertisers to create banners on the fly and target users who have previously viewed particular products on your website. When a visitor is browsing a website on the Google Display Network (GDN), you can serve an ad featuring the specific product they viewed on your site, alongside other recommended products.
How does it work?
- Firstly, you need to add the remarketing tag – which contains a custom parameter for product ID – to all pages on your site.
- It’s powered by a data feed – so AdWords uses the product ID to pull in the product information, name & price from your Google Merchant Centre account and to dynamically insert it into your ad based on your chosen ad template.
- The system can also pull in data from your Google Analytics account to identify which products convert well and which product IDs are often purchased together and use that data in creating your ad.
The 3 main features:
- Auto-optimised layout feature – chooses layout predicted to perform best for specific visitors/devices
- Product recommendation engine – there are different ad layouts that can feature 1, 2, 4 or 6 products in a single ad – AdWords recommends products that are popular on your site or typically purchased with other products. Dynamically created ads will show products that users have previously viewed on your site and other recommended products
- Real time bidding algorithm – calculates optimal bids for each impression
What are the main advantages?
- No minimum spends – most retargeting platforms have minimum spends and monthly fees, however this is not the case with Google – making it a great opportunity for small to medium sized retailers
- Demographic bidding – Google has a lot more demographic information about users than remarketing platforms such as Criteo – giving you greater control over your budget as you can bid up/down based on gender and age group
- Simple set up – with pre-designed templates, all advertisers need to do is select a colour scheme, enter relevant text and upload a logo and your ads will be dynamically created for you – so you don’t need the services of a designer
- Control the sites you appear on – once you are up and running, you can bid up/down for specific sites or choose to exclude them altogether
- Pricing structure option – choose between a CPC or CPA pricing model and Google will optimise for conversions or clicks/impressions, based on your business goals
When set up correctly, remarketing is a powerful targeting tool with the potential to significantly boost revenue from specific audiences who have already shown an interest in your brand. We look forward to this being rolled out across additional verticals, hopefully later this year, and hearing success stories from across the industry.
What are your thoughts on dynamic remarketing through AdWords? Get in touch and let us know!