Have you ever searched for something and then noticed ads for that product following you around the Internet? Have you looked at an item then decided not to buy it, only to be constantly reminded of the item on every site you visit? No, it’s not the FBI monitoring your activity. It’s actually a marketing tactic known as retargeting! How does retargeting work? Read below to find out.

Cookies

What are cookies? No, not the kind served fresh out of the oven with chocolate chips. The cookies we’re talking about are also known as Internet cookies or browser cookies. A cookie is essentially a small piece of data sent from a website that is stored on your computer via your web browser. Cookies can help your browsers remember useful information such as items you’ve added to an online shopping cart or the pages you’ve visited last.

Website Coding

If ads have been following you around the Internet, it’s because of a combination of cookies and the website’s coding. Many websites contain a small piece of code also known as a pixel. This piece of code is not noticeable. It won’t affect your experience on the website or the site’s performance. However, the code causes you, the visitor, to drop a browser cookie, which will then follow you around the web. When you leave the website, the site’s ad provider is signaled to drop ads in various website that you visit.

Why Does This Happen?

These ads are part of a marketing strategy known as retargeting. Retargeting, often mistaken for a different strategy known as remarketing, is part of a strategy that digital marketers use to remind old visitors of their site. Retargeting promotes brand awareness and makes it very easy for old visitors to revisit a site. This tactic is very effective, typically resulting on a higher return on investment than digital marketing strategies without retargeting.

Why You Shouldn’t Worry

If you’re not a marketer, the most important thing to take away from the idea of retargeting is that you have nothing to worry about. An FBI agent is not monitoring your Internet activity. Well, they might be, but retargeting is not a result of that monitoring. These ads in no way mean that an individual is tracking and monitoring you or your Internet activity. Instead, it’s the result of coding and algorithms that marketers use to remind you about their products and make the purchasing process easier for you.

ImageWorks, LLC | CT Retargeting Company

Are you intrigued by the concept of retargeting? Would you like to use retargeting for your business? We can help! As a CT Retargeting Company, we will customize and personalize your ads to bring them to the next level to outperform your competition by showcasing products that are tailored to each individual’s browsing behavior. So if you are looking to win over site visitors and extend your retargeting campaigns to the inbox, while growing your email list and increasing conversions, then take ad personalization to the next level and contact us today!