What is remarketing?
There was once a time when marketing was simple. You put an advert in the newspaper or produced a TV commercial and waited for people to react. If that didn't work, other methods were tried, such as phone calls, door-to-door sales, etc.
Advertising was much easier because people were simpler. They knew where to find adverts and advertisements and that's exactly where they looked for them. But over time, people found a new place where they could find out about everything. The internet has turned all the rules of advertising on their head.
Marketing and the Internet
The internet is a little more difficult to control when it comes to marketing, as it is very changeable and mobile. Search engines that people use to filter out certain results change their parameters as quickly as they are discovered.
Many search engines used to operate with certain keyword rules, but nowadays they work differently as it has been discovered that many users have tried to circumvent these rules in order to rank higher in the results. So the search engines have made things more complicated.
Lots of changes online
When it comes to marketing, the internet is a helpful tool. But it can also be problematic in terms of helping some potential customers find you. For example, you may have discovered a banner on a website, but when you return to that page, it has disappeared. Or you've completely forgotten how you got to a particular page, so you might have remembered a great product but have no idea how to find it again.
Things like this happen all the time.
And let's not forget that ad banners are much more often perceived as a nuisance than a real help. These flashing and bright adverts on popular websites were increasingly ignored as people became more familiar with the web.
In short, the internet has made things quite complicated, but not impossible. Once you understand how the internet works, you can make sure that people keep coming back to your site, even if you plan to market your product more than once.
You don't believe it?
Remarketing
Remarketing is an approach that really works when it comes to getting a person to click on an advert banner. Imagine the following scenario:
You visit a website and discover a banner promising you a free e-book on the subject of environmental protection. This is something that interests you, so you click on the link, get the book and carry on living your life as before. At some point you discover the same banner on another website, or at least a banner from the same company. The advertising message on it stays in your mind and you consider whether you should actually look to see what offer is behind it. However, you decide to continue with your actual activity and not click.
Later you visit another website and see the banner again. This time you click on it, read the information on the page and buy the product.
The whole thing sounds like a banner stalking its customers - and in a way it is. But ultimately, it's a form of marketing that helps customers who want information about the product but don't necessarily want to deal with it immediately and at the moment.
You would like to buy something, but are perhaps too busy to take care of it at the moment. So the advert appears on other pages and waits until you actually decide to buy it.
Remarketing is the practice of demonstrating something to customers over and over again to increase the chances that they will buy your product and you will make a profit. And once you have set up this system, you can watch it work for you while you take care of other things.
You don't believe that? Then just read this ebook and find out more about how you can utilise your banners in line with the remarketing boom that has just broken out.
Isn't that annoying for customers?
Many people who hear about remarketing for the first time are a little sceptical because the whole thing doesn't sound much different from the annoying banners of the past. They are afraid that a person will be so irritated by the banners that 'follow' them that they will avoid the company in question from now on. But that's not the case.
It usually works like this:
You visit a page and discover a banner that interests you. Maybe you click on it, maybe you don't, but either way, you are still interested and would like to find out more. You don't save the page to your favourites, but think that if it's really important, you'll remember it.
But most of us don't remember what we saw. We may remember the article, but in a few days or weeks we will have completely forgotten what exactly it was or how to get back to it. This is frustrating, especially when it was actually a good offer. To find it again, you may spend countless hours or days in front of the computer trying to figure out which page it was that originally led you to that product.
This would not happen to you with remarketing. You visit a page, see the advert, show your interest - and will come across it again and again. However, please note that this is a system that can only work if a user has shown interest.
That makes sense. If someone is interested in getting more information, then they will want to return to the page. If they're not, they won't click and the banner will 'stay there' waiting for another potential customer.
Many people find it stressful to shop online because they simply have SO many options. However, with remarketing and banner ads, you can make things easier and less time-consuming for the savvy shopper.
Why advertising banners are not dead
Yes, banner ads were supposed to be the scourge of internet marketing. They were created for the sole purpose of attracting attention, any kind of attention. That may have worked when the internet was bright and shiny. But now that people know their way around the web and know exactly how to use it, banners are being redesigned to advertise in a more clever way - just like remarketing.
Instead of just creating the biggest and flashiest banners, smart marketers are trying to create banners that entice with an intelligent structure and a call to action. This way, people become aware without even realising that there is marketing behind it.
Since then, banners have been seen as shorthand for good promotional offers. While there are still some banners that are just as scary as ever, you may have noticed that most promotional offers are perfectly tailored to your needs and sales history. For example, you were on a page for golf shoes and a few hours later you spotted a banner somewhere for golf accessories. It seems like magic, but remarketing is what's behind it.
Banner advertising actually offers some advantages
- They are more descriptive
If you want to create an advertising banner, you only have a limited amount of space in which to formulate your message as briefly and clearly as possible. With the right copywriter or advertising designer, you will be able to generate interest at first glance. - They are more tempting
Advertising banners look better than normal newspaper adverts. They can be completely coloured, move, etc. - They are abbreviations
Instead of trawling through the long list of search engine results, you can view relevant advertising offers directly from a website. This enables you to get to where you want to go faster. - You are NOT spam
Newsletters and email lists are also still being used. Unlike advertising banners, however, these often end up in spam folders, regardless of whether they contain really good offers or not. - You are creative
They can let off steam creatively on their advertising banner and design anything they have in mind, depending on their skills or those of the professional they have hired. - They can be aimed directly at a target group
With many online tools, you can ensure that your advertising banners are targeted directly at a target group that has already shown interest in the content of your advert.
A few years ago, it may have seemed like banner ads were obsolete, but that doesn't mean they've actually disappeared from the market or from our minds. The field of banner advertising is still as useful and effective today as it was back then; and now even cheaper to realise.
The disadvantages of remarketing
We'll be honest here about the things you can and can't expect from remarketing. You can expect more profits and more traffic for your site, but there are also limitations to everything that happens during a remarketing campaign.
Advertising is still not perfect, even if advertising banners come very close.
So now let's list the disadvantages of remarketing. If you read through these points, you'll quickly understand why your adverts need to be top-notch and why you should read this guide all the way to the end before you start marketing.
- Users do not have to click
No matter how much you want users to click on your adverts: In the end, nobody is obliged to do so at any time. It is therefore completely in the hands of the potential customers whether you will make sales or not. - You could make a bad name for yourself with some customers
As there are people who do not like it when adverts follow them, it could be that your sales opportunities are significantly reduced as a result. This is because many of these people do not click on banners that they have already seen a few times on principle - even if they have previously expressed interest. - Mac users may not see remarketing banners
With Safari, remarketing campaigns may be blocked. So if your target group are Apple lovers, they may not even see your adverts unless they use a different browser. - Pop-up adverts can be blocked
Some computers can block pop-ups completely. So if your banner is linked to a pop-up, there is a risk that it will not be visible to all users.
That's not necessarily a long list, but you should keep these points and the potential problems in mind as you continue to develop your remarketing plans. They certainly won't ruin your business, but they will limit you in some ways.
Marketing tactics for today's customers
Today's customers demand different marketing and advertising techniques. Why? Because they are smarter. Not every one of your customers will be an avid internet marketer, but they will most likely know how to get them to buy something online - even if they can't explain it.
Customers know that adverts are there to sell something, but what many don't understand is exactly how to entice them to buy. The psyche is something that can be used over and over again to persuade a person to buy something, whether they can use it or not.
With remarketing and banner ads, you're not only reinforcing a person to remember what you sell, but you're also reminding their brain over and over again what you offer, where to find it and why they need it.
But to be able to use this knowledge effectively, you need to learn how exactly to get started. And that's where we'll start now.
Where you can buy your adverts
If you've created a great advert, then you can't just leave it on your desktop or place it in a dusty corner of the internet and think that will get you results. No, you need to know where to find help to buy adverts and present them in the best possible way by using the remarketing strategy.
Just like with any other business idea, the same applies here: With the best resources, you will achieve the best results.
Buy advertising space that gets results
About 98% of all users who come to a website or click on an advert will not buy anything. This means that only 2% will generate the profits you want to achieve with your web business. You shouldn't take this figure as a sign to give up and stay away from the internet, but as an opportunity to do more and improve yourself.
With this attitude, you can do it.
To get started and succeed with remarketing and banner advertising, you need to focus on advertising companies that will help you choose the best possible place for your banner. While you could do this time-consuming work on your own, you'll get far better results if you turn to the professionals as soon as possible.
Location, location, location
What happens in certain places on the Internet? Those who are not quite sure how the internet works and only intuitively understand what is happening need to understand the following: If you are on a site for sporting goods, you will most likely see adverts somewhere offering similar products. Behind these adverts are advertising companies that are directly targeting users who have already shown an interest in what they themselves are offering.
The same applies to advertising banners. If you sell face cream on a football site, the chances are that you won't get back much of what you've invested. In fact, you'll quickly realise that your sales are dropping because you have no idea where your market is.
And this is exactly where you need to start. You need to think about where most of your potential customers will be. The customers will be there, so your advertising banners should be too. This will increase your return on investment and your conversion rate. Because the users who are on these pages are already interested in clicking on these adverts; they just haven't done so yet.
But the more often you manage to be where these people go with your advert, the more likely they are to click on your banner to see what you want to offer them.
Focusing on specific locations will also help you build brand recognition. If the users on the sports page mentioned above realise that your ad will always appear when they visit this page, then you will remember them, even if they don't end up clicking on the ad.
You may also want to visit your main page directly to see what else you have to offer.
But finding the right place for your banners can be a little tricky, as there are almost an infinite number of sites where you can catch your customers. While Google and other search engines can help you find the right place, you may want to look into the services of other companies that are better trained and equipped when it comes to managing larger campaigns.
They will then select the right locations, ensure that your advert appears there and, if desired, even edit the banner texts or transfer all your work to someone else.
Where you can find help
The list of people and companies that can help you with your remarketing campaign changes every day. However, there are a few companies that have established themselves over the long term and have a good reputation.
- Advertise.com
- AdBrite.com
- AdBuyer.com
- AMPKeywords.com
- AdReady.com
- ArcaMax.com
- Clicksor.com
- MediaTraffic.com
- Pulse360.com
Would you like to do it alone?
But perhaps you are one of those people who want to design your advertising campaigns completely on your own. You want to design your banner adverts on your own and then negotiate with each website where they are placed, when they appear, etc.
That really is a lot of work. And if you also think that your time is very valuable, then perhaps you should reconsider working with other service providers. If you are worried about the cost factor, we have a few tips for you here:
- Design your own adverts
If you design your own adverts, you can really keep the costs down. Of course, if you're not familiar with it, it's still very time-consuming. You can also hire a freelancer to do this work for you. - Book only a small package
By only booking a small package to test the company that has promised you traffic without a large investment, you reduce the risk. If you are satisfied with the services, you can book more advertising and be reasonably sure that your money will not be wasted. - Only continue to pay when you see results
Similar to the tip we just discussed, make sure you're only paying for more banner ads if you're getting results. Some of the cheaper advertising companies won't support you in a way that actually makes you money. They may promise it, but some don't end up following through.
You can, of course, organise your advertising campaigns on your own, but you can also do it very cost-effectively with help. In the end, it's all about making money and not losing money. But don't forget that your time is money too.
Where you can find help
The list of people and companies that can help you with your remarketing campaign changes every day. However, there are a few companies that have established themselves over the long term and have a good reputation.
- Advertise.com
- AdBrite.com
- AdBuyer.com
- AMPKeywords.com
- AdReady.com
- ArcaMax.com
- Clicksor.com
- MediaTraffic.com
- Pulse360.com
Would you like to do it alone?
But perhaps you are one of those people who want to design your advertising campaigns completely on your own. You want to design your banner adverts on your own and then negotiate with each website where they are placed, when they appear, etc.
That really is a lot of work. And if you also think that your time is very valuable, then perhaps you should reconsider working with other service providers. If you are worried about the cost factor, we have a few tips for you here:
- Design your own adverts
If you design your own adverts, you can really keep the costs down. Of course, if you're not familiar with it, it's still very time-consuming. You can also hire a freelancer to do this work for you. - Book only a small package
By only booking a small package to test the company that has promised you traffic without a large investment, you reduce the risk. If you are satisfied with the services, you can book more advertising and be reasonably sure that your money will not be wasted. - Only continue to pay when you see results
Similar to the tip we just discussed, make sure you're only paying for more banner ads if you're getting results. Some of the cheaper advertising companies won't support you in a way that actually makes you money. They may promise it, but some don't end up following through.
You can, of course, organise your advertising campaigns on your own, but you can also do it very cost-effectively with help. In the end, it's all about making money and not losing money. But don't forget that your time is money too.
Copying other advertising campaigns
Your competition is, and you would certainly never tell them this, much smarter than they may look at first glance. Those who are already successful with their campaigns can teach you a lot. So take a close look at what they are doing and how they are doing it.
Imitation is just another way to flatter; as long as it's not plagiarism, of course. Try to keep an eye on a few of your competitors: How do they operate? Where do they place their adverts? And do they seem to be gaining new customers on a regular basis?
Of course, you can't say for sure whether your competitors' adverts are working or not. But you can analyse their products and the order in which they sell them and draw conclusions for your own articles and advertising campaigns.
You can also check out forums where people are discussing your competitors to find out which of their marketing campaigns works best.
It is also a great help to take a few elements from other people's campaigns for yourself, so that their customers also look over to you.
This doesn't mean you can copy your competitor directly; that doesn't work. But you can create similar adverts (not too similar, of course) to confuse customers into buying from you this time.
Know the needs of your customers
Your customers will tell you exactly what you need to do, but you also need to listen to them. Whether you communicate directly to them by email or through forums, customers know exactly what you want and what you don't want. All you have to do is listen carefully.
If you already have customers who regularly order from you, you need to encourage them to buy more. This means you need to find out what OTHER things they could use so that they continue to be satisfied with your offer.
You can proceed as follows:
- Look around in forums or on news portals
- Start a survey on your website
- Provide a free report to see how people react to its content
- Offer a tempting product (for example, an article on how to lose weight without dieting...) to see how people react to it
You need to try and test a lot to find out what customers are interested in and what they are willing to spend money on. If they are interested in what you have to offer, they will show it to you.
And if you're still not sure, just ask them. Customers like it when a company is interested in what they have to say.
The cost of adverts
When you're ready to buy ads, you'll notice that there's a wide range of prices to choose from. And because most internet marketers don't like to spend money, it can be very tempting for them to pick the cheapest deal and then wait for their millions in sales.
If only things were that simple! But even if you have to pay money to see if your banner ad is effective, at least it's money well spent.
In the past, money was spent on advertising that didn't work. So if you now invest in an advertising campaign that works, the return on investment will increase much faster than it did before.
And in the end, you'll be happy with the money you've spent.
Should marketing be expensive?
The beauty of a partially ailing economy is that it offers an opportunity for everyone to organise low-cost marketing. Prices for advertising banners are cheaper than ever before, while the return on investment is higher. Think about it - your products probably haven't changed much, but since the advent of free online advertising and social media marketing, not as many people are buying expensive adverts.
To encourage customers to continue buying adverts, advertising companies are lowering prices everywhere. Of course, the ad slots with the most popular keywords and the best position still cost a lot of money. But the type of advertising you want to run probably won't be really expensive.
You will be able to place your adverts in relevant places for less than 100 euros and see the first results soon after. It may not be the overnight success that it could be, but you will soon realise that you don't need to invest a lot of time and money to get your business and its products or services noticed.
You just need to use the remarketing process so that the adverts can attract people who would otherwise not have noticed your company.
There are entrepreneurs who equate investing a lot of money with earning a lot of money. But it never hurts to start small and slowly work your way up instead of paying a lot of money without being sure that the advertising campaign will work; your money may be wasted as the price of your inexperience.
The bottom line is that investing a lot of money will generate a lot of traffic, but it may not be the kind of traffic that is useful for your website and your business. The smarter approach is to dip your toe in the water first to see what happens - and only expand your advertising once you're making more money and can better understand which banners customers are responding to and which they're not. Create your advert
Your banner ads have the ability to generate the traffic that can skyrocket your profits. But if you want to attract people to your website and all your offers, it's not enough if the banners are just good. They need to be marvellous, enticing and seductive.
This is a difficult task if you are new to the advertising world. You may know what you don't want in your advert, but it's a lot harder to work out what EXACTLY you want to see.
So we're going to give you a little help. When it comes to optimising your marketing, creating ads is a process that will help you figure out what works and what doesn't work for you. Every marketer's customers are different. Logical! So you may need to use certain tactics that don't work for others and vice versa.
The basics for a successful advert
A banner advert looks like something you can easily create when you look at them on the internet. It's nothing more than a small rectangle with some colours and words in it that gives customers a quick overview and entices them to click on it to get more information.
But of course the whole story is a little more complicated. Before you start designing an advert yourself, you need to know the various rules for it and also be aware that these can change - depending on what kind of adverts they are, where they are to appear, etc.
The rules for advertising banners (in most cases)
Advertising banners are referred to as 'advertising units'. This is the usual approach in the world of online advertising in order to have a clear definition of what is advertising and what is not.
This type of advertising is an area established by the Internet Advertising Bureau to provide equal opportunities for space allocation. Nevertheless, someone who has a lot of money can of course still buy full-page adverts and determine the advertising market.
The dimensions of banner ads have been standardised because the areas in which ads are placed often have standard sizes. Of course, those who publish the adverts always have the final say and can change the dimensions or the content provisions if they wish.
You have probably seen adverts that are much larger than a banner advert usually is. In this case, the advertisers and those publishing the advert have reached an agreement.
Some online magazines have large adverts that span entire articles and have to be clicked away by the user. Other sites prefer to follow the "rules" and only publish banners in the smaller peripheral regions.
Ultimately, you must always orientate yourself to those who publish your advertisement and design your banners according to their requirements.
The shape of an advertising banner
Banner advertising is a part of marketing that seems really straightforward. You have a specific space where you have to convince a person to click on the link.
Advertising banners fall into the category of showcase adverts. This is advertising that is orientated within certain fixed sizes:
- 728 x 90
- 300 x 250
- 160 x 600
Depending on the person who will publish your advert, you can or must enlarge or reduce it. You may therefore be able to include more information.
But even if you're only designing a small text advert, the words in your ad can create more of a stir than you think. New advertisers often think they need to shock viewers somehow or focus on a particular image to trick readers. But they forget that people don't like to be tricked.
What you expect from a banner advert is the following:
- Learn about the product
- Find out what makes this product special
- What you need to do to place an order
You should not confuse customers with your advert. They should know exactly why they need to pay attention to your advert and look at your offer. If you leave things unclear, you'll only create confusion and a banner that doesn't bring the results you might have expected.
Here are some things to keep in mind for your banner ad:
- Get to the heart of your message
Although you should include some words and explanations, this does not mean that you have to include every little detail about your product. Remember that people on the Internet only pay attention to adverts for a fairly brief moment. So choose your words as effectively as possible - and only those that really get to the heart of what you offer and why it's important to click. - Call to action
A basic sales tactic is to put some pressure on the person viewing the advert. Include something like 'call now' or 'click here within the next 5 minutes' to ensure the viewer acts. A time limit, a limited offer or a few emotions will increase the likelihood of users clicking on your link. - Give the users a reason
When someone sees your banner advert, they need a reason to click on it. That's why you often find free offers on the Internet. If you offer users something they want, then you can easily attract them to your website. Give people a reason to click on your adverts and they will! - Make sure that the direction is clear
There's nothing more frustrating than a banner advert that doesn't clearly state what you need to do to get more information or order the product. So make sure it's clear where the customer needs to click to get the traffic (and hopefully sales) you expect for your investment. - Know your niche
If your banner advert is not aimed at your target group, then it will not be successful. You need to make sure that it is tailored precisely to your market. - Consider rich media techniques
If you want more attention, you can also include Flash animations. Some people find this gimmick a little annoying, but when the entire screen is filled with text, you sometimes have to do a little more to achieve the desired results. - Make sure that your URL is included
The address of your website should also appear as text on your advert whenever possible. This will increase the number of visitors to your site - and ultimately your return on investment.
Even without a remarketing plan, these rules would be sufficient to increase the effectiveness of your adverts.
The basics of advertising banner text
When writing adverts, regardless of the product or service, you need to clearly decide what information to include and what not to include. You need to look at the different parts of the banner and work out how to place your text so that it catches the viewer's eye immediately and also encourages them to click on the link.
You need to make sure you include certain keywords in your banner adverts so that they appear where your customers are. To find out which are the most effective keywords for you, you can use a free tool such as Google Ad Words.
This allows you to find out which words and search terms are used most frequently. Advertising with the better keywords may be more expensive, but it definitely pays off in the end.
But now let's move on to how you can create your banner adverts yourself - for example with a programme such as Adobe Photoshop, which is installed on many computers or can be easily installed.
- Start by opening the Adobe programme and opening a new document in which you create the banner ad. It is best to save it immediately under a specific name so that you can easily find it again and can always save it temporarily.
- You must then specify the size of your banner. The ideal size for a logo is 468 x 60 pixels. However, you should check beforehand where the banner is to be published to ensure that it has the right dimensions.
- The next step is to determine the resolution of the advertising banner, which is a tricky issue for many people. On the one hand, of course, you want the banner to look great on the screen, but on the other hand, the resolution should not be too high, otherwise the advert will load too slowly. It's better to choose a slightly lower resolution to start with. You can always change it later.
- You will then be asked to select a black or white background before you can press OKAY and start designing your advertising banner.
- To get started, you must have already saved the graphic in a file, just like the text that you may have already designed in Adobe Photoshop.
- Go to File and open the image you want to use for your banner. It will then appear in your workspace and you can change its size so that it fits exactly into the banner.
- Click on the Tools area to edit the image further. From there, you can copy the image and place it in the banner area. You can further vary the size of the graphic there.
- The edges of the image can also be adjusted so that you end up with the best possible fit.
- If you hold down the Shift key while doing this, you ensure that the image remains in the same size and position and does not move unintentionally at the end.
- Once you are happy with the position of the image, you can tick the checkbox to set the design.
- If anything is blurred, go to "Filter", "Sharpen" and then click on "Unsharp Mark" to make it appear sharper.
- Repeat all steps after you have inserted the text.
For many people, creating a banner is far from your skill set and a lot more work than they really want to put in. You may plan to try it out in the future, but creating a banner for an advertising campaign is not something you need to master right now.
There are also online programmes and professionals who can do this work for you. We will now go into this in more detail.
Check the effectiveness of adverts
If you already have banners that you have used in the past, it is a good idea to continue using them, especially if they have already proven to be successful. This way, you can start straight away with a campaign that has the best chance of being successful and effective.
Once your banners are published, it's time to test. This is important if you have not used this type of marketing before - especially when it comes to remarketing.
You want to be sure that people are enthusiastic about your advert from the very first moment. Even small things and differences in your adverts can make a big difference between users clicking on the link or simply ignoring what you have to say.
Here are a few ways you can test your advertising:
- Design different versions of your banner advert
Ideally, you should design three different banners to check how they affect users. You can rotate them in your remarketing campaign and check which one gets the most clicks. The banner that turns out to be the most successful can also be used for the rest of the campaign. - Choose different colours
People often don't believe that colours really matter that much, but they do. Sometimes customers are influenced by colours alone that you would never have thought would have a certain effect. By posting the same banners in different places in different colours, you can find out which colours resonate more than others. - Try different messages
Of course, it's the words you choose that matter most. If you have a banner with particularly great text that makes people immediately understand why they should click the link, try to use or mimic that text in as many other adverts as possible. By customising your banners with different messages and posting them in different places, you can find out which one works best.
Testing ads is a lot of work, of course, but it's the only way to recognise what works and what doesn't and create banners that are truly effective.
Find advertising experts
If, despite all these instructions, you find that creating banners yourself is too cumbersome and time-consuming, you should turn to professionals. You may be able to create adverts that are 'good enough' but still not as effective as you would like.
Why wait for this effectiveness? There are plenty of professionals you can work with to create successful and profitable banner adverts.
Advertising banner companies
If you leave the creation of banners to others, then it is best to turn to companies that specialise in precisely this area. They have enough experience because they have already done exactly the same work for thousands of other customers.
But of course there are not only good companies, there are also a few black sheep - and sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference between the two from the outset. Below are a few companies you might want to consider. But of course, there are plenty of others that will either do all the work for you or give you access to online tools that you can use to design your banners yourself.
I would be happy to accompany you through the selection process!
So here are a few tips to help you find the best banner designer for your needs:
- You are impressed by the design
When you visit a banner designer's website, you should be immediately impressed by what you see. The company should be able to create banners that you would click on yourself. Extra points should be given to companies that you have found through one of their adverts. This proves that their work at least works for you. - The price is not too low
Of course you want to spend as little money as possible, but in most cases there is a reason why something is so cheap. Maybe these companies are copying adverts from others or not delivering the quality you want. - You have the opportunity to be part of the development process
A good banner company should be willing to work directly with you to ensure that you are satisfied and that what you want to communicate to your customers has been realised. - You have experience
The more experience the company has, the better it is for you and for the end result.
Take some time to evaluate the different banner designers and companies. Companies may be the better choice to work with because in many cases they not only have graphic designers on staff, but also copywriters who can help you find the right message for your needs.
Make absolutely sure that the company also has a good reputation in the marketing world. If you choose someone who doesn't, you risk not only spending money for nothing, but also jeopardising the reputation of your own business.
Freelance graphic designers
You may also want to work with freelancers who can be found via certain freelance portals. These professionals are often active in more than just a single field or will recommend friends who can write copy for you or find the right advertising space for you.
The positive thing about working with a freelancer is that in most cases they only concentrate on one client at a time. Of course, this also has a decisive advantage in terms of the quality of the end result. The disadvantage is that you may have to look for other people to do the copywriting for you if this is not your own strength.
The following things should be considered when working with freelancers:
- Experience
You need someone who has experience in creating effective banners that also look good. So prefer jobbers who are not new to designing banners. - Software
The freelancer should have at least Adobe Photoshop 7.0 to be able to give your banner a professional look. - References
Take a look at at least five other ad banners designed by the jobber to see if they match your style and look enticing. - Prices
A freelancer will probably charge a little more than a company, because they have to take into account the time and effort involved. - Time required
In some cases, freelancers take more time to complete their work than companies. You should therefore create and set a deadline for your project before you sign any contracts.
Another advantage of working with a freelance graphic designer is that you can also work with them in the future or in other marketing areas. Working with one person is always better than working with many different people.
When you need to change something
However, with all the talk about creating ad banners, don't think that you can just create a few adverts and you'll never have to change them. Great if they are popular and working! In that case, of course, you don't need to change anything. But over time, you should also prove that you're innovative and lively - someone who understands the changing needs of your customers.
Here are some signs that you should make changes to your banner campaign:
- Your traffic figures are no longer increasing
If you're not happy with your traffic figures, then it might be time for a new advertising campaign. Sometimes remarketing campaigns need a little tweaking. - Some banners no longer work well or not at all
At some point, banners will no longer work as well as they once did. In these cases, you will need to replace them and observe whether any changes subsequently occur. - You have a new product
Whenever you offer a new product or service, it's also time to create a new advert to promote it and show customers who have already bought from you that there's something new.
If you had a certain structure and great words that worked great, you can of course keep that as much as possible. After all, why change something that is successful?
But it could also happen that you confuse users if your new banner ends up looking almost exactly like the old one. So you need to change your adverts so that the new looks new and not just like something old that has been redesigned.
Your banners need to be high quality and placed where they will be seen by the people you want to attract as your customers. The more time you spend designing your adverts and finding the right place for them, the more money you will make from your efforts.
And that's your goal, right? But of course there are many more secrets, for example how exactly to write successful messages for banners.
Copywriting secrets for banners
You know how to create adverts and how to hire someone to do it for you. But that's not the end of the story. Just like the person working for you, you need to know what copy works for banners. How else can you know if you're getting good quality? In the end, you might be paying for something that doesn't bring you sales.
The secrets of advertising copywriting are not readily revealed because, logically, no one wants another person to find out how to use their own strategy to get users to click on the adverts and buy something.
But it really is easier than it looks and even easier than it sounds. You just have to think of ad creation as a three-part process: Attract them, Prove it to them, and Call to Action. In this section, we'll talk about all three steps and how to make sure that each advert implements as many of these tips as possible.
The more you can use, the better! We've all seen banner adverts, but we don't usually remember them, right? No, we only remember the ones that really catch our eye or that offer something we've been looking for anyway.
So there are a few things you should keep in mind when you start designing the advert.
Working out the benefits
If you have already analysed your market sufficiently, then you know that your product is a product that is needed. If you are not sure what you actually want to sell, the first thing to think about is the BENEFIT. People can always be persuaded to buy things they need - or things they think they need.
If you offer bin liners, for example, that doesn't sound particularly exciting. But they are necessary. They are something that people need every day to keep their homes free of rubbish. If you can somehow make these kinds of essential products better, people will not only be intrigued, they'll be on the verge of buying them. Why? Because you already know the benefits of what you're offering. When they think about the product, they think they have to buy bin liners anyway - and then automatically ask themselves why your bin liners are so special...
Now, not everyone sells a product that already has a well-known benefit, but it is possible to create such a benefit yourself. As an example, let's think of the newer halogen light bulbs that are supposed to last at least seven years. People already have light bulbs that they can buy at a favourable price. Why should they buy these newer ones?
When they started to market them, they didn't just think about the benefits of light, but also about other advantages:
- Gives light
- Lasts seven years
- Is environmentally friendly
- Is energy efficient
- Is brighter
It's an old sales trick: get your target audience to agree with you that your product is needed. Then increase this benefit by adding even better things so that people also agree with the idea that they need to buy this product.
Create a list of things that are appealing to customers. If you can't think of any benefits, then you need to choose a different product.
First the advantages
If you want to sell something, you first need to work out all the benefits that the product or service brings to the customer.
- What does it do?
- What makes it better?
- What can it do that nobody else can?
- What will it do?
- How will it make life easier?
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How can it make someone healthier?
Focus your advertising banners on what customers would say about your product after they have bought it. You want them to take the item home with them and remember that all the benefits you listed were real.
Make sure that each of your banners refers to one of these many benefits - and that each subsequent banner emphasises a different benefit. This will increase the click rate. Because each time a customer recognises yet ANOTHER benefit of the product you want to sell them.
Relevance
If you advertise something that people who look at it don't like, then you won't have much success. Maybe there will be a few clicks out of curiosity, but certainly no great sales. So you need to make sure that your banner ad matches the topics on the website and has some relevance. In the next chapter, we will talk about how to use certain remarketing techniques to make the banner appear where people who are really interested in it are.
In the meantime, make sure that your adverts are relevant.
- Does the product or service play a role?
- Do people want to buy it?
- Is the article still used today?
- Will the article still be used in the future?
- Is it up to date?
- Will it have to compete with other - better - products?
Customers can smell it when an article is not really important. That's why you need to ask yourself as many questions as possible to make sure you're advertising something that really has added value.
Address the feelings
Marketing and advertising have played an increasingly important role over time because people have realised that it is much easier to influence people's feelings than logic - and that these feelings often take second place to logic.
People react differently to different influences. Some cry at a sad film, others don't. If you succeed in appealing to the customer's feelings, you can switch off their ability to think logically.
When make-up is marketed, for example, it is not primarily about how it helps the skin or whether it has a health effect. Instead, we are shown images of attractive people having fun and laughing. The idea is to make the person watching the advert believe that the make-up will make them have so much fun themselves.
Another example: If an advert about a sad moment that is dealt with positively is shown on television, viewers are also tempted to buy the advertised product because they associate it with the emotion evoked.
Emotions open the doors directly to the customer's wallet. They can be influenced by:
- Anger
- Sadness
- Compassion
- Cheerfulness
- Care
- Fear
... and also from many other feelings. The more a person is attracted to something, the more they want to find out about it. Another way to use banner advertising is to get customers to buy from you: The advert has to trigger a certain feeling in the customer and the advertised product is there to override that feeling and replace it with another.
So your job is to create an emotion for your design that captivates people. Even if it's just a sad picture with a hopeful message: find a way to touch the viewer emotionally so that they are able to believe they will feel better by buying the product.
What people want
You have already found out how to deal with a customer's needs. Customer wants, however, are a completely different issue. If a person really WANTS something, they will get it, regardless of what they see. This requires a different form of advertising; one that makes people realise their dreams and desires:
-
- A happy relationship
- Weight loss
- More money
You understand what I mean. By creating a connection with the customer and the things they want in their life, you will get attention. Because then the customer wants to find out if you are actually able to solve all their problems or at least fulfil some of their wishes.
Make a list of the desires that people might associate with your product and find a way to incorporate that into your design. It can also be something very simple, for example the question: Would you like to lose ten kilos without starving yourself?
This emphasises the customer's desire and makes them wonder whether you might offer something that could help them. Accordingly, they will click on your advert.
Pictures tell stories
It's true. Whilst words are effective when it comes to explaining what you offer and why you offer it, it's the images that make or break your banner advert. You must a banner that gets people to read the text in the first place and then want to find out more.
The image could represent something that could happen after you have used the product, for example a before and after picture on the subject of weight loss.
Or you can choose an image that - exactly as described above - evokes an emotion. Because if you can do that, then the person will also read your text, which in turn will make them click on the advert...
The image should be simple, sharp and immediately captivating. It should be clear what is happening in the image, why it is important and what it has to do with your product or service.
You can also choose an image that creates a connection to your customers' lives. For example, if you want to sell a book about getting rid of clutter, the image could either show the home of a messy person or a room that is spotless and tidy.
If possible, find a way to insert the images so that it emphasises or even enhances your text.
At the same time, the whole thing should not overwhelm the reader. In most cases, the best banner adverts only contain a few words. If you're not sure what works best for you, simply use several different banners to find out which one is most effective.
Words make an impression
Images are very important and helpful in advertising; however, they are not the only things you need to worry about. Your words have power and they can change the opinion customers have of your product - and not always for the better.
Before you create your banner, you should know that you have very little space available. Therefore, your words should be chosen wisely. You should only use the ones that are really CRITICAL to the message you want to convey.
In short: use as few words as possible, always!
Of course, they should also be words that are powerful and convey energy. Here are a few tips to help you choose the right ones:
- Brainstorming
All good copywriting always starts with a brainstorming session. Take the time to write down everything you want your advertising banner to convey. This can be anything that is currently buzzing around in your head. - Underline the powerful words
Now take your brainstorming notes and underline all the words that stand out. These are the real power words that are important for a draft text. - Find synonyms
Now that you have lots of ideas on your piece of paper, consult a dictionary of synonyms or search the internet for synonyms for the power words you have found. You will discover words that you hadn't even thought of and perhaps even simpler terms to better summarise your message. - Write sentences that call for action
Then, when you start writing, you need to find sentences that encourage people to take action. They should be sentences that make you feel like you belong to something very special. We'll show you some examples in a moment. - Read your draft out loud
Once you have your first draft, you should read it out loud to yourself to see if it inspires you or gives you the feeling of taking action. If not, you will need to rewrite your text until it does. - Cross out what you like best
If you feel that your text still doesn't sound right, but you don't know what exactly to change, just try crossing out your favourite section. Sometimes you just have to leave some things out to get ahead. - Change the order
The order of the sentences sometimes needs to be changed so that the content makes more sense and reaches the audience better.
Here are a few examples of banner texts that work:
- It doesn't have to be difficult to lose a few kilos
- Lose five kilos of fat today
- Make big money today with an exciting business plan
You need to get to the heart of exactly what your product can do, what results can be expected and what exciting thing is involved. Remember that this is the text that will turn the reader into a customer.
Short and sweet
It cannot be said often enough that while you need to find the right words to make a good first impression on your target audience, you must never use too many words. If you go too far, not only will your banner look cluttered, but there is also a risk that the reader will get bored and simply click to another page.
Try never to have more than 100 words on your banner if you can. With this number, the text can be read easily and quickly without the feeling of wasting time.
And the faster a text can be read, the less you get the feeling that someone is trying to sell you something you don't want.
Your banner should be exciting, unique, clear and effective when it comes to click-through rates. But if your offer sounds too good to be true, then you need to prove it!
Prove it
The next step to effective banner advertising is to prove your claims to readers. You can promise the moon - if you don't come across as trustworthy, no one will be interested in finding out more about you.
But how is that supposed to work - proving something in a small box?
Use images and visual language
As you have already learnt, images are able to capture the customer's attention and make them want to know more about what you are selling. Pictures tell a story. They tell a person what to expect when they buy and use your product.
The best example of this is always before and after photos on the subject of dieting. Someone who is already inherently interested in losing weight will see this advert and identify with the people in it. So you should choose a person who corresponds to the normal slightly overweight average person and then take a photo of the same person, only much slimmer and more attractive.
You might as well show a before and after photo of a person who has used a particular face cream. You can see where this is going, can't you? The sooner you're able to show customers what they can expect from your product, the sooner they'll buy it to find out if your promises are true.
Figures and statistics
People will also believe you more if you are able to include a few facts and figures related to your product. For example:
-
- 25% of all users will lose weight
- 95% earn 1000 euros per week
-
100% of all people who test this product are successful
So find ways to present statistics to your customers so that they want to find out if the numbers apply to them. To do this, you can either look at the feedback you have received about your product so far or #give your product to a few people so that they can try it out.
Once you have the results of your small study, you can use the numbers for your banner ad to show readers that you are selling something impressive and that the successes are transferable to others.
Screenshots
If you sell an item whose results are visible on websites or in online forums, you can also include a screenshot in your banner. For example, screenshots that show the increased traffic of a page or the revenue generated by a website are often used.
This will lead the people viewing the banner advert to believe that they can achieve the same result or even do better. Because the proof that it is possible is right in front of them and cannot be denied.
So to find out what you need to do the same, you need to click on the advert.
Go to the action
The call to action is the part of the advert where you really capture the customer. Until now, you have only tried to influence him and persuade him to make a certain decision. But now you're directly asking them to put their decision into action, even if there's still a risk that they won't buy anything after landing on your website.
Create urgency
The best way to call the customer to action is to create some urgency. You've probably seen these types of adverts before.
Here are some examples
- Today only!
- A limited offer
- Only while stocks last
- Discount for the first 100 customers
If you give the customer the feeling that they may not be able to take advantage of the offer if they don't do so immediately, they will be much more likely to think about clicking on the advert than if you hadn't included this urgency.
Because if the customer believes that he will still find this offer tomorrow, then he may as well wait until tomorrow. Why shouldn't he do it?
You need to create a banner advert that tells people to act sooner rather than later.
A passionate appeal
You have probably already seen how a political election campaign works and how it tries to generate emotions in the reader. Such passionate appeals to voters are very reminiscent of adverts. If you also include such an appeal in your advert, you will be using all your energy once again to really convince a person who is about to click.
These could be the following appeals, for example:
- It could be your last chance!
- Your health is important. Take action today!
- You can't wait any longer to finally be happy!
This gives your customer another chance to be convinced and find out what you want to sell them.
Promotional gifts and guarantees
A call to action can also be something that is less demanding. For example, you could offer your customer to visit your website to download a free eBook. This will give you their email address, which you can use to remarket to them later.
To get the customer's attention, you can also offer a promotional gift or a guarantee. The advert could then look like this:
- 100% Satisfaction guarantee
- 100% money-back guarantee
- Free report
In this way, you present yourself as someone with good will who is offering something free because they believe in what they want to share with others.
And if you offer something that has a certain value, customers will be much more willing to buy your products.
Examples of banner advertising
If you want to find out more about what a banner advert could look like, read the following section. Together we will create an example of the imaginary product Play through "Dirty Laundry", a stain remover detergent.
We follow this structure:
Powerful introduction
You should start with something that captivates the reader and makes them want to read on, unless they act immediately and click on the advert.
-
Have you ruined your clothes with ordinary detergent and stain removers?
Tempting offer
Now you need to tell the person how your problem can be solved.
-
"Dirty Laundry" is an environmentally friendly detergent that removes all your stains and gets your clothes clean - GUARANTEED!
Underneath you could place a photo of a T-shirt; first how it looked before and then how clean it is after it has been cleaned with the detergent.
Call to action/passionate appeal
- Get a FREE sample of "Dirty Laundry"when you click here. Your clothes will thank you for it.
This advert started with a simple question. It then talked about what the product was and what it could do, and then offered a free trial: Simple, quick and straight to the point. This advert also offers something that is regularly needed in the home anyway. Of course, you can design adverts in other ways, but this one was a good example to get your brainstorming started.
Advertising banner strategies for maximum conversion
It's a good idea to do everything you can right from the start to ensure that your banner advert is not only pretty to look at, but that it is also implemented with clever tips that even the professionals use.
Here are some of these tips:
- Be concrete
Just like a cover letter for a new job, you don't want to create just any banner advert in the hope that it will attract attention. When creating your banner, you always need to have a specific target audience in mind because that's who you want to reach when you start using Google Remarketing Tools. - Integrate animation
If you have the skills or can hire a professional to do it, why not try a little animation in your banner ad? Yes, it's true that if you mean too well with it, then there's a big risk of annoying some viewers. But if you want to appeal to a younger audience, sometimes fun graphics are the best way to encourage them to visit your site and find out what you have on offer. - Use specific keywords
When it comes to banner ads, there are certain words that everyone loves to see and almost everyone jumps on to find out more: Free, Click Now, Click Here, Today Only, Act Today, etc. Use these words and you will see an increase in your traffic and conversion rate. - Working together with experts
If at all possible, try to work with a company that specialises directly in banner creation - or with design companies. They know best what to do, how to do it and what works. Of course, you should also be involved throughout the process, but sometimes it's just best to let the professionals do the work.
Are these the only secrets? Absolutely not! But you will notice that they are simple and often used strategies in the field of banner creation. These tips work! If you look around online, you'll find that the most effective banners combine all of the tips listed above.
Modern "remarketing" ideas
Remarketing is a concept that most people find a little confusing. That's because there are so many different definitions for it. In this book, we're only referring to remarketing and its offshoots as it relates to banner advertising. And luckily, it's a lot simpler than it sounds. If you want to make an impression on your customers, you need to make sure you're drip-feeding them your company's message over and over again.
And for this you need the help of Google.
Remarketing for beginners
Many people understand what remarketing and continuous adverts are, but they don't understand how exactly it works. Somehow it also seems a bit like magic to switch from page to page and always discover the same or similar advertising campaigns. It's as if there's someone following you and trying to make contact, even though there's no one there at all.
Or maybe it is?
Remarketing is a process that limits your market to the people who really want to buy something from you. With each successive advert, customers will either consider buying from you or decide to ignore your adverts and your offers. In either case, you are narrowing your sales field and increasing the chances of making money from those who click on the adverts.
What happens while you are remarketing, i.e. continuing to advertise exactly your market, is ingenious:
- Brand awareness increases
With every additional advert for your product, your brand will get more attention. And the better known your brand is, the easier it is to sell your products. Even if they don't buy anything today, your company will remain in the back of their minds. This increases the likelihood of purchases in the future. - Optimised process
Because remarketing is a process that takes control of your marketing for you, you can save time and money. Once you've entered all the parameters into Google, you can walk away and do something completely different - and know that your customers will still see the ads (over and over again) that appeal to them the most. You don't have to control every single step. - Higher conversion rates
Older and more recent studies have shown that remarketing is able to bind customers to a company and ensure that they will shop there, even if this does not happen on the same day. - Encouragement from customers and companies
Although there will always be people who don't like receiving offers over and over again, the general response to remarketing is actually positive. It now seems to be an accepted form of advertising.
As you can see, remarketing is not only able to build a connection between you and your customers, but it can also help you generate your desired profits. But enough with all the benefits. Let's find out how you can make remarketing work for you.
How to set up your remarketing project
There are several ways to use the remarketing idea to increase your profits. The simplest of these is to set up a banner that leads a person to your order page. But that's not the only way to attract customers and make them want to learn more about your product and hopefully buy it.
Remarketing can also be used as follows:
- Transfer traffic from affiliate sites to your site
- Bring customers back to the order page when they click out of the shopping basket
- Direct visitors to an email field to collect their email addresses
- Direct customers to a web seminar page or a free video to further engage with them
You also have the opportunity to do some things to make customers reconsider their decision not to buy, or not to buy as much as they initially wanted.
Clever marketers will set up their remarketing so that it can also do the following things:
- Offer promotional gifts and additional packages shortly before the end of the purchase
- Present a time-limited offer in continuous adverts: While your first adverts motivated the customer to buy something specific in general, further adverts on other pages then take on a more urgent tone.
- Show the customer a different sales side - from a different perspective
Set up a remarketing project today
If you are in your Google Ad Words account, then you need to target your audience to get your remarketing campaign going. This is the only way to get things moving when it comes to whether a person clicks on the advert or not.
However, we can only start if you are already registered with Google Ad Words. You must either have already advertised with Google or at least be ready to do so now to start an effective Ad Words campaign.
Click on the following link to register with Ad Words:
Once your account is set up, you will be taken to the creation of your first advert. This is a helpful process, but we won't go into it further now as you already know how to create an effective advert.
What you need to know now about how to create a remarketing campaign.
Your first remarketing campaign
To start with, you should set up at least five advertising campaigns on Google. This will give you different directions in which you can direct your remarketing.
Once you have set up these five banners, you will come to the actual remarketing.
Next, click on the tab with the target groups, which you will find in the upper area where you also create your adverts. In this area, you can select the target groups that should or should not see certain adverts. This means you can select the customers who should click on your adverts.
Ensure that your adverts work
If your adverts don't work, they won't bring you the money you hoped they would. Even if you have the best possible place for your remarketing, if your adverts don't get any attention, then you won't earn anything from them either.
But are there other ways to find out if the campaign is working - apart from checking whether the banners are clicked or not?
Yes, you can monitor your website traffic as normal. Not only can you create a great remarketing campaign, but you can also check which banners are effective and which are not. The ones that work should be spread further, while the ones that don't bring profits should be removed from your campaign as soon as possible.
How to check your adverts
So your adverts are now visible on the web and create an impression on the person viewing them. But is that the right impression? You may get a lot of clicks, but if they don't translate into revenue, then it doesn't matter at all. You need more than just clicks.
It's also the case that many viewers are really intrigued by certain banner adverts, but are put off by something that makes them not click on them anyway.
You need to understand these facts quickly to really ensure that your adverts work in the long term - and not just for a specific period of time. Because you deserve all the profits you could make with your banner adverts.
Learn which figures you need to check
Of course, you already know which figures to look out for. But is that really all you need to know? No, if you want to be a successful marketer, you need to do more! You need to look at the numbers that none of your inexperienced competitors are considering.
- Clicks, views
If you want to find out how well or how badly an advert is performing, then you need to look at how many clicks it has generated, even if they have not led to a purchase. The likelihood that the person who clicked on your banner was also interested in your product but was put off by the price or something else is high. - Popups
If you use pop-ups, you should of course also monitor how many people click on them. This includes those who only click on it to get it out of their field of vision, but finding out how often this advert has been seen is also helpful. - Emails
You need to check how many of your emails have been opened. If many of them are not read, it means you need to revise your subject line and make it more enticing.
You can check your advertising figures after you have started your remarketing campaign on Google. You will see how your numbers go up and down in this system as your ad banners are placed in the internet landscape.
If you find that things aren't working the way you'd like, that's a sign that maybe you should try a different banner. If this one doesn't work either, then you have a bigger problem than just your banners.
Services and service providers for your figures
Keeping an eye on these figures may sound like a lot of work to you. But it is also possible to delegate this task to someone else. For larger companies in particular, it makes sense to get someone on board who focuses solely on the figures.
Such companies know what is important when they analyse the figures. They know that you want to learn something from your conversion rate and not just know how many people have clicked on your links.
Google Analytics is a free programme that you can use to do this yourself. But there are also other companies that could help you (ClickTale.com and AltaVista.com, for example, are two of them).
There are a few reasons why someone else should check the figures for you:
- You know what the numbers mean
A service provider who regularly tracks access figures and conversion rates knows exactly when to inform you of problems and when to tell you that everything is going great. - You can check them more regularly
As a rule, you also have better things to do than to constantly monitor the figures for your banner adverts. However, because these figures need to be constantly monitored, employing someone else to do this is the best way to create a solid basis for your campaigns. - It's worth every cent
If you hire someone else to keep an eye on your banner ad numbers, you can replace your banners as soon as your audience starts to lose interest, rather than a week later when all interest in your products has completely disappeared and you've lost a lot of money.
But of course, some difficulties can also arise when working with other companies or certain services.
- You do not have complete control
If you choose a service that works on the other side of the world, your figures will never be completely up-to-date due to the time difference. - They might not understand your campaigns properly
Copywriting can be outsourced without any problems. When it comes to the figures, however, you need to make sure that you still understand what happens behind the curtain so that you can align your future campaigns accordingly.
Google Analytics is a free and simple tool that allows you to view your banner advertising figures yourself as often as possible. And it's completely worth your time and effort!
If the figures do not rise
If your numbers don't keep going up, what do you do? An inexperienced internet marketer would probably think they need to replace the banners as soon as possible. But this is not always justified.
When the numbers fall
Sometimes you will see small dips in your numbers, but this can be for a variety of reasons and doesn't always mean that your banner ad is not performing well. People might not click because:
- There are problems on the stock market
- The product has been recalled
- There was a health report about your product
- The holiday season has begun
- The competition has brought out a similar product
In fact, from time to time there is a small glitch in the system that prevents people from clicking on your adverts.
But if the figures for the following actions fall, then you should really think about taking action:
- You have published a new advert
- You have changed the texts
- You have defined a new target group
- You have not changed anything
If you see your numbers dropping and you can't think of any other reason for this change, then you should consider adjusting a few things - just slightly at first, to see if it has any impact on the numbers going forward.
When you should replace your banners
You should change your banner adverts from time to time, because people will eventually get bored of the same old texts and adverts, even if they don't realise it.
You should replace your banners:
- When the numbers slowly go down
- Approximately every month or more frequently if you have a lot of adverts
- Every time you offer a new product or your products have new features
You need to change things up every now and then. And that means you have to design new banners or hire someone to do it.
The truth about the numbers
To be fair, it must also be said that changes in the figures are not always bad news. If you notice that ALL figures are falling in all areas, then it's right, you need to act - immediately.
But since numbers sometimes rise and sometimes fall, it might be a good idea not to check them every day. It's best to check them just once a week to recognise a general trend. If it's pointing upwards, then everything is great. If it's pointing downwards, then it's time to think about a change. And if things don't look good at all, then find the problem and fix it.
7 conversion tactics after the click
It's not just about getting a person to click, is it? No, because once that person is on your website, you also need to make sure that click turns into money. And that means you have to do extra work when someone visits your website.
You need to make sure that this user has enough options to make the purchase you want them to make.
If they were not influenced by the banner advert or clicked on it but didn't buy anything, you may have to offer them something to entice them.
The free offer
Free items and giveaways are always a great way to encourage a person to buy something from you. This is especially the case with information products. For example, if you want to sell an eBook, you can offer a sample of it, such as a report that is a few pages long and contains some valuable information. The user who then downloads this report (free of charge) gets a taste of the actual eBook.
The result could then be that he is more willing to pay for the complete product.
Ideas for free offers
Below we have listed a few ideas that you can include on your website or in your banner adverts:
- Free samples
If you can offer your customers free samples, then they have the opportunity to take a closer look at your offer before investing any money. This is a great way to make your products more attractive. Let the customer pay the shipping costs so that they can try out the item as soon as possible. - Free information products
As described above, free reports and similar products can be very tempting. Hire a freelance copywriter to take on this task. You can then offer the information product to customers to download after they have provided their email address. - Free newsletter
If you collect the email addresses of the customers who click on your banner adverts, then you can offer them regular newsletters to keep them up to date with your products. You can also add some valuable information so that it's not just a stealth sales letter. - Free videos or audio files
If your product has anything to do with videos or audio files, you can also use these as promotional tools. For example, you could offer a free training programme for a diet plan on video. This lets the customer know what to expect from the entire product by allowing them to try this first training session without paying anything. - Free memberships
You can offer all customers who subscribe to your mailing list the opportunity to become part of the members area. By subscribing, they can join the exclusive club where they will be informed about offers before they are published and have access to various information products, such as articles, videos or audio files.
The more free products you can offer your customers, things that are not expensive to produce, the more likely you are to sell larger items.
The mailing list
Another way to get customers thinking about your offers is to ask them to sign up to your mailing list. You can then reach them by email and give them the feeling of being a member of an exclusive club that gets insider information that others are denied.
Offers for the mailing list
So how can you make your customers feel special? Quite simply, make them great offers that they can only receive by email. This could be free shipping or certain discounts. You can also get readers to suggest other members for the mailing list by offering further perks in return.
With so many emails being sent these days, you need to create emails that are actually worth reading. So only include articles that you can make a good offer on and that don't waste the reader's time. These should be offers that readers have not yet taken advantage of, or at least old offers that are juxtaposed with a new similar offer that will encourage readers to take another look.
Other possible ideas for emails:
- Announcements for new articles
- Announcements for events, offers, etc.
- Announcements for changes on the website
- Reminders for time-limited offers
You should provide the kind of information that people who sign up to your email list expect from you.
Don't Be Spammy
We are very sensitive to spam these days because we are simply bombarded with far too many emails. This can lead to all emails from companies being deleted immediately or automatically sent to the spam folder. Even if the customer has voluntarily subscribed to a mailing list, the email could still end up in the spam folder.
To ensure that this does not happen, follow these simple rules:
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- Provide an easy way to write them out
Offer a button with which customers can easily unsubscribe from the email list. This prevents you from being seen as a spammer. - Make it clear what to expect
Let all users who subscribe to your list know how many emails they can expect per week and what content they will have... - Limit the number of
If you send out emails every day, the recipients will quickly get tired of them, even if they always contain great offers. Try to send emails only once a week, preferably always on Fridays. Fridays are the days when people are most likely to read emails, while Mondays are the most likely days for promotional emails to be deleted immediately. - Keep the emails short
Nobody wants to spend hours on a single email, so keep it short and get straight to the point. - Use clear subjects
Your subject line should clearly state what kind of email you are sending, who it is from, etc. This way, the reader will immediately know who you are and why they are receiving an email from you. - Do not sell
It may be tempting to sell your customers something while you're writing those mass emails. But the best thing is to really only inform them about great offers, events and new products. Because then your mailing list will grow instead of shrink.
- Provide an easy way to write them out
Newsletter and informative mails
Many entrepreneurs receive feedback that their customers want more than just an email here and there. So if you are able to publish a high-quality newsletter on a regular basis, then you are certainly doing your customers the members of your mailing list a favour. This will also increase the likelihood that clicks will turn into cash, even if it doesn't happen immediately.
Ideas for newsletters
Your product should have many topics that are somehow related to it and that you could use for your newsletter. Think about the things your customers might be interested in. This way you will feel that you have really thought about their needs.
You could add the following items:
- Instructions for using the article
- Advantages of the article
For example, if you sell a health product, you could talk about other things in your newsletter that have positive health effects, just like your product. Let's say you sell a product for migraines, then you can talk about other ways to relieve or even stop the pain.
You should endeavour to create informative emails that are sent regularly and really offer the customer added value - not just empty information. If you just send anything without giving it any thought, you give the impression that you only want to help customers with one thing: Taking money out of their pockets.
Your customers may not be aware of this, but you still run the risk of reducing your mailing list and having difficulty selling your products.
The newsletter does not have to be longer than one page. But it should have an appropriate value and be well designed.
Information products and additional articles
If you're interested in making your customers feel like you're the most important part of your business, then it's a great idea to offer them informational products or other small add-ons to make them more likely to buy from you.
For example, you could offer a free training planner when the customer buys a diet or sports product. Or you could provide a free mobile phone application for everyone who buys from you.
Sell a little to sell a lot
You can increase your sales even if you only buy a few inexpensive items by working your way up to the more expensive items with your customers.
- Sell a magazine.
- Sell a thin book.
- Sell a small video.
Such items can be sent online and do not have to cost more than 5 euros. This gives the customer a feel for what it's like to shop with you. If you have other products that are worth the customer's money and time, then they will certainly consider shopping with you again at some point.
Memberships
Another way to get customers used to you and your products and get them to buy something is to offer to become a member of an exclusive club. This could be a mailing list or something like a Ning.com group where only certain people get access to learn more about the items you sell.
You can initially offer these memberships free of charge to convince members to buy something from you and thus increase profits.
You can easily set up such member clubs. Here are a few ideas:
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- Forum for members
These forums are only accessible to members. You can discuss your articles and the experiences you have had with them there. . - Websites for members
You can invite people via password-protected websites so that they can exchange ideas and obtain insider information.
- Forum for members
The good thing about such memberships is that they make many people feel special. They feel as if they have been invited by a company with which they can do good business.
Recommendations and references
Once a user arrives on your website, they will certainly think about buying something from you. However, as many people are still a little sceptical about the security of online shopping, you may need to convince your customers a little more.
And this is where recommendations and references can be helpful. This allows you to create a kind of community by showing customers that they are not the only ones who have bought from you and who are satisfied with you.
Here are some effective tips on the subject:
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- Refer to real people
Try to only publish recommendations from real people who can vouch for what they have said. If anyone finds out that you have given false recommendations, it certainly won't help your reputation. Unless you have real customers to recommend you, at least be realistic in what you write and include things that are true - such as compliments you have received. - Don't let it be too perfect
Don't publish recommendations that sound too good to be true. This will make customers think they are too good to be true. Make sure everything sounds realistic, even if the person who wrote that everything is just perfect is actually real. You don't have to overdo it either. - Insert a photo
To give it even more emphasis and trustworthiness, you can also include photos of the people who wrote the recommendations. - Keep them short
Recommendations don't have to be long to be convincing. - Concrete descriptions
These letters of recommendation should not just say that everything was wonderful. They should specifically address what the customer found so special about the product.
- Refer to real people
Once you have a few testimonials, there are many ways to use them. Not only can you publish them on your website, but also on your banner adverts, in your newsletters, your emails, etc.
When customers see that they are not the only ones buying an item from you, they feel more confident in their decision.
About us
Another great way to get people to buy something on your site is to have a “About us“ or a “About“-area. In the world of virtual commerce, it sometimes seems as if the people who want to sell us something are invisible and mysterious - and only there to collect the money.
Try to do it differently and create a connection with your customers by telling them who you are, what you offer, etc.
You can use the following items for this:
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- Background story
Write down the background story that tells how you came to do what you do today. This will help customers get to know you better - in a way that endears you to them and makes them feel like they're part of the family. - Your personal recommendation
If you have a story related to the fact that you have used your own product, now is the time to tell it. This shows that you are a person who has the same thoughts as the visitors to your site. And that makes you even more trustworthy. - Employee biographies
If you have people working with you, include a few stories about them. The appearance of a small community or family is very appealing to customers. - Pictures of you and your employees
If you can, include photos of yourself and your employees to show that there are real people running this business.
- Background story
The more personalised you make your website, the higher the conversion will be. People need to know that you really exist and that you don't intend to deceive them.
Clear instructions
What many website owners don't realise is the value of clear instructions on their pages. If these are not clear and somehow confused, they will not only cause confusion, but may also cause the user to leave and never come back.
Just as your banner advert must contain a clear call to action, your website must also provide clear instructions.
Click here
It must be clear where the customer has to go when they want to place their order. They also need to know within a few seconds where to find the item they saw in the banner advert. So you need to have very clear instructions to guide your customers around and tell them what they need to do next.
If the item is not directly on the page the customer lands on through the advert, then it may look like you want the customer to buy other things before they have even decided on the first item. That's not a good sales tactic!
Use word groups such as:
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- Click here
- Buy here
- Order now
- Order your _________
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Select the colour and size here
As you can see, these groups of words lead the person directly to the desired item and encourage them to buy it.
Instructions for the ordering process
Once the customer has found out where they can buy the item, it should be clear what needs to be done to finalise the order. Many of these systems are standardised, so almost all customers know what is expected of them. But it still doesn't hurt to pretend that users are not familiar with the Internet.
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- Check the shopping basket
This is the first thing that customers should see, so that they can be sure that they are only buying what they have actually put in their shopping basket. - The personal information
There, customers fill in the fields with their address and other information. You can also add the option to save this data for future orders or to receive a newsletter. - The payment information
On this page, you should ensure that the payment information is encrypted so that the customer knows that you are handling their personal information responsibly. Use Paypal or an SSL system for this. - Check data and finalise order process
The customer should then be given another opportunity to check their order before finalising the order process.
- Check the shopping basket
These steps are simple and they ensure that the customer knows what is happening in each section.
At the end, in addition to the confirmation e-mail that is sent automatically, you can add a small message informing you that the order has been accepted.
FAQ and general terms and conditions
Having a page where a person can get their questions answered is also a good idea. You should list the most frequently asked questions there:
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- What are the shipping conditions?
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What are the guidelines for returns?
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When will I receive my order?
- etc.
This not only informs your customers, but also gives them the opportunity to answer questions themselves immediately instead of waiting a long time for an e-mail reply.
Returns should be made easy, shipping should be fast and shipping costs should be reasonable. All of this leads to a higher conversion rate.
The general terms and conditions should also be available on your website and cover points such as warranties and guarantees.
Contact information
If you list your contact information prominently, customers will be much more likely to shop with you. Some companies make it difficult for customers to send complaints or arrange a return. This is rude and could potentially give the company a bad reputation.
Instead, offer various e-mail addresses and an emergency number that customers can contact with their enquiries.
Here are a few examples:
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- info@ihrewebseite.deFor general enquiries
- hilfe@ihrewebseite.de: mailto:help@yourwebsite.comWhen the customer needs help
- bestellungen@ihrewebseite.deFor enquiries regarding orders
- anregungen@ihrewebseite.deFor suggestions or proposals for improvement
You can also log in to Google Voice (http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html) to get a free phone number that can then be forwarded to your mobile phone. The voice mails are overwritten so that your private phone number is not visible. Google also offers to make calls with this phone number if you have access to your online account.
You have many opportunities to give your customers the feeling that they are not just another order. And this increases your chances of making a profit.
Closing words
In the end, banner advertising and remarketing can work together seamlessly to get the customer to click on the link and then act accordingly. With simple tools like Google Analytics or Google AdWords, the effectiveness of your banner advertising and your profits can be increased. It makes no difference whether you are a new marketer or have been doing business online for some time: The more control you have over your advertising campaigns and your customers' behaviour, the more likely you are to be successful.
With remarketing, you can bring customers back to you again and again, until they are convinced that you have a great offer for them. And since you're offering a great product, it only makes sense that you do everything you can to make sure the customer goes home with it.
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