retargeting

Remarketing – What is it?

For most websites, only 2% of web traffic converts on the first visit. Retargeting is a tool designed to help companies reach the 98% of users who don’t convert right away.

Retargeting, also known as remarketing, is a form of online advertising that continues to display ads for your products and services to users that have previously visited your site. Retargeting is a cookie-based technology that uses simple a Javascript code to anonymously ‘follow’ your audience all over the Web.

To do retargeting, your developer places a small, unobtrusive piece of code on your website that is unnoticeable to your site visitors. Every time a new visitor comes to your site, the code drops an anonymous browser cookie on the user. Later, when your visitors browse the Web, the cookie lets your Google know when to serve ads, ensuring that your ads are served to only to people who have previously visited your website. In some cases, it actually serves up and ad for the exact product or service that they were looking at on your website before they left.

Retargeting is so effective because it focuses your advertising spend on people who are already familiar with your brand and have recently demonstrated interest. It’s also extremely valuable to incentivize users to who abandoned a previous cart without purchase.  That’s why most marketers who use it see a higher ROI than from most other digital channels.

Retargeting works best in conjunction with inbound and outbound marketing campaigns like Adwords, targeted display ads and triggered email strategies. Retargeting is so effective because it focuses your advertising spend on people who are already familiar with your brand and have recently demonstrated interest. It’s also extremely valuable to incentivize users to who abandoned a previous cart without purchase.  That’s why most marketers who use it see a higher ROI than from most other digital channels.

Google lists several ways to use Adwords campaigns to remarket:

  • Standard remarketing: Show ads to your past visitors as they browse Display Network websites and use Display Network apps.
  • Dynamic remarketing: Show dynamic ads to past visitors with products and services they viewed on your website as they browse Display Network websites and use Display Network apps.
  • Remarketing for mobile apps: Show ads to people who have used your mobile app or mobile website as they use other mobile apps or browse other mobile websites.
  • Remarketing lists for search ads: Show ads to your past visitors as they do follow-up searches for what they need on Google, after leaving your website.
  • Video remarketing: Show ads to people who have interacted with your videos or YouTube channel as they use YouTube and browse Display Network videos, websites, and apps.

For more information about how to implement a solid remarketing plan, feel free to contact Lyn Nielsen at 631.428.4653 or [email protected].

Happiness Is Camping

Website helps kids with cancer

Desktop Solutions is proud to announce the completion of our latest project, a website for  Happiness Is Camping, a camp dedicated to helping kids with cancer. Located in beautiful Hardwick New Jersey, the camp sits on 150 pristine acres of woodland, fields, streams, and ponds. Supported by donations and volunteer staff members, the camp is free to all who attend. Campers, ages 6-15 attend our overnight camp staying from one week or all summer depending on their medical condition and the level of care required. The camp is also available for the siblings of the campers as well. Sibling’s ages 6-15 are allowed to attend camp for the same sessions as their brother/sister with cancer.

Camp activities include canoeing and fishing on our pond, swimming in our pool, arts and
crafts, theater, nature, volleyball, basketball, high and low ropes courses, a climbing tower, archery, a giant swing, and a zip line that crosses over the pond. Happiness Is Camping has a fully-staffed health center, with volunteer doctors and nurses from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Montefiore Medical Center.

As a non-profit camp, Happiness Is Camping depends on individual contributions from people who care about the kids they serve. To make a tax- deductible donation to this worthwhile organization, please click here.

 

email

Tips to Build Your Email List

  1. Ask everyone that comes to your place of business for their email address. Put a sign-up sheet at your register or reception desk. Ask callers on the phone. If you’re a webbased operation, send a follow-up after an order asking if they’d like to continue to hear from you. Have your employees and staff ask too. Don’t be shy! Studies have shown that over half of people will provide their email addresses if asked.
  2. Ask people you meet in professional settings. There’s a lot of networking going on at trade shows, conferences, seminars, and industry events—tell your new contacts about your email newsletter and ask them to subscribe, too!
  3. Many email marketing programs, like Constant Contact, have special features to make it easy for users to sign people up. There are also easy-to-use buttons and widgets to help you capture people’s interest in you. Put them on your website, Facebook page, blog, LinkedIn profile and in your outgoing emails. They’re easy to use. People just click on the link or button to access your sign-up page. Their email goes automatically into your contact database. Couldn’t be easier!
  4. Don’t forget about social media. People love to share information. Use a Social Share bar so your subscribers can forward your newsletter, put it on Facebook, or Tweet it—and make it easy for their friends to join your list!
  5. Cross-promote yourself with a related business or organization. Got a good relationship with a business that’s complementary to yours (such as florists and chocolate stores; theaters and neighborhood bistros). Promote each other in your respective newsletters by being “guest contributors” and writing a newsletter article for their audience, either one time or on an ongoing basis. You’ll also benefit by the perceived endorsement from the other business, making their subscribers more willing to join your list.
  6. Use incentives to get new signups. Offer a monthly prize drawing or freebie like a guide, discount, or giveaway to entice people to leave their email address. If you have employees, run a contest (with a great motivating prize, of course!) to see who gets the most new names in a certain period of time.
  7. Promote your email newsletter in all your printed collateral. Put a simple message on your business cards, brochures, advertisements, sales kits, and direct mail letters.
  8. Some ideas include:
  • “Sign up for our email newsletter for insider information and discounts at .”
  • “Get our monthly newsletters with tips on how to get more business.”
  • “Receive our weekly email newsletter for exclusive coupons.”
  • “Let’s stay in touch often. Sign up for our email newsletter.”
  • “Ask us about our email newsletter.”