4 ms·

I always wonder if this really works? Amazon uses it a lot and all I get ads for are products that I already bought. Which is pointless.

josefresco 8y ago
I think what you're referring to is different or more advanced. Simple remarketing involves putting a tracking pixel on your website, and then your ads show only to those users on another platform such as Facebook. It usually (on the base level) does not include purchase history.
- pavlov 8y ago
  I think that's the exact problem to which GP poster is referring: tracking only knows about URLs visited but not purchase history. A visit to the product page "vacuum cleaner WheezyMatic 3K" will get you flagged as interested in that product and you'll get shown ads for it — even though you already bought it on the original site.
  - JCharante 8y ago
    Maybe the ads could have content along the lines of "The WheezyMatic 3K: The Best On The Planet" and so when someone who already has bought the product sees those ads, they're instead reassured about their purchasing decision.
kristianc 8y ago
It is possible for advertisers to configure it so that this does not happen (in theory), but a lot simply do not bother. I've seen some compelling case studies that it does work, and even at low conversion % for big-ticket items (like hotels etc) it's insanely cost effective.
- criddell 8y ago
  If I shop around for a lamp on 5 different websites and finally buy from a 6th site, how do those first 5 websites learn that I bought a lamp? The pervasive tracking of which retargeting is the most visible form is mostly what drove me to use an ad blocker. I wonder if the cost effectiveness calculation factors in lost future purchases?
  - dspillett 8y ago
    > how do those first 5 websites learn that I bought a lamp? Even Amazon's ad servering systems don't seem to be told that I bought the lamp from them never mind some other store. Maybe they are hoping I liked it so much I'd decide that I need another lamp, so they want to remind me where I got the first one from? > is the most visible form is mostly what drove me to use an ad blocker My reason for blocking ads was because of the increasing incidence of malware riddled ad hosts often being used by high(ish) profile sites. imgur.com was the final bail of hay that made me install network-wide protection at home. I also rehost any image I decide to share from there, to protect people outside my LAN. I don't want the tech support workload of cleaning other people's machines after what I'd too often seen their (obviously not sufficiently verified) ad partners try to pull. My privacy is fairly shot already, but at least I can try to protect myself and others from other malware.
  - kristianc 8y ago
    Assuming that five different websites would all run a re-targeting campaign for the same lamp - it's tricky, and you would probably be relying on the retargeting cookie expiring, or you hitting the frequency cap for each. It's possible that at the level of the ad network the products could be disambiguated, and then cancelled so that other companies did not waste ad spend. This would be difficult as the products would have different SKUs. At the level of a single retailer, the retailer places a burn pixel on the checkout page which registers to no longer place ads for that product.
- JAlexoid 8y ago
  Certain hotels and services are already targeting a captive audience. If you're looking for hotels in London, you're already intent on finding a hotel. A single 3 night booking in New York City will easily produce $100 of revenue for an online travel agency. So... Throwing $10 for a click is hardly a bad investment. Other products and services are not like that. Look for food delivery on Google and check how many ads are unnecessary for you
bfdm 8y ago
I find the more effective version is showing you different products that either complement something you bought or are substitutions or variations on something you considered but did not buy. (Either browsed or added to cart but did not complete purchase)
lanerobertlane 8y ago
Anecdotal, but I've ran ads cold, targeted and re-targeted ads on Facebook for clients and eventually dropped re-targeting from the service I offer because it's extra time to build the campaign, extra cost and little to no benefit in terms of lead acquisition.
hobofan 8y ago
Actual retargeting (= targeting a previous visitor/buyer of your product) works, and in some cases works very well. Reactivating a customer vs acquiring a new customer can be up to 10x cheaper, depending on how well you do it. And if you know how to do that, then you can have a much higher initial CAC, which is often the hardest thing to optimize.

josefresco 8y ago

I think what you're referring to is different or more advanced. Simple remarketing involves putting a tracking pixel on your website, and then your ads show only to those users on another platform such as Facebook. It usually (on the base level) does not include purchase history.

pavlov 8y ago
I think that's the exact problem to which GP poster is referring: tracking only knows about URLs visited but not purchase history. A visit to the product page "vacuum cleaner WheezyMatic 3K" will get you flagged as interested in that product and you'll get shown ads for it — even though you already bought it on the original site.
- JCharante 8y ago
  Maybe the ads could have content along the lines of "The WheezyMatic 3K: The Best On The Planet" and so when someone who already has bought the product sees those ads, they're instead reassured about their purchasing decision.

kristianc 8y ago

It is possible for advertisers to configure it so that this does not happen (in theory), but a lot simply do not bother. I've seen some compelling case studies that it does work, and even at low conversion % for big-ticket items (like hotels etc) it's insanely cost effective.

criddell 8y ago
If I shop around for a lamp on 5 different websites and finally buy from a 6th site, how do those first 5 websites learn that I bought a lamp? The pervasive tracking of which retargeting is the most visible form is mostly what drove me to use an ad blocker. I wonder if the cost effectiveness calculation factors in lost future purchases?
- dspillett 8y ago
  > how do those first 5 websites learn that I bought a lamp? Even Amazon's ad servering systems don't seem to be told that I bought the lamp from them never mind some other store. Maybe they are hoping I liked it so much I'd decide that I need another lamp, so they want to remind me where I got the first one from? > is the most visible form is mostly what drove me to use an ad blocker My reason for blocking ads was because of the increasing incidence of malware riddled ad hosts often being used by high(ish) profile sites. imgur.com was the final bail of hay that made me install network-wide protection at home. I also rehost any image I decide to share from there, to protect people outside my LAN. I don't want the tech support workload of cleaning other people's machines after what I'd too often seen their (obviously not sufficiently verified) ad partners try to pull. My privacy is fairly shot already, but at least I can try to protect myself and others from other malware.
- kristianc 8y ago
  Assuming that five different websites would all run a re-targeting campaign for the same lamp - it's tricky, and you would probably be relying on the retargeting cookie expiring, or you hitting the frequency cap for each. It's possible that at the level of the ad network the products could be disambiguated, and then cancelled so that other companies did not waste ad spend. This would be difficult as the products would have different SKUs. At the level of a single retailer, the retailer places a burn pixel on the checkout page which registers to no longer place ads for that product.
JAlexoid 8y ago
Certain hotels and services are already targeting a captive audience. If you're looking for hotels in London, you're already intent on finding a hotel. A single 3 night booking in New York City will easily produce $100 of revenue for an online travel agency. So... Throwing $10 for a click is hardly a bad investment. Other products and services are not like that. Look for food delivery on Google and check how many ads are unnecessary for you

bfdm 8y ago

I find the more effective version is showing you different products that either complement something you bought or are substitutions or variations on something you considered but did not buy. (Either browsed or added to cart but did not complete purchase)

lanerobertlane 8y ago

Anecdotal, but I've ran ads cold, targeted and re-targeted ads on Facebook for clients and eventually dropped re-targeting from the service I offer because it's extra time to build the campaign, extra cost and little to no benefit in terms of lead acquisition.

hobofan 8y ago

Actual retargeting (= targeting a previous visitor/buyer of your product) works, and in some cases works very well. Reactivating a customer vs acquiring a new customer can be up to 10x cheaper, depending on how well you do it. And if you know how to do that, then you can have a much higher initial CAC, which is often the hardest thing to optimize.