Search retargeting as a part of social media marketing, has become an important element in today’s online marketing campaigns. This newer technique for re-exposure to those who have already made specific searches has proven to some to be an important and effective way to increase the results of online marketing efforts. Yet many businesses get less than stellar results, which companies who offer skilled social media marketing services find to be due to the fact that these businesses do not actually understanding how keyword retargeting works. In order to get the best from any retargeting campaign, it is essential to understand keyword-level retargeting, and avoid less effective keyword-only retargeting.

What Is Keyword-Level Retargeting?

Search retargeting involves marketing to specific users who have previously done certain searches, in an effort to attract them one again. These searches, and any retargeting efforts, are highly keyword-relevant. For the greatest effectiveness, retargeting must be based on groups of keywords, and not individual keywords. Retargeting specific keywords will only work on a search using that specific keyword. Keyword-level retargeting takes into consideration keyword variations, and associated keywords, for a much broader retargeting effect. It is the confusion with this process that has caused keyword retargeting to become a questionable method. Yet the actual problem for those companies not experiencing good results with this is they are simply not applying the technique properly.

Success With Keyword-Level Search Retargeting

In order for any search retargeting campaign to succeed, marketers must target searches on a broader scale than keyword-only searches. By doing this, they will be able to capture all of the important keywords and any additional information that a person may have used when searching. This can be accomplished in the following ways:

Broader Keyword Set - By using a combination of keyword tactics, it is more effective for a company offering social media marketing services using retargeting, to start with a broader set of keywords, and then fine tune that set. An example of this would be, rather than targeting only the word “widgets,” target the words “blue widgets,” “Brand Name widgets,” “widgets in location,” and more. Contextual keywords should also be considered, to target those who visit a website directly, without doing a search.
Let the Search Algorithm Help - The search algorithm is especially important considering Google’s complex search algorithms, and the amount of data analyzed by them. Social media and other marketers should let these programs to help them find the right combinations of keywords to retarget. Auto-optimization may provide search options that are already well researched, and can help retargeting campaigns to hit the most relevant word choices.
Learn from Current Audiences - Rather than discarding search data from existing audiences, a business should hold onto it and analyze whether there are patterns to these searches. Based on who is doing the searching, what they do on a website, and other important data, a company can learn much about their audience and choose the most effective key phrases to retarget. Along this line, be sure to consider attribution models as well, and target the right ones.

Using these methods, social media and other marketing services can use keyword retargeting more successfully by not missing out on important searches that actually apply to their campaign. Keyword-level search leveraging is an essential quality of any good retargeting campaign, as keyword-only retargeting is too restrictive, costly, and time consuming. For the greatest results, businesses using social media and other such marketing campaigns to retarget, should always start out in a broader sense in order to reach the most relevant users as possible!