Google Retargeting Best Practices

Setting your budget

When you create retargeting ads in Mailchimp, you only pay what Google charges for an ad, with no extra fees from us. But how much you should spend on retargeting depends on a few factors:

• Your campaign’s run time
• Your website traffic
• Your other advertising channels

Run time

Retargeting is most effective when used as a long-term advertising strategy for online sellers who have at least 100 site visitors a month. It usually takes 1 to 3 months to see significant results, so we recommend running your ad for at least 90 days.

In Mailchimp, retargeting ads start at $7 a week, so you can run a 3-month campaign to boost conversions and drive ROI for less than $100.

Website traffic

Based on your website traffic, you’ll want to find a budget that helps you get the best results with your audience. If you tend to see more site visitors at certain times of the year or you’re promoting a seasonal sale, boost your budget around those dates to get more out of your web traffic.

We’ll automatically limit your ad’s impressions to 8 times per day, so you don’t waste your money or oversaturate your customers.

Advertising channels

Before you set your budget, you’ll want to look at some of the other advertising channels you use to get a complete picture of how your customers go from hearing about your brand to making a purchase.

Someone might visit your site through a link you include in an email, leave without buying, and then see your retargeting ads display across the web. While the ads help keep your products top of mind, the customer doesn’t return to your store until they’re targeted with a Facebook or Instagram ad.

Viewing the reports for all your Mailchimp marketing campaigns will help you understand when your customers are more likely to engage with your brand, so you know exactly how much you should be spending on each channel.

Choosing the right images

If your e-commerce store is connected to Mailchimp, we’ll pull in images of your 5 top-selling products when you create an ad. You also have the option to choose which products you want to feature, but there are a few things to keep in mind when picking your images.

• Use high-resolution images. You’ll want to use high-quality product images that will grab people’s attention when they see your ads on the web. Google automatically generates thousands of ad sizes to fit different spaces, so you just need to select the photos that are most compelling for your brand.
• Use images that reflect your brand. The images you choose should complement the text elements of your ad and be consistent with the imagery featured on your other channels. Select images that focus on your products to help people make up their mind about buying.

Writing effective ad copy

Since your ads will automatically display in different spaces and sizes, you’ll want to write copy that’s just as eye-catching as your images. We have a few best practices to help you develop the message you’d like to convey.

• Keep it short. Since an ad’s headline and message can be truncated if it’s too long, you’ll want to write copy that’s short and informative.
• Stay on brand. Your ad’s message should align with your website and the other marketing channels you use, so be sure to write in a voice that’s consistent with your brand.
• Avoid rejection-triggering language. Ads that include curse words, too many exclamation points, and copy written in all caps often get rejected. Try to avoid language that can keep your ad from being published.
• Think about your audience. Make your copy specific and relevant to the people who will be reading it. For example, you know you’ll be reaching people who have checked out your site and products, so your ad will probably look different from one that’s designed to grow your audience.

Using your reports

Your retargeting ads in Mailchimp generate comprehensive reports that make it easy for you to measure their performance in terms of average position on a page, average order amount, new customers, products sold, and ROI. And that data can help you determine what works and what doesn’t, so you can make adjustments to improve your ad.

After your campaign’s been running for 90 days, take a quick assessment of how much ROI has been generated and what products from your store are selling. Do those products match the ones featured in your ad? Consider changing the items you’re promoting based on sales.

Get started

Ready to get started? Head to the ad builder to set up your retargeting campaign in just a few clicks.