A Bit of History…. 

Over the last few decades, Google has compiled massive amounts of data by studying the online behavioral patterns of people, including their visits to particular websites for browsing, shopping etc. Google compiles this data through a product called a ‘cookie’ which users agree to as part of the terms and conditions of individual websites (for Google's free products).

Cookies stay in a device’s browsing history for long periods of time, sometimes even years, or until the cache memory is cleared.

Google was one of the original firms that recognized that if you make functional and utilitarian things free for use, then you could capture a lot of data on people's behavior. This data is invaluable as it can be data mined.

Data mining: Collecting data that can be mined into usable information or actionable intelligence. 

In terms of remarketing, the remarketing campaign is a part of that data that essentially tells Google that someone’s already come and agreed to the remarketing cookie. So now, when they are surfing the web and going to different websites or apps, you can now deliver/ display advertising from the website that had originally dropped the cookie on the user. This is often seen by a user as an ad for a product or service that “follows” them in the days, weeks and months after they visited a website. 

Google recognized that this type of technology may be viewed as invasive, and  it soon realized that it was walking a very thin line between what was legal and what they could or couldn't do with a lot of ‘very personal’ data that they had collected. To mitigate their risks and due to privacy concerns, initially, Google opted to sell the data to Third-Party companies who then used it to create re-targeted marketing ads for businesses, but after some time, Google decided to bring all these services under its umbrella, and offer it as what is now commonly referred to as Google Remarketing. This basic version of remarketing has been around for some time now.

Most of our clients that have remarketing lists of their audiences have lists that number in the thousands to millions. Under the standard/older version of remarketing, anyone who has come to your site has strategically placed Display/Banner ads (this is basically a Graphic Art banner) following them and being displayed to them on multiple websites that have Google advertising property on the site. Once clicked, they lead back to your website. This helps in reinforcing your brand messaging and helps boost your sales and conversions, eventually, leading to better ROI.

Note: You only pay if the banner ad is clicked.

An example of Consult PR’s Banner advertising:

END OF HISTORY LESSON

What this article focuses on is a more advanced offering that has just become available in the last few months called RLSA: Remarketing Lists for Search Ads.

What does RLSA do?

When a user performs a Google search for specific products or services in the search box, they are generally able to see 4 sponsored Ads as the top results. These ads are displayed as a result of the marketing campaigns that companies displayed in the top 4 rankings may be running. PPC (Pay Per Click) is one of these campaigns, and it can be a costly affair, especially when you are competing for the top position, i.e., a number 1 rank on Google search. 

That said, if a user has visited your website as a result of your initial marketing campaigns while searching for a particular product or service, a cookie drops into their system, and they become a part of your remarketing list (as explained earlier). What RLSA does is, when this user after a few days may look for the same product or service on Google, as a result of the cookie that is present in their device, Google's algorithm will rank your website as number 1 in the search. And this will be at a fraction of the cost you paid for a PPC click. So in a way, you will be retargeting a user that you have marketed to earlier.

Note: You pay when someone clicks on the ad… and you pay way less than the first time they clicked, plus you get the #1 spot.

So it is a Win-Win situation for all the parties engaged in this scenario. 

• For Google, they keep getting companies that want retargeted campaigns after their initial marketing campaigns. So it's good for business and also lets Google know that their marketing initiatives for businesses are working.
• For businesses that are trying to mark their presence as #1 on Google, to gain a wider audience and better ROI, the new RLSA allows retargeting to keep working for a longer time since it is a fraction of what they paid for the initial click whilst still being #1.
• And for the user who might be looking for that same company that they visited a few days ago and now can't remember the name, the RLSA-powered retargeting has just placed it right in front of them. 

Note: The ads need to be set up in a standard Google search Ad setup.

RLSA gives you the following benefits:

• More conversions
• Better click-through-rates (CTR) 
• A better managed and efficient ad spend

And eventually… improved sales and ROI.

Implementation rules to consider:

• RLSA’s are ONLY available when users/clients search through Google, Google partner sites or Google advertising properties.
• Your marketing list needs to have a minimum of 1,000 cookies (website visitors) before you can use this feature.

As a digital marketing partner, we endeavor to provide our clients with the latest updates in the advertising realm, and there are loads of new rules and legislation that are coming up all over the U.S. about data privacy and the extent to which USER data can be collected and used. That said, we have to understand that as a business we need to continue to push the envelope digitally to help our clients meet their desired targets. Reach out to our team for more info.