PPC vs Remarketing vs Retargeting - Learn the Difference
Discover the unique roles of PPC, remarketing, and retargeting—and learn which one could supercharge your conversions!
For all of its merits, digital marketing often poses a particular, inherent challenge: terminology. Between ever-changing language conventions and colloquial use of ambivalent, lookalike words, terms can often confuse and dismay aspiring marketers. It’s not uncommon, for example, to conflate “lead acquisition” with “lead generation”, since “acquisition” and “generation” carry similar colloquial meanings. In marketing terms, however, these are distinctly different practices. The same applies to “remarketing” and “retargeting”, for similar reasons – and “PPC”, frequently including both, further complicates matters. Here at Digital Dot, we have often seen this confusion in practice. As such, let us use this article to explore these terms and hopefully clarify them for good.
What is PPC?
Since this is the umbrella term for this entire subject, let us begin with “PPC”. PPC stands for Pay Per Click, and refers to paid advertising. This is quite an old and established form of marketing, as it yields demonstrable benefits for many industries. As the name implies, PPC has two innate characteristics:
- It is paid marketing of any kind
- Its costs are calculated based on clicks produced
As such, the first distinction between this and the other two terms we’re discussing should be clear. PPC is an umbrella term for paid marketing, while remarketing and retargeting are more specific. Thus, PPC marketing may include either or both of these practices, but they don’t necessarily require a PPC campaign behind them to function. Of course, the best course of action would be to consult with a professional PPC agency.
Types of PPC marketing
To ensure more clarity, let us explore some key examples of PPC marketing.
#1 Google AdWords
Perhaps the most common form of PPC marketing, we’re all likely familiar with Google AdWords. Put simply, those are the ads we sometimes get for search queries above organic search results. Google tags these inorganic results as ads for transparency.
#2 Social media advertising
Social media advertising is another famous, common, and lucrative form of PPC marketing. This can range from Facebook ads for B2C businesses to LinkedIn ads for B2B businesses. Much like Google AdWords, advertisers pay for these based on clicks they generate. However, where AdWords targets search queries for specific keywords, social media ads target specific audiences based on the advertiser’s criteria.
#3 Display advertising
Finally, display ads are paid ads that most internet users are familiar with. Specifically, they are ad banners, be they image-based, text-based, or both, that lead to the advertiser’s website. Notably, these have a lower click-through rate (CTR), making them less appealing to advertisers. Still, they only charge for clicks, too, and they can serve to raise brand awareness.
What is Retargeting?
Now, “retargeting” is a specific subset of PPC itself. As the name implies, it involves retargeting potential customers to increase conversion rates. This is primarily done through pixels, enabling marketers to track web users through cookies. The process is fairly simple:
- A user visits your site
- They leave without completing a purchase
- They visit other sites, where they see your ads
Therefore, “retargeting” uses other forms of PPC, such as display advertising, to retarget users who did not convert. SingleGrain visualizes this quite well.
Setting custom criteria for retargeting
However, optimal retargeting is not quite so simple. The basic premise is, of course, simple enough, but it takes many calculated steps to get it right. However, let us delve into its main characteristic for the sake of text economy.
Retargeting requires specific criteria to be effective. Among others, consider the following subsets of visitors:
- Visitors who have only reached a landing page and left
- Visitors who have navigated to other pages or your main page and left
- Potential customers who have abandoned their shopping carts
Similarly, consider different engagement and interaction touchpoints:
- Visits to partner sites
- Your email programs
- Your social media and distributed content
Thus, optimal retargeting requires hyper-specific criteria to work effectively. Marketers may segment their audiences into specific subsets, depending on the above or other criteria, and retarget them accordingly.
What is Remarketing?
Now, this is where confusion typically ensues. “Remarketing” often sees a broad colloquial definition; “to remarket a product or service to an existing lead”. By this definition, “retargeting” also sounds similar in a colloquial sense. Both seem to target existing customers and leads. So certainly, the two terms are largely interchangeable, right?
Well, no. “Remarketing” may, by all means, see descriptive use; one may “remarket” by retargeting. However, in terms of marketing, the two are distinctly different.
Remarketing, then, if we’re to distinguish the terms, refers to targeted remarketing via email. Unlike PPC ads to retarget visitors, remarketing typically uses follow-up emails to encourage leads to convert. Amazon’s and eBay’s product and deal emails are excellent examples.
What adds to the confusion between the terms is that remarketing, too, takes visitor actions and preferences into account. For example, you may have guessed that the image above represents products a user has seen or purchased. Indeed, remarketing aims to promote specific products to qualified leads who may reconsider buying them.
How do PPC, remarketing, and retargeting differ, and why is there confusion?
Having outlined PPC, remarketing, and retargeting, we may consolidate their differences into a digestible list.
- PPC is a set of paid marketing practices, whose cost depends on clicks produced
- Retargeting is a form of PPC that uses cookies to retarget website visitors across the web
- Remarketing is primarily a form of email marketing, which uses follow-up emails to encourage purchases
Thus, the primary source of confusion seems to stem from everyday uses of these words. One may “retarget” customers by remarketing to them, or “remarket” as they retarget visitors and leads. Colloquially, these terms are indeed interchangeable. But in strict marketing terms, and for the sake of clarity, these two refer to substantially different practices.
Conclusion
To summarize and reiterate, PPC, remarketing, and retargeting are distinctly different. “PPC” is an umbrella term that may include “retargeting”. “Retargeting” relies on PPC ads to entice visitors to take desirable actions. Finally, “remarketing” relies on follow-up emails and can thus be completely independent of PPC campaigns. The three may, of course, coexist and therefore cause confusion over time. But for clarity, one should note that these three terms describe vastly different marketing endeavors.
For more input on each of these terms and how best to utilize them for your business, feel free to reach out and consult with our New York digital marketing agency.
