google smart lists

Google’s New Smart Lists

Google’s New Smart Lists 1024 683 Derek Schwitters

One of the things we enjoy about our job here at Lodestar Marketing Group is the opportunity to be on the forefront of changes that actually make our job, and yours, a little easier.   So today, we’re going to share with you an update from Google that we believe will do just that.

This new change from Google is called a Smart List that actually simplifies your remarketing lists. Before we delve into that though, let’s take a quick refresher on what remarketing actually is:

Remarketing is a feature that lets you reach people who have previously visited your site and show them relevant ads across the web or when they search on Google. When these people leave your site without buying anything, remarketing helps you connect with these potential customers again.

So basically, Remarketing is simply keeping track of potential customers who have visited your site, so that you can “circle back” with them in the future with the goal of making them paying customers. The tricky part is managing the list so that you have an efficient way to reach them. While some people thrive on more complex tracking models, it can be overwhelming for many others. Google heard this and has answered with Smart Lists with Google Analytics.

Once you’ve created a remarketing list, Smart Lists allows you the option to have Analytics manage your list for you. If you’d like to check out what that looks like on Google, click here.

Once you’ve created your list, here’s how it works: Smart Lists are built using machine learning across the millions of Google Analytics websites which have opted in to share anonymized conversion data. This data consist of signals like visit duration, page depth, location, device, referrer and browser to predict which users are more likely to convert later. Based on their on-site actions, Analytics can calibrate your remarketing campaigns to align with each user’s value.

For Best results, Google recommends that your goals and transactions are being imported into AdWords, then combine your Smart List with Conversion Optimizer using Target CPA or ROAS in AdWords.

If you’re new to remarketing, the Smart List is proving to be a great way to get started with strong performance results. Once you get comfortable with remarketing you can tailor your creative and apply a variety of remarketing best practices.

From our vantage point, this looks like a very promising way to simplify your remarketing list management. By simplifying the process, Google has removed the “overwhelming” feeling that often accompanies list management, allowing you to focus more on growing your business.

While this is a basic overview of the new Smart List offered by Google, you can get a more in-depth explanation here. Or feel free to contact us at Lodestar Marketing Group; we’re always happy to help.

 

This article was adapted from: Smarter Remarketing with Google Analytics/Blog.   If you’re looking for an expert in Search Marketing, contact us at digitalmarketing@lodestarmg.com