Getting your leads to respond to your emails can be a daunting task for you as an online marketer.
Actually, with the click-through rate coming in at little more than 4%, the average open rate is less than 25%.
What this means is that close to 96% of emails go ignored. And while things, like personalizing your emails and segmenting your email list, can help, they only do so much.
Remarketing in the Gmail platform is a relatively new feature that can be a very effective way to begin gaining attention from leads that may be ignoring or aren’t getting your traditional email marketing messages.
Remarketing works very effectively by ensuring that your audience doesn’t forget about your company. Remarketing enables you to show your message again to your audience whether they accessed your website, opened an email, or even used your app.
When people are online, they’re quite used to seeing ads, and over time they have gotten quite good at avoiding them.
Remarketing in Gmail takes it a step further. By taking your remarketing ads to Gmail and showing them to your audience in their inbox, you’re cutting through the clutter and ensuring a position at the top of their inbox.
Let’s get into the details how can you use Gmail ads to reconnect with your leads and remarket to them.
What are Gmail Ads?
Gmail ads appear at the top of your Gmail inbox and are also known as Gmail Sponsored Promotions (GSP).
Most of the Gmail ads expand into a full screen whenever clicked, and look like actual email. But they are not actual emails and have a square box with the text “ad” to indicate that.
A history of advertising in Gmail:
Reaching your audience through email isn’t new. However, you can reach new customers using Gmail ads. Gmail ads enable you to position your Google AdWords campaigns right within a Gmail inbox.
Gmail ads, like AdWords, allow you to target specific keywords, demographics, events, audiences, or customers to ensure that only the right people see your ads.
When someone clicks on your Gmail ad, it takes them to a complete version of the ad, filled with videos, images, or other visuals.
How does targeting work?
There are more than 1.2 billion active users on Gmail a month. Google target their users based on aggregated data Google Chrome, YouTube, and many of their other services.
This data enables marketers like you to find potential customers by their habits, interests, intent, and remarketing to your current audience.
How to create a Gmail remarketing campaign:
Creating a Gmail remarketing campaign is quite easy, and if you have experience with Google Adwords, creating a Gmail remarketing campaign becomes even simpler.
However, if you haven’t used Google AdWords, first you’ll need to create an account to get started.
1. Create a new Google AdWords Campaign:
You’ll need to use the new interface when creating a remarketing campaign for Gmail. And if you are using the old version, just click the “settings” wheel in the upper right corner of the screen. Then choose the option to try the new AdWords interface.
This will automatically reload your screen and take you to the new design. Now, go to the “Campaigns” page.
You can create a new campaign by either clicking the “New Campaign” button or the big blue circle.
Here, you will be asked to choose your campaign type, and then you’ll set your campaign goals. You don’t necessarily have to choose a goal. Just choose “Create a campaign without a goal.”
However, if you create a goal for your campaign, Google AdWords will offer you recommendations for features and setting within your campaign.
Now, you’ll need to choose your campaign subtype. This is where you can designate that you’re creating a Gmail campaign. And when you’re all set, just hit “Continue.”
2. Set your audience specifications:
It’s time to specify the audience you’re trying to target after you’ve completed setting up the foundation for your new Gmail campaign.
When you move to the next page, here, you’ll be asked to provide your campaign with a name, set the language and location, and choose a budget and also a bidding strategy.
When you go to the “Audiences” section, choose the group you’re trying to remarket to.
You’ll then be asked to edit your target audience. You’ll see a list of your saved audiences if you’ve been using Google AdWords. You can either combine a few or choose just one list you’d like to work with.
You’ll see that Google AdWords gives provides you with an estimate of how many people you can reach with this audience.
3. Get specific:
As with any form of online marketing, Gmail advertising is all about getting your message in front of the right people at the right time. And sometimes, segmenting your list only by the audience isn’t enough to really hit the sweet spot. You may need to get much deeper. Luckily, Google AdWords enables you to get very specific with your ad campaigns.
You can choose specific demographics after selecting your audience.
You can also choose the “dynamic ad” option to successfully remarket to your leads. Dynamic ads are tailored to your website visitors who have visited your website. You could easily adjust the content within your ad with a dynamic Gmail ad. Dynamic remarketing ads can help you reach your audience even better as they are even more unique and specific.
4. Create your ad:
You’ll first need to design your ad before your ad is complete.
Right after you choose “New Ad”, you’ll be provided with options to add a headline, business name, description, and your final URL.
You will also get a preview of your ad so you can see exactly how your ads will appear within the Gmail inbox.
And if you’re trying to add a bit more personalization, you can easily add a call to action, custom teaser, or unique color options. While these are small changes, they can really strengthen your impression on your audience and also encourage clicks.
Why are Gmail ads effective?
One of the greatest competitive advantages of Google is its ability to target users with high purchase intent.
On the Google Search engine page, more specific, long-tail keywords imply that a user completed their research and is now evaluating what’s available in the market. And you’re going to win that conversion if you offer a sweet enough deal.
Similarly, the users who explore the “Promotions” tab within their Gmail inbox are in an offensive mindset to spend some dollars. The promotions tab is filled with killer deals and coupons, so users who consciously choose to frequently visit this tab are ready to buy.
Gmail ad specs:
There are three different ways you can add creative to your Gmail ads.
Let AdWords scan your website and grab content that is eligible to show in your ads.
Use Google’s stock images that are provided within Google AdWords.
Upload your own using the specs below.
Expanded Ad:
Collapsed Ad:
Gmail ad targeting options:
The audience targeting options are divided into three categories under the new Google AdWords experience:
In-Market and Custom Intent: What they are actively planning or researching
Affinity and Custom Affinity: What are their habits and interests
Remarketing and Similar Audiences: How they have interacted with your business
Target by habits and interests:
Target people based on their habits and interests that better align with your ad campaign. For example, you may target people that have an interest in banking & finance, beauty & wellness, news readers, travel, etc. So, if Google AdWords preset selection is not specific for you, you could use custom affinity audiences to better target people who;
Have shown an interest in your targeted location
Have searched with a keyword related to your custom affinity
Visited websites that fall under your affinity category
Downloaded apps that target people with your custom affinity
Target by intent:
Compared to other advertising platforms, Google’s top advantage is its ability to predict how likely a person is to buy. Google AdWords can help you target an audience that your organization can swoop in to drive conversion.
In-Market audiences:
Google Adwords lets you target people who are actively trying to buy your products or services or solutions, or in-market audiences. These people usually compare different offerings as they are ready to buy. In-market audiences usually have their credit cards ready and are highly valuable.
Custom intent:
While keyword targeting is good, custom intent uses data beyond just clicks and search signals. Google is now throwing YouTube signals, Google Chrome history and app install data into the mix. Although Google AdWords automatically generates intent audiences for all display ads, it’s highly advisable you take a look under the hood to reach an audience that’ll give you better success with your ad campaign.
Life events:
Everyone cherishes their big day. Whether it’s getting your dream job, starting a new gig, getting accepted to your dream college, moving out to a less-dingy neighborhood, or impulsively adopting a puppy – these live events impact our lives forever.
And for each such live event, there are organizations that can help those people make the most of it. Google offers targeting options that target people who undergo meaningful live events, so you can target the right people at the right time. These life events include people who are;
Recently got married
About to move
Recently graduated college
About to graduate college
About to get married
Recently moved
Gmail Ad tips and best practices:
Don’t skimp out on ad creative. Include multiple videos and images and put them against each other!
Don’t be fooled by ad clicks! As “Gmail Clicks to Website” is the most relevant metric of how good your ad campaign is performing, whereas “clicks” counts all Gmail ad opens, including those who bounced without clicking through to your website.
The quality score exists in Gmail ads, but Google doesn’t show it to you. However, your email click-through-rates are a strong indicator of how your ads score.
Check under the hood. Even if automated bidding and targeting options have worked out for you, double-check everything to avoid any issues.
The three Gmail measurement metrics provided in Google AdWords are Gmail Saves, Gmail Forwards, and Gmail Clicks to Website. Rotate your ads indefinitely for 3 months to collect enough data to optimize. If you don’t have the time, choose the ‘optimize’ ad rotation option to allow Google to do it for you.
Conclusion:
Email marketing is a very strong marketing channel for generating qualified leads. But those subscribers don’t necessarily follow through.
Gmail ads provide you with an opportunity to remarket and reintroduce your company, offerings, and content to target an audience. So, when you finish setting up your new Gmail ad campaign, focus more on making them powerful.
