So you're spending all of this time and money and whatever else perfecting your Adwords campaign, right? Well there's a whole lot more to this whole "search engine optimization" thing that is gaining traction, and fast!

First, let's outline why PPC is only slightly effective. You have the perfect campaign, you're getting a 2% clickthrough rate, but how many of those clicking on your ad are actually going through with the desired objective (whether it be a lead form, sale, etc)? My guess is...not many. This article, Has Clickthrough Lost its Relevance?, in the Online Metrics Insider confirms what I already suspected; clicks just don't mean all that much! The only suggestion offered in that article however, is better metrics.

I have another suggestion.

What if all these clicks actually turned into conversions, just maybe later? As in, someone clicks on an enticing ad, goes to a site, doesn't convert for some reason or another (price/comparison shopping, distracted, didn't get to the correct landing page for what they're searching for, etc...)but then returns to the website later, and converts then. It's possible. There's something out there that does just this. It's called retargeting

Retargeting essentially deposits a conversion tracking code to your website visitor, then serves them ads for your company on other sites they visit after yours (i.e. Facebook, Myspace, ESPN, etc), encouraging them to return to your site to finish their purchase. The great thing about retargeting is that it treats each individual as if they are getting customized ad content! So if Bob abandons his shopping cart, he can receive an ad saying something like "Come Finish Your Purchase with us and get an Extra 10% off by Entering xxxxx", while Sally who simply visited the homepage and bounced, who can receive an ad targeted towards this behavior!

How much more targeted can you get than someone who already expressed an interest in your product offering AND you know their behavior while they were there?

Now, I bet you're wondering how this relates to PPC. Retargeting can work for any type of website, whether it be a social networking site who is looking to increase pageviews, e-commerce sites, as well as lead generation sites. Now tell me you don't see the connection....

Another great thing about retargeting is that it is one of the most effective forms of online advertising that works as well for tiny little ecommerce stores to the largest of the internet giants. Kinda like paid search, eh?

The playing field just got a little more leveled....

I recently discovered a blog that appears to be right on target when it said:
I think Fetchback.com has a good idea (not sure if they got this idea first or someone else as I remember seeing patent-pending on fetchback.com). And if this concept really takes off, companies like Google whose revenue is mainly based on advertising will get screwed badly if the results claimed by Fetchback.com are as good as it says.

So what does this mean for you? It means that for just a few cents per lost prospect, you can make your marketing dollars stretch a heckuvalot further.