The main issue with retargeting is that most advertiser go all-in with it.
Instead of being a (friendly?) reminder that "hey, want to check us out again?", it's more like "hi, you've seen this 25 times at least, you sure you don't want to click me?"
So they spend an awful lot of money on what is visual spam rather than being a bit more measured in their frequency cap.
I think another issue is that aside from the cost of sending the advertisement (usually negligible) there is no risk cost associated with the volume of advertisements being too heavy. The user in question is one who has discontinued your service willfully, so if a heavy volume campaign converts 2% back into active users and permanently fatigues the other 98% then it's not unreasonable to see a gain of 2% of users for free - assuming you were ready to write off that full volume as potential customers prior to the campaign.
I also would be absolutely unsurprised to learn that "participating in your service to shut your emails up" is a tactic seen as legitimate by some companies... (facebook, I was talking specifically about facebook because they are terrible)
Most platforms let you choose a frequency cap. Its only the bad/cheap platforms that serve unlimited or high f-caps. For retargeting I typically do 1 ad per 1 hour, with a max of 10 a day and 250/mo.
Sorry are you saying that 10 times per day and 250 times per month is showing restraint?
I personally like retargeting and I'm infinitely more likely to click on it than other things I see in the same box.
The monotony of the channel makes it appear almost like a browser history. Not exactly thrilling, but when the competition is outbrain and snake oil, it's a non-trivial improvement.
Oh sorry that was unclear. That is the hypothetical maximum, pretty much no one ever gets there its just a safeguard. Frequency is something I can optimize to, so if a lower frequency performs better I can hit users less often.
Agreed on outbrain/taboola/etc.. I don't know how tabloid clickbait generates anyone clicks or even revenue.
I agree wholeheartedly on the frequency. One thing I've done in the last year or so is take into consideration the sentiment toward the brand even if the campaigns are doing amazingly well with a high frequency. There's somewhere down the line where people are going to be tired of seeing your ads and either flag them or not want to visit your site as they know what they are in for.
> There's somewhere down the line where people are going to be tired of seeing your ads and either flag them or not want to visit your site as they know what they are in for.
This happens. Personally, I do remember and sometimes blacklist companies that annoy me with ads too much. E.g. way before Groupon got known for being a force of destruction of small businesses, they pissed me off with retargeted ads, and earned a lifetime ban.
Instead of being a (friendly?) reminder that "hey, want to check us out again?", it's more like "hi, you've seen this 25 times at least, you sure you don't want to click me?"
So they spend an awful lot of money on what is visual spam rather than being a bit more measured in their frequency cap.