• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 13, 2012

According to Chango's new “Search Retargeting Barometer, Q3 2012,” search Retargeting’ is the fastest growing form of retargeting and is used for acquisition, prospecting and competitor conquesting, not just winning back lost visitors. To demystify the concept of Search retargeting, Chango clients featured in the report represent industries as diverse as retail, financial services, travel, auto, education and B2B.

The findings have shown that:

• 93.9% of respondents use traditional display advertising
• 93.5% of brands and agencies that run Search retargeting campaigns also run site retargeting campaigns
• 63.6% of respondents use Search Retargeting to conquest customers from competitors
• 37.9% of respondents cited a “lack of budget/time” as a challenge to implementing Search retargeting
• 66.7% of respondents revealed that they fund Search retargeting from their traditional display campaigns
• 65.6% of the brands in the survey said that they typically work directly with the vendor for their retargeting campaigns
• 65.6% of brands and agencies responded that they intend to increase their Search Retargeting budgets in the next six months 

Site retargeting, which is designed to optimize an existing audience, remains the most common approach to retargeting. Those unfamiliar with retargeting often mistakenly assume the term is synonymous with site retargeting. But the differences between the various types of retargeting are significant. Unlike site retargeting, Search Retargeting gives brands and agencies the power to acquire new customers. Email Retargeting is based on the action of an individual opening an email; Social Retargeting on the interconnectivity between individuals; Creative Retargeting on the action of engaging with an ad unit.

93.9% of respondents use traditional display advertising, and 93.5% of brands and agencies that run search retargeting campaigns also run site retargeting campaigns, but surprisingly 63.6% of the respondents use search retargeting, giving brands the ability to target intent, to conquest customers from competitors.

66.7% of respondents are funding their search retargeting campaigns by transferring money out of their traditional display budgets. This shifting of resources indicates that brands and agencies are growing increasingly focused on making sure that their banners are appearing before the right eyes.

65.6% of brands and agencies revealed that they intend to increase their search retargeting budgets in the next six months, and fewer than 10% of respondents said that they planned on decreasing their search retargeting budgets.

Asked about the challenges of using search retargeting, 37.9% of respondents cited a “lack of budget/time." Almost a quarter of respondents also cited “integration with other marketing initiatives” as a challenge.

For more information about Search Retargeting from Chango, please visit here.