Cross-Device Remarketing with Google Analytics is Here

For all those of you using Remarketing with Google Analytics, we’ve got the news that you’ve been waiting for! As of today, businesses and brands can re-target advertising to a user regardless of what acquisition device they are using. You may have seen the notification alert that has been popping up in Google Analytics since earlier in April, but now the functionality is finally here!

But what does this mean for you? Until now, methods for remarketing have relied on cookies and lists of mobile IDs, which don’t carry across devices and are far from ideal – especially considering that, according to a shopping micro-moments study conducted by Google, 60% of internet users start shopping on one device before finishing their purchase on a different one. Given our browsing habits, it’s no surprise that a way around this problem has been one of Google’s most requested features – and now Google has delivered.

As of today, marketers will be able to reach users across various devices, much like you have probably noticed that Facebook and Twitter are able to do. Not only does this allow advertisers to continue the conversation they were having with browsers and visitors to their website, it will also improve the user experience for those surfing the web.

What’s the catch?

The proviso? Users need to be logged in to their Google account (and allow Google to access their browsing activity for advertising purposes). This isn’t a large ask, however, when you consider that you’re likely to be engaging with Google tools on your desktop or laptop computer, and will be signed in on your mobile devices if you have your inbox, for example, syncing to your phone or tablet. With that in play, you can now reach users with more relevant ads when they search or browse using any device that is linked to their Google account.

With the rollover of this new capability by Google, be careful not to assume that your remarketing will start getting better and better results, if you continue with everything just as it was before.  From a strategy point of view, marketers need to consider their content differently,  for the exact reason that ads are likely to be seen across multiple devices. Because of this, it’s important to give thought to frequency capping and message sequencing within campaigns; what engages in one place may not be the optimum offering when served up in other places or formats.

Lastly, make sure you review your privacy policy when it comes to data collection, and consider how the changes might impact bidding, as well as device targeting and the messaging contained within Google display campaigns.

For more information about Google Analytics’ Cross-Device Remarketing, give us a call – or look out for our next post with more about how to set up cross-device tracking.