Owned Traffic Vs Paid Traffic – Which is Best?

When it comes to driving traffic to your website or online business, there are two main options: owned traffic and paid traffic. Both have their own pros and cons, and the best choice for your business will depend on your specific goals and resources.

Owned traffic refers to the visitors that come to your website through channels that you control, such as your social media profiles, email list, and content marketing efforts. These are people who have actively sought out your brand and have chosen to engage with your content.

One of the biggest advantages of owned traffic is that it is often more engaged and more likely to convert into paying customers. These visitors have chosen to follow you, and are therefore more likely to be interested in what you have to offer. Additionally, once you have built up a strong following, owned traffic can be a relatively low-cost way to drive visitors to your site.

On the other hand, paid traffic refers to visitors who come to your website through paid advertising channels, such as Google AdWords or Facebook ads. These visitors have been targeted based on their demographics and online behaviour, rather than actively seeking out your brand.

The advantage of paid traffic is that it can be a quick and easy way to drive a large number of visitors to your site. Additionally, with the right targeting, you can reach potential customers who may not have found you otherwise. However, paid traffic can be more expensive, and the visitors may not be as engaged or likely to convert.

When deciding whether to focus on owned or paid traffic, it’s important to consider your overall business goals. If you’re looking to quickly drive a large number of visitors to your site and generate sales quickly, paid traffic may be the way to go. However, if you’re looking to build a long-term, sustainable business, focusing on building your owned traffic through content marketing and social media may be a better investment.

Ultimately, the best strategy will likely be a combination of both owned and paid traffic, as each can complement the other and help you achieve your overall business goals.

What is remarketing?

Remarketing is a form of online advertising that allows businesses to target people who have previously interacted with their website, mobile app or other online assets. It’s a way to reconnect with those users who have shown an interest in a business’s products or services, but haven’t yet converted into a customer.

There are different ways to use remarketing, but it typically involves placing a cookie or pixel on the user’s browser when they visit a business’s website. This cookie or pixel will then allow the business to serve targeted ads to the user as they browse other websites, social media platforms, and mobile apps. These ads will often be personalised to the user’s previous interactions and behaviour on the business’s website, making them more relevant and effective.

For example, a person who has viewed a product on an e-commerce website but hasn’t made a purchase, might be shown an ad for that product on a different website, with a special offer or promotion to entice them to come back and make the purchase.

Remarketing can be an effective tool to increase conversions and sales, as it allows businesses to target people who are already interested in their products or services, and it’s often more cost-effective than other forms of online advertising. However, it’s important to note that remarketing can be considered as intrusive if not done in a proper way, and it’s important to comply with the data privacy regulations such as GDPR and others.

A step-by-step guide on how to set up a remarketing campaign

1. Identify your target audience: The first step in setting up a remarketing campaign is to identify the audience you want to target. This could be people who have visited your website, added items to their shopping cart but didn’t complete the purchase, or engaged with your mobile app.
2. Set up a remarketing tag: Once you have identified your target audience, you’ll need to set up a remarketing tag on your website or mobile app. This is a piece of code that is placed on your website or app, and it will allow you to track visitors and add them to your remarketing list.
3. Choose a remarketing platform: There are several platforms that offer remarketing services, such as Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, and Twitter Ads. Choose the platform that best fits your business and audience, and create an account.
4. Create a remarketing list: Once you have set up your remarketing tag and chosen your platform, you’ll need to create a remarketing list. This is where you’ll store the visitors who have been tagged and will be targeted with your ads.
5. Create your ad: Next, you’ll need to create your remarketing ad. This should be personalised and relevant to the audience you’re targeting, and it should be visually appealing and easy to understand.
6. Set up targeting and bid: Once you have created your ad, you’ll need to set up targeting options such as location, demographics, and interests. You should also set a bid, which is the amount you’re willing to pay for each click on your ad.
7. Launch your campaign: Once you’ve completed all the above steps, you’re ready to launch your remarketing campaign. Monitor your campaign closely to see how it’s performing, and make adjustments as needed.
8. Monitor and optimise: Keep an eye on your campaign’s performance, and make adjustments as needed. You can optimise your campaign by making changes to the targeting options, ad creative, and bid to improve performance.
9. Keep in mind data privacy laws: Make sure you are compliant with data privacy laws, such as GDPR, by obtaining user’s consent, providing an opt-out option, and being transparent about the data you collect and how you use it.

By following these steps, you can set up a remarketing campaign that is tailored to your target audience and is more likely to result in conversions and sales. Keep in mind that remarketing is a continuous process, you will have to keep monitoring and optimising the campaign, and be compliant with data privacy laws.

Tactics for growing your owned traffic

1. Create valuable and engaging content: The most effective way to grow your owned traffic is to create valuable and engaging content that your target audience will want to read and share. This can include blog posts, infographics, videos, and other forms of multimedia content.
2. Optimise your website for search engines: Make sure your website is optimised for search engines by including keywords in your content, using meta tags, and ensuring that your site is mobile-friendly. This will help your content show up in search results, making it easier for people to find you.
3. Utilise social media: Use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to promote your content and engage with your audience. Share your content and participate in relevant online communities to increase your visibility and build relationships with potential customers.
4. Build an email list: Building an email list is a great way to reach your target audience directly. You can use email marketing to promote your content, offer special deals, and keep your audience engaged.
5. Leverage Influencer Marketing: Work with influencers in your industry to promote your content, and tap into their existing audience. This can help you reach a larger audience and grow your owned traffic.
6. Encourage user-generated content: Encourage your audience to create and share content related to your brand. This can include reviews, testimonials, and social media posts. This not only grows your owned traffic but also adds credibility to your brand.
7. Host webinars and live events: Hosting webinars and live events can be a great way to attract new visitors and keep existing ones engaged. It allows you to connect with your audience in real-time and build your brand.
8. Optimise your site for conversions: Once you have visitors on your website, optimise it for conversions by making it easy to navigate, providing clear calls to action, and making it easy for visitors to sign up or make a purchase.
9. Measure and Analyze: Continuously measure and analyse your owned traffic, and use data to make informed decisions about how to improve your strategy.

By implementing these tactics, you can grow your owned traffic and build a sustainable and engaged audience for your business.

Tactics for growing paid traffic

1. Use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising: Platforms like Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook Ads allow you to create targeted ads that will show up in search results or on social media platforms when specific keywords are used. This can be a quick and effective way to drive paid traffic to your website.
2. Use display advertising: Platforms like Google AdSense and Taboola allow you to create banner ads that will appear on other websites, increasing your brand visibility to a larger audience.
3. Retargeting: Retargeting is a form of advertising that allows you to show ads to people who have previously interacted with your website. This can be an effective way to drive conversions and increase the return on investment on your advertising spend.
4. Use social media advertising: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow you to create targeted ads that will reach your desired audience. Social media advertising can be an effective way to drive brand awareness and increase website traffic.
5. Use sponsored content: Sponsored content is a form of advertising where you pay a publisher or influencer to create content that promotes your brand. This can be an effective way to reach a larger audience and build trust with potential customers.
6. Optimise your landing pages: Optimise your landing pages to make them as compelling and effective as possible. This includes including clear calls to action, using persuasive copy and making sure the page loads quickly.
7. Test and optimise your campaigns: Continuously test and optimise your campaigns to improve their performance. This can include testing different ad creatives, targeting options and bid amounts.
8. Use conversion tracking: Use conversion tracking tools like Google Analytics to track the effectiveness of your campaigns, and use this data to make informed decisions about how to improve your strategy.
9. Use A/B testing: A/B testing can help you understand how different elements of your ad campaign influence performance. By testing different elements, you can optimise your campaigns to achieve the best possible results.

By implementing these tactics, you can effectively grow your paid traffic and reach a larger audience for your business. However, it’s important to note that paid traffic can be more expensive than owned traffic, and it’s important to have a clear budget and a specific goal in mind before starting a campaign.

Tactics for Growing Remarketing Traffic

1. Create custom audiences: Create custom audiences based on different segments of visitors who have interacted with your website, mobile app or other online assets. This can include people who have visited specific pages, added items to their cart, or made a purchase.
2. Use dynamic ads: Use dynamic ads to show personalised ads to your custom audiences, based on the products or services they’ve viewed. This can increase the relevance and effectiveness of your ads.
3. Create lookalike audiences: Create lookalike audiences based on your custom audiences, to reach people who are similar to your existing customers. This can increase the chances of conversions and sales.
4. Use retargeting across different channels: Use retargeting across different channels such as web, mobile, social media, and email to reach your audience in different ways and increase the chances of conversions.
5. Use retargeting lists for search ads (RLSA): RLSA allows you to target your retargeting lists with search ads, this can increase the chances of conversions and make your search ads more efficient.
6. Use frequency capping: Use frequency capping to limit the number of times an ad is shown to the same person, this can help avoid ad fatigue and increase the chances of conversions.
7. Use retargeting to upsell and cross-sell: Use retargeting to show personalised offers and upsell or cross-sell to your customers, this can increase the chances of conversions and boost sales.
8. Use retargeting for brand awareness: Use retargeting for brand awareness, by showing your ads to a large audience and reinforcing your brand message, this can increase the chances of conversions and boost sales.
9. Use retargeting for lead generation: Use retargeting for lead generation, by showing your ads to a targeted audience and encouraging them to sign up for your newsletter, free trial or free consultation, this can increase the chances of conversions and lead generation.

By implementing these tactics, you can effectively grow your remarketing traffic and increase the chances of conversions and sales. Remember that remarketing is a continuous process, you will have to monitor and optimise the campaign, and be compliant with data privacy laws.