The Internet offers a variety of methods, such as social media, search engine optimization and pay-per-click ads that realtors can use to gain leads and convert them into sales.

But the problem that most realtors experience when marketing on the Internet is that the customers visit their websites once, and don’t return again. Marketing studies say that the more times customers visit your site, the more likely they are to purchase your products and services. In an effort to help solve the problem of one-time visitors and gain more business, web designers and others have come up with a new marketing technique referred to as retargeting.

If you searched the Internet recently for a pair jeans, and saw the same item on Facebook a few minutes later, then you already have pretty good idea of how retargeting works.

If that same pair of jeans shows up each time you access the Internet, the chances are very good that you’ll buy them eventually. In essence, those repeat visits from potential customers will convert to sales over a period of time.

In simple terms, retargeting displays ads to web surfers more frequently after they’ve left your real estate website. Retargeting is a great tool for helping realtors advertise properties to potential homebuyers who visit their website, and then leave without converting (or making some kind of purchase). Experts say that approximately 98% of all web traffic consists of one-time visitors.

The best part about retargeting is that it redisplays ads to users as they browse the Internet. Since people typically don’t buy products on their first visit, the process of retargeting places the ad in front of them repeatedly, and when they click on it, they’re automatically redirected to your website, where these people are more likely to take action.

How does retargeting work?

Let’s say, for example, that you or someone you know wants to buy a home. So, you search the web using a string of words, like “buying a home in Park City.” The search results page appears, listing a number of real estate websites for the Park City area. You click through a couple of real estate sites, but don’t necessarily find what you are looking for.

Well, the next time you turn on your computer and search the web using the same keywords, an ad suddenly appears, giving you a tour of the home and neighborhood you looked at earlier.

In essence, retargeting offers a very effective method for following up with your site visitors in order to remind them of your services, thus converting those leads into sales.

In addition, you can increase the likelihood that customers will return to your website, spending more time browsing, and in the end, take action by either contacting you or buying your product. Retargeting allows you to run an effective ad campaign without spending a lot of time or money. When you consider the costs of other forms of advertising, retargeting offers a viable solution for your real estate business.