Many of you ask us what the key differences are between RetargetLinks and our friends at Sniply. We thought we’d take a minute to give you an easy-to-digest snapshot of both tools’ key features.

First things first, what are the similarities?

Both companies are based in Vancouver and the principals at both companies know each other well.

The tools are based on an easy-to-use link shortener (like Bitly and owly), and you can use these links to share content through social media, email, search and affiliate marketing. Both have a Chrome extension that integrates with Twitter, Facebook, Hootsuite, Buffer, and other marketing tools.

In addition, the tools offer free short linking and for a fee, display additional advertising to anyone who clicks on the link. Beyond these features, the tools begin to differ in their delivery.

Sniply delivers one custom call-to-action in front of the content shared. RetargetLinks delivers 15 real banner ads over a period of two to three weeks depending on the browsing activity of the person that clicked.

Let’s dive into this a bit more.

What does Sniply do?

Sniply shows a single pop-up to anyone who clicks on a “snip”. The pop-up is displayed in front of the content. These pop-ups are customizable to convey a particular message, call-to-action, or image to the target audience.

 

As the pop-up can feel a bit invasive, it is recommended to keep its size small and on one corner of the page. Sniply charges $29-299 per month and does not pay the content owner for displaying an ad in front of the content.

What does RetargetLinks do?

RetargetLinks displays up to 15 real banner ads over a two to three-week period. We use the same cookie-based technology as site retargeting (recall these Amazon ads”following you”) where the cookie is inserted when the person clicks the link as opposed to landing on a marketing page.

 

RetargetLinks also displays banner ads on mobile browsers if you have uploaded a mobile ad in our system. We also do native ads, video ads and social media ads (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter) upon request.

Your ads are displayed across 95% of the publishers via the below exchanges, and we pay the publishers for displaying these ads. Contrary to Sniply, we don’t charge a monthly subscription; instead, we charge a CPM fee of $8 (per 1,000 ad impressions).

Because of this, we have large advertisers such as P&G, Nestle, Uber and Staples using our services. We invented link retargeting and our technology is also patented, which means that we are the only ones that can offer this service.

What other key features should I know about?

• Reporting – Both Sniply and RetargetLinks have reporting dashboards to help you track your campaign performance. The RetargetLinks dashboard is able to show you link clicks, as well as impressions and clicks of the ads shown to users. You can also measure landings and even report on conversions per campaign.
• Customizations – With a Sniply business account, you can customize the domain and short link, as well as the image displayed. For any RetargetLinks account, you can customize the domain, short link, as well as the ads displayed to your audience.
• Pricing – As mentioned before, Siply charges a monthly fee based on the number of clicks. This ranges in levels from a basic free account to a business-level account. RetargetLinks has no monthly fee and charges $8 (USD) CPM rate for the ads displayed to your target audience, no matter the size of your business. We do offer volume discounts to those serving enough ads.

Key takeaway

Both Sniply and RetargetLinks are there to help your business stay top-of-mind with your target audience. The core difference is in the way the tools display your core message.

With Sniply, you’ll show your audience 1 pop-up message right when they click a link you’ve shared. With RetargetLinks, you’ll display up to 15 banner ads to your customers as they continue to browse the web, over a period of 2-3 weeks.

Want to know more about RetargetLinks? Get in touch or sign up here!