Introduction to Website Personalisation
Businesses only needed to build an attractive website, publish fresh content, invest in search and paid media, and email to attract and engage with new and current customers. As the internet becomes more saturated and customers' time more precious, website personalisation can help brands to resonate with visitors on an individual level.
What is Web Personalisation?
Websites traditionally provided a variety of content to target a wide array of audience segments. Using the strategy to publish a single content for all users meant that some content is only relevant to a specific user. From a user experience, not providing relevant content to users means that it would take more time for users to find information that is relevant to them. Providing a more one-to-one experience can provide each customer with a bespoke experience that is relevant to his or her needs.
Benefits of Personalisation
Providing a tailored target experience can offer a plethora of benefits to the business and user experience. Here are some benefits you can expect from a personalised website.
Increased Conversions - Target specific content by sending messages that resonate and inspire customers to convert.
Higher User Engagement – Customers that receive bespoke content specifically to the user will feel that the company is looking out for them.
More Qualified Leads – Tailored content can cause more qualified leads to enter your conversion funnel which means these leads are more likely to convert.
Challenges of Personalisation
Implementing personalisation can offer several benefits but there are many challenges that personalisation brings.
Reliance on Developers – Personalisation relies on developers to implement and maintain a personalised website. Developers will need to ensure a personalisation is operating correctly and does not slow down the overall website performance.
Data Silos – For personalisation to be effective you will need information on your customers. Data can come from different sources such as site tracking, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and email analytics. Not being able to integrate all your data sources will prevent you from getting a complete picture of who your customers are and will not be able to show your users perfectly personalised website content.
Privacy Concerns – To provide an accurate personalised experience, consumers will need to accept data collection on your website. When handling customer data you will need a strong data security system and process and comply with data standards.
Types in Data Used For Web Personalisation
To provide a personalised experience, users should be targeted according to any available data source and there are many conditions a brand can use to make sure the right experience is delivered to the correct user.
Marketers can target users via different categories:
Location – Country, region, or city
Technology – Device type, operating system, browser, and screen resolution
Traffic Sources – Specific traffic sources a user is visiting from: direct, paid, referral search, or social
3rd Party Data – User data collected from outside sources
Behaviour – Based on user interactions: clicks, add items to cart, purchase events, and URLs visited
Explicit Date – CRM data collected about a user or provided intentionally through surveys or registration forms
Time – Selected dates, days of the week, or time of day
Current Page – the type of page a user lands on or certain product pages
Types of Website Personalisation
There are many ways to deliver a personalised experience. Each experience objective can be tested, optimised, and personalised for each user.
Dynamic Content – Replace website hero banners, call-to-action buttons, and promotional modules
Recommendations – Display content or products according to attributes in the data, visitor interactions, and trends in visitor behaviour
Overlays and Popups – Highlight a particular offer using popups
Notifications and Widgets – Serve a subtle element in the corner of the screen or floating bars
Messaging – Tailor promotional, urgency, or CTA-based copy across the site
Menu Personalisation – Reorganise or change the order of the navigational bar based on each visitor’s interests
Search Personalisation - Populate search results based on visitor preferences and real-time behaviour
Personalisation Best Practices
Implementing a personalisation strategy has the potential to enhance your website but can be a challenging task to plan and implement. There are some best practices to follow to help ensure your personalisation strategy is effective as possible.
Use Real-Time Data - Using the most accurate data will ensure that your website can present the right message, recommendation, or content at the right time.
Test Personalisation Ideas – Personalisation ideas should be tested before implementing them sitewide. Results from the test should be analysed to find out how the strategy can be improved and whether the strategy is implemented.
Monitor Website Analytics – It is important to constantly analyse your strategies to ensure that they are working as expected and to detect any changes in customer behaviours and trends. Strategies should be reviewed and adjusted in line with customer behaviours.
Do Not Overdo Personalisation – Over-personalisation can lead to a complicated strategy and increases the risk of duplicate content that could make your visitors leave your website.
Summary
Website personalisation can provide a tailored user experience. Users can be targeted by different categories such as age and location. Many aspects of the website can be personalised from images, CTAs, messages, and menu items. Strategies should be planned, tested, and analysed before implementation. Personalisation is not something you can implement and leave; it requires constant analysing and adjusting to ensure personalisation is still suitable for current user behaviours.
Sources
https://www.dynamicyield.com/lesson/web-personalization/
https://www.activecampaign.com/blog/website-personalization-guide