The online presence is one of the most important things for any brand in this day and age. The
company’s website is almost certainly going to be visited by anyone considering doing any business with it. Providing personalized website content is one of the best ways to turn website visitors into
customers. But how does one do it? Website personalization is all about data. Anything from
firmographics and demographics to online behavior data can help to make prospects feel at home on your webpage. One just needs to know how to utilize various data for better online content.
The importance of providing personalized website content
Many websites are static, meaning that they present the same content regardless of who is viewing it. This has been understandable in the initial years of i nternet marketing. However, today one needs to be able to offer dynamic content in order to be more interesting to the visitor than the competition.
Website personalization means displaying different content on the website based on who is viewing it. Of course, the background of the website and its general structure will remain the same. However, a lot can change on a webpage to attract that particular eye that is looking at it.
The personalized parts can be the products that are shown on top of the page, ads, or special offers that pop up. Many parts of the website are inherently dynamic as they can be changed when the conditions require it. Thus, it is wise to make the viewer of the page one of those factors to which the website will adapt.
Personalized website content can help in many ways. Here are a few reasons why it is important to provide content that alternates to suit its viewer.
- It allows the website visitor to immediately find what they need the most. If we are looking for something on a website and are not quite sure if we can find it, often we will just let it go and try someplace else. No one wants to waste their time on something uncertain. Thus, the earlier the webpage can present the visitor with what they need, the more probable it is that they will stick around and come back for more.
- Personalized website content lets people know that you care about them and appreciate their
specific needs. When customers feel that they are not just another statistic for you, but
rather an important and particular person, they will have a better time doing business with you.
- It can give you a competitive advantage. Personal care is what makes people choose one service over another in many fields. The same goes for the services provided over the internet. If your competitors are providing personalized website content, you cannot afford not to. And if they do not, here is your chance to leap ahead of them.
Website content is often your first chance to make a good impression. With existing customers, it is your chance to make them feel appreciated. It can be critically important not to miss it.
Using alternative data for website personalization
The idea that personalized website content increases traffic and sales is easy to grasp. The question
remains, how does one go about making their website change in important ways based on the eye of the beholder?
The key to the answer is alternative data. You can know a lot about the visitor of your website by looking at the data that they produce in one way or another. This knowledge can be used ethically, with respect to the visitor’s privacy, meanwhile also giving them the best value that your website can provide.
Here are a few of the pivotal data types that can be used to display personalized website content.
- Demographic data. This includes such basic information as the age group, gender, and location of a person. Extended demographics can also contain the person’s interests and hobbies. All this data may partly be revealed by the website visitor’s online activity. Naturally, it allows the
website to display precisely the content that the visitor is most likely to be interested in.
- Firmographic data. Firmographics are for firms what demographics are for people. This type of alternative data describes the company’s location, industry, size, and all other key metrics. Knowing the industry of the company for which the person works allows providing personalized website content that is related to it and thus to the visitor’s professional interests.
Needless to say, B 2B firms can especially profit from website personalization for key
decision-makers in various companies.
- Behavioral data. There are various types and subtypes of customer behavior data. A lot of
important behavior is conducted online these days. The person’s online behavior, what they tend to click on, where in the webpage they mostly spend time on, and similar activity data allow preparing your own website better.
These are of course just a few examples of major alternative data categories that can boost website personalization. The better you understand your visitors, the more you are able to present them with the information and offers that they can use for their personal gain. And this will certainly end up beneficial for all parties involved.
With alternative data, various segmentations of the customer base are possible. Displaying personalized website content for each segment is not as hard as it has been before the big data revolution. Now
data-driven website personalization is within reach for most businesses.
