Hello again, friends! It's that time of the week again - Tuesday! And for us at Prepr, that means our personalized series is making a comeback with a brand-new article.
Last time, we tackled the first two sections of our Adaptive Website Blueprint – figuring out who we want to connect with (segments) and using data to identify our target audience.
Today, we're moving on to the third part, focusing on the analysis of the content and components we intend to present to our target audience. So, take a break, grab your drink of choice, and join us for our seventh article. Happy Tuesday, lovely readers!
Content and Components - What content do you show them?
In the third section of our Blueprint, it's time to build a bespoke Truman Show for every user.
Remember the movie starring Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank? He thought he was living a normal life, not realizing it was all part of a big TV show, where he was the star in a world tailored just for him. Well, you have to do the same thing with your adaptive website; create your own Truman Show for your different segments.
In your adaptive website, users take the spotlight. Your site becomes tailored for each visitor, just like Truman's show was designed for him. Content personalization ensures that every person gets their unique and exciting journey through your website, carefully crafted to make it enjoyable and personal for them.
So in the part of the blueprint about contents and components, you get to decide which things will be adapted for different groups of people (segments). Figure out what content to show is super important for reaching the goals you set earlier.
Even though it might seem like a good idea to tweak everything on your website, it's not a must. Instead, concentrate on pointing out the things that will really matter to your website visitors – the components and pages that will have the biggest impact. Let’s find out what they are.
Recommended content
A key and the most frequently used component in adaptive websites is the "Recommended Content" feature. This element suggests relevant content or products to visitors based on their interests, commonly displayed on homepages to offer personalized recommendations. When a visitor explores the homepage, the "Recommended Content" component presents tailored suggestions, that align with the visitor's preferences. For instance, if someone has shown interest in tech content, the component might recommend articles on the latest gadgets.
It's not only effective on homepages but also plays a crucial role on content detail pages, inspiring and assisting visitors as they navigate the site. This component significantly impacts user experience by personalizing suggestions to individual interests. It's like when Netflix suggests shows you'll enjoy. This way, the website tries to show you things that match your interests, making it more fun for you!
Recommended Categories
Often overlooked is the concept of “Recommending Categories” as a distinct variant of content and product suggestions. Instead of directly pinpointing specific items, the strategy involves highlighting relevant categories to the visitor. This approach guides users towards broader themes, facilitating a more comprehensive exploration of diverse offerings within a particular genre. Instead of saying, "Hey, check out this book!" We might suggest a bunch of exciting book genres like mystery, romance, or adventure. This way, users can find what they like quickly, but they might also discover something awesome they didn't know they'd enjoy.
Adaptive call-to-action
The main goal of personalization is often to boost conversion rates and a great way to do that is by tailoring “Calls-to-Action” based on distinct segments. For instance, giving developers a specific white paper and business owners a different one increases the chances of getting people to take action. So, by adjusting calls-to-action based on what different people are interested in, you're more likely to grab their attention and get them to engage, which, in turn, leads to higher conversion rates. This kind of personalization not only caters to different audiences but also makes the whole user experience more personalized and convincing.
Hero images and Headlines
The mentioned components all aim to improve engagement and conversion. But personalization isn’t just about that - it’s also about giving a good first impression to the users. Taking “Hero images and Headlines” as key elements, their adaptability becomes essential in making a tailored first impression. Let’s consider a scenario of a travel website that personalizes its hero image and headline. If you're a family looking for a sunny vacation, the website can show you a different picture and headline than if you're a young couple planning a jungle adventure. That way, the website feels more like it gets you, and makes you want to stick around.
Where do you want to show these components?
Once you’ve chosen the components to adapt, the next step is deciding which page will house them. We have three suggestions:
- Home page: The Home page is like the front door of a website, especially for users who’ve been here before. By using info from their past visits, you can tweak the Home page to make it super personal, giving users a meaningful experience. What does a segment-targeted Home page look like? Well, it should have a special image at the top, matching the specific audience's preferences, suggest content they're into, and include targeted buttons for actions they likely want to take. Getting these adaptive elements right is key to turning the Home page into a tool that delivers a personalized and enjoyable user experience.
- Overview pages: Overview pages act like tour guides, helping visitors find exactly what they're looking for on your website. Think of the sports category on a news website or the product category pages on an e-commerce site – these are good examples of overview pages. What makes these pages dynamic is the ability to personalize the content they showcase and tailor the calls to action that further refine the user experience.
- Detail pages: Detail pages stand as the core content hubs where visitors land on a website for in-depth information. These pages are perfect for showcasing smart recommendations related to the page's topic, like a "More like this" section, offering visitors a chance to discover additional content aligned with their interests. And guess what? These pages are also perfect for putting targeted CTAs like the "Check this out!” button that match exactly with what the visitors are reading.
Alright, check it out – we've got all the pieces of the Blueprint filled in using the Acme Lease example. High five! Wrapping up today's talk and just to keep you curious about what's coming up, let's channel a bit of Sherlock Holmes: 'The game is afoot!’ See you next week to keep the mystery going.
Nah, just kidding around – no mystery games here! Here's a quick heads-up: in our next article, we're gonna talk about turning the blueprint ideas into easy-to-handle tasks. We are going to talk about the creation of concrete initiatives. Keep an eye out for it!
Getting started with Personalization
Now, are you ready to dive into Personalization? Starting your journey to personalize your website is easier than you think. If you're keen on the benefits of segment-based personalization, check out The Complete Guide to Getting Started with Personalization. You will learn how to create a personalized website with adaptive content that meets your visitors’ needs while boosting conversion by 30% or more.
