Website personalization: Examples, benefits, and strategies

When you walk into the local coffee shop, you would expect the waiter to recognize you, greet you by your name, and make suggestions based on your past purchases. 

This is what makes you feel special, love the coffee shop, and spend more time there.

That’s the same expectation your visitors have from your website. In fact, 61% of people expect businesses to tailor experiences to their preferences. They want you to show them the most relevant products, offers, and content, not just a generic website.

And you can make that happen with website personalization. McKinsey says personalization can cut acquisition costs by up to 50%, boost revenues by 5 to 15%, and enhance marketing spending efficiency by 10 to 30%. Sounds promising, right?

This blog post explains website personalization in detail. You’ll learn about the benefits of website personalization, explore a few examples, and see some effective strategies to make it happen.

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What is website personalization?

Website personalization is a marketing strategy that lets you make your website unique to each visitor. You may change the website content, recommendations, offers, and even the user interface to match a visitor’s preferences.

You see, a salesperson in an offline store can study each buyer and recommend products according to their needs. But that rarely happens in online stores. That can be the reason why in-store conversions are as high as 20-40%, whereas online conversion rates are only 1% - 3%.

But website personalization is here to change everything. Now, you can identify what your visitors want and recommend things they’ll love. No wonder 90% of leading marketers say personalization significantly improves business profitability.

And you do it all with data. Your website can track how visitors behave- what they click on, what pages they browse, where they’re located, etc. You can use this information to customize what visitors see on your website. 

Personalization makes the entire buying experience feel effortless. Your customers feel understood and valued, which builds trust. That's why 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with a company that offers personalized experiences.

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3 Real-world website personalization examples

You can personalize your website in multiple ways. You may recommend the right products, highlight relevant offers, or adjust the website’s design based on the visitors’ data. Here are some good website personalization examples you can take inspiration from:

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1. Personalized content

Let’s consider a news website. If a reader often reads articles about technology, a personalized website might start showing them more tech-related content on the homepage. 

The site could even suggest specific videos based on visitors’ past reading habits. This helps them discover content they like to consume and keeps them engaged on the website.

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2. Personalized recommendations

If you have an E-commerce website, you can do wonders using personalization. For instance, you can make relevant product recommendations based on a user’s browsing and purchase history.

That means you can fill the “You may also like” sections on product pages with hyper-personalized suggestions. This type of personalized product recommendation contributes 26% to revenue and raises the average order value by 10%.

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3. Personalized responses

For this, you’ll need website personalization software- an AI sales assistant. It’s a conversational interface that supports your visitors 24/7. 

For instance, Chatsimple’s AI sales agent can understand visitors’ needs and provide personalized responses using visitors’ previous conversations and saved information. If a visitor asks for a specific product, the assistant may tell solid product benefits and offer a discount to nudge them toward a purchase.

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In all three website personalization examples, users are kept at the center. Because of personalization, users don’t have to waste time searching for what they want. This smooth experience pleases them and makes them convert into your customers.

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What are the benefits of website personalization?

Website personalization is not just a good strategy. It’s a necessity. Not personalizing your website can frustrate your visitors and hurt your sales. In fact, 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions from companies, and 76% get frustrated when they don’t receive them.

Here are some solid benefits of website personalization:

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1. More engagement

A generic website feels impersonal and makes visitors bounce away quickly. Simple personalization strategies can change everything.

When your buyers see content and offers that are relevant to them, they’re naturally more likely to stick around and explore your website. Since they find things they are interested in, they take more action.

So, you may see improvements in metrics such as page views, time spent, and click-through rates, indicating that users are more engaged with your website.

A McKinsey report says personalization boosts performance and customer outcomes. Companies that grow faster generate 40% more revenue from personalization compared to slower-growing ones.

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2. Improved customer experience

Bad customer experience kills businesses. A PWC report shows that 59% of consumers will walk away after several bad experiences and 17% after just one bad experience, even if they initially loved the company or product.

Website personalization helps you avoid that. A personalized website suggests content and items that perfectly fit visitors’ needs. This way, buyers feel understood and valued by the brand. 

It makes the entire buying experience smoother and more enjoyable, leading to happier customers. And as you can expect, it also leads to repeat visits and purchases.

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3. Higher conversions

The end goal of any website is to drive action - whether that’s booking a meeting, subscribing to a newsletter, or making a purchase. Personalization helps you achieve that.

By showing buyers exactly what they want right when they want it, you make the buying process frictionless. This increases the chances of them taking that desired action.

This way, uninterested visitors transform into engaged prospects who are much more likely to buy your product or service.

In fact, 91% of customers are more likely to purchase from brands that recognize, remember, and provide them with relevant offers and recommendations.

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3 Effective website personalization strategies

Data is what powers the personalization. The more data you have, the more effective your personalization will be. So, collect different types of data points like browsing behavior (pages visited, time on page), demographics  (location, age), purchase history, cart abandonment, search queries, etc.

Next, here are some effective website personalization strategies you can implement to make your website a customer-pleasing and selling machine:

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1. Personalize offers using pop-ups

Unlike generic pop-ups that often appear intrusive, personalized pop-ups provide a delightful experience. That’s why a relevant offer within pop-ups boosts conversion rates.

You can use these pop-ups for multiple purposes like:

• Show new products to returning customers at a special discount.
• Give first-time visitors a free ebook to sign up for your email list.
• Offer free shipping to a visitor who is about to abandon their shopping cart.
• Show related products just after customers have made a purchase.

These pop-ups are displayed on visitors’ screens when their behavior matches the targeting rules. For example, a targeting rule could be, “If a visitor spends more than 2 minutes on the products page, show a pop-up with a specific discount.”

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2. Utilize the referral source

Every visitor lands on your website for a reason. They may want some information or may want to take a specific action.

By tracking where visitors come from (their referral source), you can figure out the reasons why they are visiting your website. 

For instance, if someone finds your blog post through a search engine, they’re likely looking for answers related to your product or category. 

Similarly, visitors coming from your social media channels might be curious to explore your brand and what you offer.

And, if someone clicks through from a sales email, they’re often closer to making a purchase decision.

Knowing these reasons lets you tailor your content, offers, and recommendations effectively. This helps you drive more website sales and grow your business to new heights.

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3. AI sales assistant for personalized support

AI sales assistants are website personalization tools that can make your website unique to each visitor.

We already discussed Chatsimple’s AI sales agent. This agent lives on your website and engages with every visitor, providing relevant and instant answers to visitors’ queries. 

It has the empathy to understand visitors’ needs and provide personalized recommendations. It can even capture leads, book meetings, and promote your products while engaging visitors in personalized conversations.

This AI agent can automatically detect and speak 175+ languages, letting your website visitors speak in the languages they are most comfortable with.

This level of personalization makes users feel like VIPs, which improves experience, engagement, and conversions.

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Summing up

Personalization is the key to staying competitive in the current market. Pick one or two of the website personalization strategies we discussed and experiment with them. When you understand your visitors’ needs and provide them with a personalized experience, you’ll improve your brand perception, boost engagement and conversions, and build stronger customer relationships.

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