Conditional Content is content on a webpage or email that only appears when certain criteria are met (eg a user is logged in etc). It has been used in email marketing for a long time, but websites are also capable of showing conditional content.
For example, a website could show a welcome block to first time users. Or have different links displayed in the sidebar if certain searches are made on the site.
Conditional Content can be technically quite complicated to implement. It can also be difficult to report on the individual components unless you really think through how you are going to track each component in advance. However, it is an extremely practical solution for improving the performance of a webpage or email.
By using conditional content you can create a bespoke experience for each user, taking advantage of whatever you know about them to tailor their user journey more directly. You needn’t have gathered any data about your users individually to do this.
You can create content that only shows depending on session data such as referring URL or email for example (eg if they came from a price comparison site, treat them like they are ready to buy).
7 Things To Know About Conditional Content
- Basic examples are things like using someone’s name in an email or the language of your site based on browser settings. The sky is the limit with conditional content though!
- Plan your analytics in advance. Think: what is the purpose of each conditional block? How can I measure if it worked compared to pages/emails without that block?
- Make sure that you always have a default page/email in place for anyone who doesn’t hit *any* of the criteria that you set for your conditional content. No-one should see blanks.
- Most email providers will let you use conditional content. Read their specific guides on how to do it before you get started.
- People are more likely to donate to charity when reminded that they have been generous in the past. Mentioning previous donations can be a great way to personalise content.
- Pro-Tip: Write/draw your plans before getting started to stop yourself from getting a muddle. It *is* a complicated process! Don’t be a hero & try to keep it all in your head!
- Don’t overuse the data you have on your users to personalise content. People want a tailored experience, but go too far and they’ll think you’re a creepy stalker.
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