When it comes to onsite campaigns, targeting rules are crucial for displaying the right message to the right audience. In order to achieve the desired results, it's important to understand how to properly set up targeting rules. These rules help to ensure that your popups and signup forms are displayed to the right audience at the right time, resulting in higher engagement and conversion rates.

Targeting rules can be based on a variety of factors such as user behavior, location, device type, and more. By using these targeting rules, you can create more personalized and relevant messages that are more likely to capture the attention of your website visitors.

Improving Your Onsite Campaigns Strategy with Targeting Rules: What You Need to Know

In this article, we will provide an overview of different targeting rules that can be used to create effective onsite campaigns. We'll discuss the different types of rules, how to set them up, and how they can be used to improve the overall effectiveness of your popups.

#1 Display Triggers

Display Trigger Rules are important for determining when an onsite campaign should be shown to a visitor on a website. These rules specify the conditions that must be met before the popup is displayed to the user. 

Three common display trigger rules are: Time Delay, Scroll Percentage, and Leave Intent Targeting.

Here are the three different types of display trigger rules:

› Time Delay is the time that passes after a page loads before the popup appears. This can range from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the website's design and purpose.

To set up a time delay for your popup, simply enter the desired number of seconds in the "Show pop-up after time delay on page" column. Once the specified time has elapsed, your popup will appear on your website.

› Scroll Percentage determines how far a visitor has scrolled down the website before the popup appears. This is useful for targeting visitors who have shown more interest in the website's content. For example, a popup promoting a related product can be triggered when a visitor reaches the bottom of the page.

To set this up, simply input a number between 1 to 100 in the “Show notification on scroll percentage” section, which represents the percentage of page scrolling required before the popup appears on your website.

› Leave Intent Targeting is a display trigger that detects when a visitor is about to leave the website. It shows the popup as soon as the visitor's mouse moves towards the browser's address bar or close button. This can be useful for encouraging visitors to take a specific action before they leave the website, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.

To enable this just click on the “Yes” button, in “Leave Intent Targeting”, and your popup will display when a visitor tries to leave your website.

#2 Session-based Triggers

Session-based triggers determine when an onsite campaign should appear based on a user's browsing behavior during a single website session.

Here are the various types of session based targeting rules:

› Visitor Type: This rule allows website owners to display a pop-up or signup form to specific visitor types only. They can choose between all visitors, new visitors, or returning visitors. This way, website owners can ensure that the pop-up is shown to the right audience and is not annoying to repeat visitors.

› Show Max N Times Per Session: This rule sets the maximum number of times a pop-up will be displayed to a visitor in a single session. For example, if set to 4, a visitor will not see the pop-up again if they have already seen it four times.

› Repeat Pop-up on Close: This rule determines whether a pop-up should repeat when a visitor closes it. This can be useful for presenting visitors with important information that they may have missed.

To set up a repeat popup, click on the dropdown menu in the "Repeat popup" section and choose from "Per session show", "On every reload", or "For N number of days" (write the number of days in the box below). If you don't want to use any of these options, select "Never show" from the dropdown.

› Repeat Pop-up on View: This rule sets the conditions for a pop-up to repeat after a visitor has seen it once. This can be useful for promoting a new product or service that the visitor may not have been interested in initially.

Configuration process for Repeat Pop-up feature is same as described above, simply click on the drop-down menu of this section and choose from the options "Per session show," "On every reload," or "For N number of days" (input the number of days in the box below). If you do not want to utilize this feature, just select "Never show" from the dropdown.

› Repeat Pop-up on Engage: This rule sets the conditions for a pop-up to repeat when a visitor engages with it. This can be useful for promoting a product or service that a visitor may be interested in after they have engaged with the pop-up once. The repeat rules can be set for the same pop-up, all pop-ups, or pop-ups with the same label.

To configure the Repeat Popup feature, simply open the dropdown menu of this section and select one of the available options: "Per session show," "On every reload," or "For N number of days" (you can enter the desired number of days in the box provided). Alternatively, if you don't want to use this option, choose "Never show" from the dropdown.

You can also choose from different notification options, such as "Same notification," "Any notification," or "Notification with mutually exclusive label," depending on your preferences and needs.

› Time Spent on Site in Same Session: This rule sets the total time a visitor must spend on a website before a pop-up will be displayed. This can be useful for promoting a product or service that a visitor may be interested in after they have spent a certain amount of time on the site.

To set up this trigger, simply input the desired number of seconds in the designated section, and the popup will appear on your website after the specified duration has elapsed.

› Minimum Page Views Per Session: This rule sets the minimum number of page views a visitor must complete before a pop-up will be displayed. This can be useful for promoting a product or service that a visitor may be interested in after they have spent a certain amount of time on the site and viewed multiple pages. 

To set this up, simply input the desired number of pages in the designated section, and your popup will appear once the user has viewed that number of pages in a single session.

› Sequence: This targeting rule enables website owners to display multiple pop-ups in a specific sequence based on priority, rather than showing them all at once. By using this rule, you can present visitors with a series of pop-ups that are relevant to their interests and behavior on the site, one after the other. 

This approach can be particularly useful for guiding visitors through a series of steps or promoting a product or service in a structured way. Once the first pop-up is closed, the second one appears, and so on. 

To set this up simply select the desired option from the drop down menu of this section.

With this rule, you can prioritize the sequence of pop-ups to ensure that the most important ones are displayed first, providing a more effective and engaging user experience.

› User Type: This rule allows you to set conditions for displaying an onsite campaign based on whether a visitor is a known or unknown user. This feature can be useful for personalizing the pop-up experience for visitors who are already your customers. 

Note: To identify a visitor as a known user, you will need to call our users method during the integration of the NotifyVisitors Website SDK. For more detailed information on this process, please refer to our article "Integrate your app/website through NV SDKs."

#3 Page URL Rules

This tab contains URL based trigger conditions for onsite campaigns.

It is a type of targeting rule that determines whether an onsite campaign should be displayed based on the URL of the website page being visited by the user. This type of trigger allows you to target specific pages or groups of pages on your website by defining specific URLs or URL patterns. When a visitor navigates to a URL that matches the defined rule, the popup or signup form will be displayed.

 To set up this feature, first select either "Page URL" or "Page Path" from the Page Rule section.

To target a popup to a specific page using Page URL, you would need to use the complete URL of the page. For example, to target a popup to the homepage of a website, you would use the URL "https://www.example.com/".

To target a popup to a specific page using Page Path, you would only need to use the path portion of the URL. For example, to target a popup to the "About Us" page of a website, you would use the path "/about-us/".

Next, use the available URL conditions such as "equals to," "starts with," "ends with," etc. Then, provide the value for the selected condition and click "submit."

Additionally, you can apply group conditions by selecting "any of these" or "all of these," depending on your preference for the conditions, and then click "submit."

In addition, you can also choose whether you want to display multiple popups on the same page or not. Once you have made all the necessary selections, click on the "update" button.

#4 Technology

This section allows you to choose specific technological systems where your onsite campaigns can be displayed. You can select from a range of devices such as desktop, mobile, and tablet, various web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and more, operating systems such as Windows and Linux, and web apps like PWA and TWA. 

By customizing the technology section, you can target your onsite campaigns to specific audiences based on their technological preferences and improve the overall effectiveness of your popups.

#5 Time of Day

The "Time of day" option allows you to specify a particular time period during which the onsite campaign should be displayed on your website. You can choose to display the popups or signup forms during certain hours of the day or certain days of the week. 

For example, you might want to display a signup form only during business hours or only on weekends.

First, choose the timezone you prefer, either yours or the visitor's. Then, specify the time range during which the popup should be displayed. If you want to use the same time range every day, choose the "Everyday" option and specify your time range. 

Alternatively, if you prefer different time ranges for each day, you can choose the days one at a time and specify the time range for each. This option allows you to control when your popup is displayed and can be particularly useful for promotions or events that have a specific time frame.

Note: The time range should be specified in the 24-hour format as hh:mm.

#6 Traffic

Traffic source-based onsite campaigns are popups or signup forms that are triggered based on the source of the visitor's traffic. These campaigns can be configured to appear only to visitors who come to your website through specific sources such as 

› Social Media - This option displays the popup if the visitor comes through any of the following social networking sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Google+. 

› Direct Traffic - It shows the popup if the visitor comes directly by typing your site URL in the browser. 

› Search Engine - This option allows you to display popups when a visitor arrives through any of the major search engines or when they use specific search keywords.

› Custom Referrers - It shows the popup if the visitor comes through specific referring sites. You can add multiple URL rules to specify multiple custom referrers.

› Paid Traffic - Paid traffic based campaigns are triggered when a visitor arrives at a website through a paid advertising campaign, such as a pay-per-click (PPC) ad or a sponsored social media post.

By targeting specific traffic sources, you can create more relevant and personalized popups for your visitors, and increase your conversion rates. Simply check the sources options you want to use and click “update.” If you don't want to display popups based on traffic sources, leave all these options unchecked.

#7 Location

Location-based onsite campaigns are triggered based on the geographic location of the visitor. They allow you to show targeted messages to users from specific locations or exclude certain locations. You can specify the countries, regions, or cities where you want to show the popups, or you can exclude them based on the same criteria. 

To set up location-based popups, first select the condition "Any of these" or "None of these". If you select "Any of these," the campaign will be displayed only to visitors coming from specific locations chosen by you. If you select "None of these," the popups will be displayed to visitors from all locations except the ones you choose.

Next, choose the country, state, and city for your target location. If you want to choose multiple locations, click on "Add Field" and repeat the process. Finally, click "Update" to save your settings.

This feature can be useful for businesses that want to offer location-specific promotions or messages to their visitors.

#8 Cookies

Cookie-based onsite campaigns are triggered based on whether or not a visitor has a specific cookie stored on their device. This allows you to show targeted messages or promotions to visitors who have previously interacted with your website or completed certain actions. For example, you could use cookies to display a popup to returning visitors welcoming them back and offering them a discount on their next purchase.

To use this feature, you need to choose between two conditions: "any rule can satisfy" or "all rules must satisfy". Selecting "any rule can satisfy" means that the popup will be displayed if any of your defined rules are satisfied. On the other hand, if you choose "all rules must satisfy", the popup will only be displayed if all of the defined rules are satisfied.

Once you have chosen your condition, specify a cookie name, select your condition, fill in the value for the condition and then click the "Update" button to save your changes.

#9 Query Params

Query parameters are parts of a URL that contain specific information about the request being made. Query parameters based onsite campaigns are shown to visitors if the URL contains specific query parameters.

For example, a user could set up a popup to appear when a visitor comes to their site with a specific product code in the URL query parameters. This could be used to offer a discount or promotion specifically related to that product.

To choose query params for popups, follow the same process as defined for cookies. First, choose your desired condition - "Any rules can satisfy" or "All rules must satisfy." Then, fill in the query name, select the condition, fill in the value for the condition, and click "Update."

#10 Custom Rules

The "Custom Rule" option allows you to show onsite campaigns only when specific data value rules are satisfied. This is a highly customizable option that enables you to set rules based on various criteria, such as purchase value, visitor behavior, demographics, and more.

An example of using the custom rule option is to show a discount popup only when the purchase value is above $100. This means that the popup will only be triggered and displayed to the visitor when the specific data value rule is satisfied.

 To create a custom targeting rule, you can send keys and values via Javascript and filter them in this custom rules section. For in detail instructions kindly read “Integrate plugins and NV code for popups and forms.”

Start by choosing the condition - whether you want "any rule to satisfy" or "all rules must satisfy" for a popup to display. 

Then select the data type, such as string, number, or date. Fill in the expression using the exact same expressions used in the Javascript API, select the condition type, and fill in the value for this condition. Finally, click "Update" to set your custom rule.

#11 Sampling

The sampling option allows you to specify what percentage of new visitors will see your onsite campaign. For instance, if you choose 5%, only 5% of new visitors will be shown the signup form.

To control the number of users who see your onsite campaign, simply adjust the sampling bar to your desired percentage and then click on the "update" button to save your changes.

#12 Segment 

Segment-based popups allow you to show onsite campaigns only to users in a specific segment list. These lists are typically based on certain user attributes or behavior. For example, you may want to show a different popup to users who have previously made a purchase on your website compared to users who have never made a purchase.

There are two options for using segment-based onsite campaigns. First, you can show the onsite campaign to a specific segment of users, and second, you can hide the onsite campaigns from a specific segment of users. You can use both options together as well.

To show the popup to a particular segment, select the condition under the "show to" section, either "users in all of these segments" or "users in any of these segments." Then select your segment list and click "update." If you want to add multiple segments, simply click on the "add more" button and repeat the process.

To hide the popup from a particular segment, repeat the process in the "exclude users from these segments" section as you did in the "show to" section. The only difference is that the users of this selected segment list will not see the popup.

#13 IP blacklist

An IP blacklist for onsite campaigns is a feature that allows you to block specific IP addresses or ranges from seeing your popups. This can be useful if you want to prevent certain visitors, such as your own office employees or unwanted traffic, from seeing your onsite campaigns. By adding these IPs to your blacklist, the visitors associated with those IPs will not be able to see your popups or signup forms.

To use this feature, enter the IP address in the designated section. If you want to add multiple IP addresses, click on the "add more" button and fill in the additional IP addresses. Once you have entered the addresses, click on the "update" button to save the changes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding targeting rules is crucial in creating effective onsite campaigns that engage and convert website visitors. By using targeting rules, you can tailor your onsite campaigns to specific user segments and situations, ensuring that your message is relevant and timely. 

Whether you're using geolocation, cookies, query parameters, or custom rules, the key is to have a deep understanding of your audience and their needs. By using data and insights to inform your targeting strategy, you can increase the chances of capturing the attention and interest of your website visitors. 

Keep in mind that targeting rules are not a one-size-fits-all solution, so it's essential to test and iterate your approach to find the best targeting strategy for your business. By mastering targeting rules, you can create onsite campaigns that not only provide value to your audience but also drive business results.