How Content Personalization Enhances Publishers’ Performance

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content personalization is a strategy used by publishers to deliver the most relevant content to specific groups of readers based on their interests and personal preferences.

95% of publishers are already segmenting their content and here’s why:

Reason #1

Some websites have tonnes of content from previous years and even more than that – an aspiration to pep it up.

Interviews, DIYs, “how to” guides never get old, and content personalization is a good way to bring these materials back to life.

Reason #2

Old content can be monetized, too. A publisher just needs to display it in front of the right people. By doing so, publishing sites invite readers to spend more time on their editorial materials, exposing them to a greater number of ads.

Can you see the logic now?

Where to Start

In content personalization information is king. Get your analytics tools out, we have work to do!

We need to have data about age, gender, location, device, operating system, and, of course, interests of your readers. You need this information to create a so-called “reader persona” and “lookalike” audiences. By segmenting people into specific categories you will know what type of content you can expose them to.

To get started you need to know how to answer the following questions:

  • What content does each category prefer?
  • Why are they reading it?
  • When do they come to you for the editorial content?
  • What categories have the greatest value?
  • What is your audience’s purchase funnel?
  • What are their UX preferences (you can check our article on UX here)?

With this information up in your sleeve, you will be able to predict your readers’ possible behavior and try out different strategies.

There are a few AI technologies available on the market that would make this process easy and enjoyable.

And do not forget to run tests to understand which approach performs better.

However, there is a downside you should know about. Going through archives post by post can be time and money consuming. Probably you will want to find a person who will do it for you.

How It Affects Monetization

Content personalization attracts people because it delivers content they want to see. Employing this strategy, you get more page views, make use of old content, and, hence, have more inventory to sell.

It is a no-brainer that the greater amount of readers exposed to ads means higher revenue.

The Huffington Post Case Study

The Huffington Post started experimenting with personalized recommendations around two years ago. The aim was to extend the “shelf life” of articles and make readers stay longer on the website.

Tailoring CTAs and content for specific readers’ needs, the HuffPost increased articles click-through rate by over 50% in just one year after the experiment was implemented. A great example of how content personalization can boost engagement and turn occasional readers into the loyal audience.

Other Perks of Personalization

With personalization you go beyond usual UX practices, creating different experiences for different people based on their personal preferences.

This technique increases the overall quality of a website and lets you gain loyal readers. If you keep your recommendations fresh and relevant, your advertising inventory will always be in demand among advertisers. So why not giving it a go?

Questions?

If you are wondering how you can improve your monetization strategy, do not hesitate to contact the Impactify team. We are an experienced video ad network that is always ready to help publishers to enhance their advertising efforts.

Need an advice on content monetization? Just contact us and we will gladly help you out.