The aim is to increase a site's conversion rate by offering products and services of interest to the individual.
Who's doing it: E-commerce website lastminute.com is using it to increase the amount of time customers spend on its site. It uses behavioural targeting technology from Touch Clarity to understand specific interests of individuals and then delivers appropriate content. The technology has enabled consumer portal MSN to increase repeat visits to its site by providing relevant articles to individuals and car manufacturer Land Rover has used it to tailor content.
The lowdown: Using behavioural targeting to increase sales is not new. However, on-site behavioural targeting allows marketers to use data in real-time. "By targeting specific offers based on user behaviour, we increase the chance of customers finding offers relevant to them," says Marko Balabanovic, director of personalisation at lastminute.com.
The range of information collected includes the referral site and search words that directed the visitor to the site and the time of day and previous visits. The data is used to build visitor profiles that in turn dictate the products that are automatically marketed to them. For example, sites can offer specific landing pages that are of interest to an individual, increasing the chances of converting visitors into customers.
"This is clever stuff, yet not many companies are doing it," says Ben Rachel, planning director at agency CMW. "It offers the chance to reach people that count and is more cost effective."
Neil Morgan, vice president of marketing at online software provider Omniture, says: "Companies spend money on making their sites easy to navigate, but not much on personalising content." He predicts that the value of on-site behavioural targeting to direct marketing is set to increase this year.