Onsite behavioral targeting

Onsite behavioural targeting is the use of behavioural targeting within a website, drawing on the data a web publisher knows about their individual viewers. This allows site owners to deliver editorial content, services or advertising which has greater relevancy. There are a wide range of technologies that provide this targeting including brands like Touch Clarity and they often include extensive database integration with offline databases in which data about the individual’s relationship with the organisation may be stored. These approaches can be used for improving the quality of the individual’s experience, improving the conversion rates (fundamental for ecommerce websites). In the mid nineties Amazon was the first organisation to develop large scale application of onsite behavioural targeting that took the technology to a mass market audience, coining the phrase ‘people who like this, also liked this’, and enjoying exceptional revenue growth as a result. It took until after 2000 before the technologies were productised in a way accessible to most online businesses, but would take a further decade before widespread adoption as the techniques moved beyond retail into media, finance, entertainment and other sectors. A common related discipline is the understanding of web analytics to identify user volumes, interests and behaviours; and the use of multivariate testing (AB split-run testing) to identify changes that will improve website use or effectiveness. Publishers intending to use onsite behavioural targeting should ensure they are compliant with local regulatory frameworks. See also: Behavioral advertising, Behavioral targeting