Use geolocation to optimise your conversion
The basics of geolocalisation
As an e-retailer, you want to get closer to your customers with personalised ads and targeted advertising. Using the data collected to present the most relevant information possible to each visitor.
People from different countries are likely to have different buying habits and different reasons for purchasing a service or a product. Content that speaks to local needs is essential to optimise conversion.
A big step in the right direction is to direct visitors to specific content based on their actual location with geolocation. However, this is something you need to do with caution. You don’t want to redirect a visitor to the wrong part of the page, or they are more likely to leave.
What is geolocation?
Geolocation is an umbrella term for a range of techniques that make it possible to:
- Determine the geographical area in which a visitor is located.
- Customise content offerings by geographical area.
It is used not only to provide users with geographically customised content, but also for targeted advertising, producing analytics and statistics, and blocking access to specific websites and services.
How is geolocalisation used?
In its simplest form, geolocalisation allows the visitor to specify the country or region they are in. It is a popular technique used by many companies. When you enter the main page of each website, you are asked to choose which region or country’s content you want to be directed to.
In more sophisticated versions, the localisation is based on information from the user’s IP address, possibly in combination with other information. If the visitor is using a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, the localisation can be further refined using GPS technology (cell tower positioning). When connected via WiFi, the physical position of the user can be determined to a location corresponding to the signal range of the router.
Some modern technologies are highly reliable and have been found to provide accurate localisation information in over 99.9% of cases.
In our e-commerce solution Qala, we use a unique and technically smart solution that can also be cached. Usually, there are several different parts that need to be put together in the right place for geolocation solutions to work. If you try to do everything in WordPress, the possibility of caching falls away. In Qala, we can easily scale this functionality to the customer’s needs.
The possibilities of geolocation?
Geolocation is used to direct visitors to content that is specific to a local audience and their needs. The most basic of these needs is to be able to access content in their own language. Meeting basic needs creates understanding and easier navigation for the visitor. You also give yourself as an e-retailer the opportunity to provide targeted messages.
As a business, you can use geolocation to customise your products, services and offers along with targeted marketing. For example, with Google AdWords and social media.
The technology can also be used in the opposite direction, i.e. to prevent the distribution of content for certain geographical areas. However, it is more commonly used to restrict offers such as free shipping to visitors located in the same country as the company.
Geolocation creates a smoother experience for visitors and opens up new marketing opportunities for e-retailers. However, on its own, geolocation does not solve the whole problem. It is an important piece of the puzzle, often used in conjunction with other types of content personalisation methods, such as demographic or psychographic data.
Together, these technologies offer great potential to personalise offers and information to specific audiences and, when used correctly, further reduce the distance between the e-retailer and the customer.
Does your e-commerce need to advance? Qala could be the next step!
Our e-commerce solution with geolocation, Qala is created by renowned WordPress & WooCommerce experts. Qala has the most common features you need as an e-commerce merchant along with a modern basic design. Book a demo today!