This article explains how to apply variable targeting in your project, so specific ideas only show to a subset of the project's audience.
Table of Contents
- Why use variable targeting?
- How does it work?
- How is performance calculated?
- Example use cases
- Steps to apply variable targeting
Why use variable targeting?
Variable targeting is a form of personalization. It lets you include variables that only apply to part of your audience. It's perfect for a project with elements that only apply to specific users. Rather than run concurrent projects, you can include everything in a single project, saving you time and effort.
How does it work?
Variants that are part of a targeted variable will only be seen by users that match the targeting criteria. For example, if a variable targets mobile users, all non-mobile users won't see it.
How is performance calculated for targeted variables?
A targeted variable has less impact when seen by fewer people.
A non-targeted user effectively sees the Control variant when they are excluded from a targeted variable, so the opportunity for that variant to affect a conversion is less. It's the same when a combination includes a variant not part of the current context; if it's not seen, it's as if it isn't there.
Example use cases
If you're stuck for inspiration on when to use variable targeting, here are some ideas to get you started.
- Target by device
- E.g., An element only appears on mobile, but it's not worth testing on its own.
- Target by location
- E.g., Part of the website is only available in certain geo-locations.
- Target by interaction
- E.g., When you only want to test something after a user interacts with part of the website.
Make sure you have some variables available to the core project audience. If none of the variable audiences overlap, you might as well run separate projects.
Adding targeting criteria to a variable using the Manager
- Go to the Draft page in the Manager for the project you want to configure.
- Select the Variables option in the side navigation.
- Click on the variable you want to apply targeting to.
- Select the Targeting tab in the side panel.
- Use the audience builder to create the desired targeting.