Creating and Using Personalized Websites (pURLs)

Personalized Websites (pURLs)

Personalized websites, also known as "pURLs," are used in conjunction with personalized direct mail and are an easy and cost-effective way to raise your response rate dramatically. Here at MarketingZone you can learn how to use them, and find out who can help you get pURLs done.

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What are pURLs?

Personalized URLs, also known as pURLs, are personalized landing pages (one-page websites that act as a personal doorway into a company's website). These pURLs are used in conjunction with direct mail and are designed to coordinate the look and offer of the direct mail (or email) the customer received.  Studies show that using pURLs with a relevant message increase response rates two to five times! They are extremely affordable at just pennies, fit easily into any marketing campaign, and thousands of customized pURLs can be created in seconds, based on your customer database or mailing list. Marketers use pURLs to track individual responses and to more personally tailor follow-up information, offers and messages based on known information about the customer or prospect from the customer database. 

Personalized URLs are assigned to individual recipients based on the direct mail campaign database as part of a personalized printing (sometimes called digital or variable printing) direct mail program. The pURL is printed on the direct mail with the domain name of the marketer’s company along with the customer’s name (see example at right).  For instance, MarySmith.domain.com or domain.com/MarySmith.  When Mary Smith logs onto her pURL, the information from the campaign database is used to tailor the web page experience to her, including copy and images. The technology behind pURLs is similar to that used to personalize email, only in this case the marketer is pulling the person into a customized experience, rather than pushing that experience out via email.

Studies have shown that people prefer to get additional information online, so personalized URLs create an effective way to connect a printed direct mailer to an integrated and extended customer experience to aid in conversion.

Why use pURLs?

When the direct mail recipient logs onto the pURL, the information from the database is used to tailor the web page experience to that person. Moreover, once the individual clicks through to the site, they will receive a customized and highly relevant experience, and you will gain valuable additional insight into the customer by tracking what they do and where they go and whether or not they ultimately respond. The website can track the respondent's activity and continue to tailor the information based on customer behavior. This information can also be used to further tailor marketing programs.

Companies that generate pURLs to support a direct mail campaign generate a call-to-action on your direct mail or email piece (see example above), and then drive them to a pURL. Each pURL is customized with images, text, and incentives based on what we know about the recipient. For example, if you've purchased a list targeting people who are likely to be moving in the next three months, the women on the list will receive copy and imagery relevant to them (family spaces, nicely decorated homes), while the men will have a different experience (pictures of garages and backyards, copy reviewing the quality of construction, etc.).

Know this: There are numerous companies that can handle a pURL program from start to finish, including printing and mailing the piece, generating the personalized URLs, and providing access to a dashboard where you can monitor results in real time. Some are much more sophisticated than others, and priced accordingly, so be sure you understand what you're getting (and paying for) before deciding on which company to use.