Website personalization gains currency

As experts have noted, visitors to webpages gravitate toward more personal digital experiences. So, finding ways to tailor content to their preferences through website personalization has become increasingly important.

A big part of this is contextual content, where websites are now designed to deliver content that is based on visitor's location, demographics and previous behavior on a website. Another aspect of website personalization is tailoring mobile-based digital experiences, including responsive design and other methods to deliver content in context based on a person's device.

In this sense, website personalization is becoming key to creating a persuasive digital experience for consumers. "Personalization is really the holy grail for digital experience," said Geoff Bock, a Web content management expert. "The environment knows all about me and gives me just the information I want even when I don't know that I want it. Personalization is the goal of this smart, all-knowing environment."

Bock also discussed how personalizing digital experience is now a "two-sided coin"-- with roles for consumers, but also for the Web producers, marketers and other creators of this content. He also discussed how new trends, such as beacons and the Internet of Things, play into the trend of consumer personalization.

"There are going to be many more new devices, many more access points," Bock predicted. "It's really wide open."