Web push notification, when used effectively by marketers, can be a great opportunity to connect with the target audience. Statistics show that depending on the number of browsers that support the web push solution, 7x more click-through rates and 2x more open rates than email marketing.
However, there is still no clear situation regarding the use of push notifications. Some users like to receive helpful and informative updates about a brand they subscribe to. Others state that the user experience is negatively affected if the brand does not use it properly.
So, how will you act in this situation? How can you effectively communicate with users visiting your site? In this content, we will cover web push notifications in depth. You will also have information about optimizing them to increase customer interaction with your brand.
What are Web Push Notifications?
Web Push Notifications are messages sent to users who explicitly agree to receive notifications from a site or web application. These notifications are sent to a person’s desktop or mobile device while browsing online. The user doesn’t need to be on your site to receive these updates.
The exact appearance of these web push notifications will vary depending on the operating system used. On desktop devices, these clickable messages are usually displayed in the upper-right corner or lower-right corner. On mobile, they are similar to app notifications.
There are different types of push notifications. For example;
Web Notifications: These are the notifications that the user receives only if the relevant web page is open in their browser.
Web Push Notifications: Users subscribe to receive real-time notifications from desktop or mobile browsers without having to download and install an app. A web push code is uploaded to your site without the need for an app.
Mobile App Push Notifications: Notifications are sent via a mobile app that appears on the user’s mobile screen via the lock screen, ribbon, or status bar. If the user has installed your mobile application and chooses to receive messages, it is possible to send them. These are sent to users via code uploaded to your app.
In-App Push Notifications: These notifications appear when someone is using the app. They often make suggestions to help improve the user’s experience.
How Do Web Push Notifications Work?
Web push notifications can be used by any business that has a website. You just need to have the site-specific JavaScript code and have it installed and enabled in your site’s header.
As a site owner, you can apply the service to Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers by creating an APN certificate to execute APIs to generate web push notifications. However, you should keep in mind that your site’s web push API will require the HTTPS protocol to work.
To avoid messing with these steps, you might consider hiring a third-party provider, such as a web push notification service platform. This may mean managing notifications via a plugin you use for your site.
As stated earlier, user consent is required before receiving a web push notification. This is where web push messages differ from mobile app push notifications. Generally, when you sign up for the mobile app, you are permitting your devices to send push notifications by default.
After enabling the display of web push notifications on your site, the sign-up prompt (browser-based prompt) appears in the user’s web browser. They work in a way that a visitor will see the moment they enter your site. A box will appear in front of the user with the options “Allow” or “Block”. The exact appearance of this sign-up prompt will vary depending on the browser and device used.
If users click allow, it means they are willing to be included in your subscriber list. Now notification updates will be delivered to the user.
You can change your preference to show notification confirmation messages on your site through A/B testing to determine what works best for your audience. For example, you can make the message appear within 5-10 seconds after the user enters the site.
Note that web push notifications are permission-based. So make sure you provide easy onboarding and easy exit features as it helps build trust with your brand. Subscribers should be able to easily sign up at any point and unsubscribe from your list at any time.
Browsers and Devices Supporting Push Notifications:
- Desktop; Windows, Mac (OS), Ubuntu, Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari
- Mobile; Android, Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari
- Tablet; Android, Windows, Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari
Web push notifications will work on any computer or laptop running a browser that supports web push notifications. But this is not the mobile case. Devices such as iPad or iPhone do not support web push notifications. On the other hand, mobile web push notifications for Android work in various browsers.
Web Push Notification Services
Here are some of the top push notification services currently popular with webmasters:
- OneSignal – Easy to set up. It works without affecting site health.
- VWO Engage – Notifications are sent only when the audience is active. It works in Chrome and Firefox.
- PushWoosh – Excellent multimedia options and multilingual support.
- SendPulse – Users are sent a push request notification as soon as they are connected to the internet. All current browsers and devices are supported.
- FoxPush – Has emoji support and geo-targeting for all major browsers and devices.
- PushEngage – It has a wide range of features including A/B testing and automatic partitioning.
Looking at web push notifications in detail, the content of these messages usually falls into one of the following categories:
Promoter: These notifications are intended to encourage special offers or price drops to drive conversions, such as “Our biggest sale starts this weekend.”
Educational: The purpose is to educate users about products and services.
Transactional: Covers company-related transactions such as purchasing, shipping, and delivery.
Lifecycle: This is used to welcome new or returning users. For example, “Our welcome gift for you – free delivery”.
Anatomy of a Web Push Notification Message
Marketers need to understand that several elements need to be configured to maximize the results of web push notifications.
Key components you need to know in a web push notification:
Title: The notification title is the name of your brand. Use 30 characters or less for your title.
Content: This is where you explain what your message is about. You should keep your character count low as the exact length varies for different browsers targeting 120 characters or less.
URL: This is your site’s domain name. Allows the subscriber to identify where the web push notification came from.
Icon: You can choose any picture you want. However, marketers can choose your brand’s icon to increase brand awareness. The recommended icon size is 192 x 192 pixels.
Browser Icon: This is the logo of the browser that sent the message. Depending on the browser, it may be possible to replace or remove it completely.
Notification Image: For subscribers using Windows, Android, or Chrome, these web push notifications also show a notification image. The size should be 360 x 240 pixels. You need to make sure that the image you choose is relevant and conveys your message more clearly.
Notification Badge: These badges appear to subscribers using Chrome on their Android device. This is one of the ideal marketing opportunities for brands as they can replace the Chrome browser icon with their own. The recommended size is 72 x 72 pixels.
Just creating web push notifications doesn’t make them a great marketing tool. To create a successful web push notification strategy, you need to carefully prepare the message you want to send beforehand. The factors you need to pay attention to for a web push notification strategy to be successful;
1) Timing is Crucial
Make sure you understand where your subscribers are located. Schedule notifications according to the time zone they’re in so you can reach them when they’re active on their device. Likewise, keep in mind that some types of notifications will work better at certain times of the day.
2) Must Have Engaging Content
You should always keep your target audience in mind when preparing your web push notification content. Keep the content clear and concise. The message should be persuasive. In addition, it should be clearly stated what benefit it will provide to users who click on the message.
3) Must Have Personalised Recommendations
The personalised approach is vital as it can help increase brand loyalty among subscribers and improve reaction rates up to four times. This approach works well for less busy subscribers. Because you can send them personalised tracking messages.
Segmentation allows you to send specific notifications to users who are correctly partitioned. Average click-through rates of targeted campaigns are 1.5-2 times higher than normal campaigns. So your work will be worth noting.
4) Don’t Overwhelm Subscribers with Messages
Do not send too many web push notifications to users. Because this will cause them to ignore the notifications you send. Worse still, they will stop receiving notifications from you. According to researches, 73.47% of users see too many notifications as spam.
5) Use Rich Notifications
Rich push notifications allow marketers to deliver their messages via images, emojis, sounds, GIFs, or videos. This encourages the user to interact with the content. Research shows that only 8% of marketers use rich push notifications. However, rich push notifications are a detail that can strengthen the interaction with your site.
If you want to measure the success of the strategy after the web push notification is published, don’t forget to regularly measure metrics such as the number of subscribers who signed up for your site, click-through, and conversion rate!
You also need to analyse the sources that bring the highest level of traffic to your site. You can set this up using UTM parameters in your web push notifications campaigns. You can then measure the performance of push notifications by examining the data in Google Analytics.
You can also check 15 Examples of Brilliant Web Push Notification Campaigns here!
Although web push notifications are still an underused marketing channel, if your brand uses them efficiently, it will be one of the best ways to make a difference compared to your competitors.
Keep in mind that a well-targeted and managed web push notification campaign has the potential to increase conversion rates, remarketing campaigns, and overall site traffic much more than other more common marketing tactics.
