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How to collect customer interests and keywords with the Interest Ranker 2.0

Interest Ranking allows you to add interests (keywords) to a profile property in a visitor's profile based on a points-based system. Points for an interest are scored based on the visitor's behavior, which includes viewing content, clicking something, coming to your website from a specific referring URL, and landing on a URL that contains a specified string. Once an interest has been added to a visitor's profile, you can create segments to target customers and visitors based on these interests.

Interest Ranking uses a points-based system to determine whether to add an interest to profile properties. You can define a points threshold that determines the minimum score an interest must reach before being added to the profile property. This means you can determine how interested a visitor must be before interests are added to their profile. Additionally, you can limit the number of interests that are added. You can choose whether all interests that reach a certain number of points are added or only the top N interests, where N is an integer.

Typically, how you decide to score something depends on many factors. Someone arriving from a specific referring URL might receive a relatively high score for a certain interest because the link they arrived on indicates that they are more than casually interested in what you have to offer. Likewise, in certain situations, clicking in a specific area of a web page might receive a high score because an ad appears there.

In BlueConic, you use the Interest Ranking Listener to gather customer interests and keywords. Details on configuring an Interest Ranking Listener to gather interests and keywords are provided below. 

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Configuring Interest Ranking

With Interest Ranking, you can build highly sophisticated filters. This section takes you step by step through the process.

Follow the steps below to configure an Interest Ranking listener.

Profile properties

Start by setting up the rules on what to store in which profile properties. Create a new rule by clicking the Add rule button:

1. Define the number of interests to store, typically a number of 5 or less.
2. Define the number of days over which interest scores will decay to about 10% of their initial point value. For example, if you enter "30" here, and the interest "coffee" scores 10 points today, the "coffee" interest will gradually decay in value over time and only be worth around 1 point in 30 days or more. As a result, recently scored interests will rank higher than older interests.
3. To use an existing profile property, select the profile property to which interests will be added if the score threshold is reached. Or you can create a new profile property by clicking select profile property, typing a new name, and clicking OK.

Interest ranking will keep track of the top number of interests in the profile property that you define as a list.

Interests

Here you add one or more interests that will be scored. Any interest that is added to the profile property can be used to define a segment that you can target.

1. To add an interest, enter a string in the text field next to Interests and click Add.
2. Repeat this step for each interest you want to add. The interests that you add appear in a row next to Interests.
3. To remove an interest, click it and then click "Remove."

If you do not add any interests here, you will have to pick up interests based on a selector.

Expert settings

Set the threshold by clicking the number and entering the desired value. An interest will not considered to be added to the profile property unless it has reached the threshold number of points.

By setting a threshold you make sure interests are not picked up by accident. Only the highest scoring interests that have more than the threshold number of points will be stored in the profile property.  

Scoring

Here you define how interests are scored based on visitor behavior and/or events that transpire during the visitor's browsing. Each behavior or event is assigned its own relative score. How you score behaviors or events depends completely on what you consider important in determining a visitor's interest to be high, medium, or low. To define a new rule, click Add Rule:

Select one of the following from the drop-down list:

• Content
• Click / Tap
• Form submit
• URL / Mobile Screen
• Social Web Event
• Advanced Event

Content

This option allows you to add points to interests if they appear in a specific content element or in a defined area of the page. In this scenario, an interest is treated as a keyword. Each found interest that appears on the page in a defined area will have the specified number of points added to it. It is also possible to create and score a new interest based on a jQuery Selector.

1. Select "Content" from the drop-down list and click Add Rule.
2. Define the number of points to add to each found interest if it appears in the specified position on the web page. In this case, the interest is a keyword. If the keyword (interest) appears in the specified position, points will be added to it according to the defined criteria.
3. Select "each found interest" if you want to specify the interest or interest to which points will be added.
4. For information on adding or scoring an interest based on a jQuery Selector, see Interest based on Selector.
5. Click "any header" to see a list of content elements. Select the position on the web page in which the interest must be present in order for points to be added to it (in the HTML title, in a heading type, etc.). To define a custom area of the web page, select "Custom defined area". Enter a name for the custom defined area in the "Name" text box. In the "Selector" field, enter a valid jQuery selector to identify the custom area and then click OK. For complete information on jQuery selectors, see http://api.jquery.com/category/selectors/.
6. To define an area using the Visual Picker, click Visual Picker.
7. If the string for the interest must be an exact match, click "contains" to toggle it to "exactly matches."
8. For information on the advanced settings, click this link: Advanced Settings.
9. Click Save.

When you have finished, the rules will be shown in the definition. For example:

 

Click / Tap

This option allows you to add points to each found interest if it appears in a specific content element or in a defined area of the page and if the visitor clicks on a defined area of the page. In this scenario, an interest is treated as a keyword. Each found interest that appears on the page in a defined area will have the specified number of points added to it if the user also clicks in the specified position. It is also possible to create and score a new interest based on a jQuery Selector.

1. Select "Click" from the drop-down list and click Add Rule.
2. Specify how many points to add to each found interest if it appears at a specific position on the web page and a defined area of the page is clicked. If that area of the web page is clicked, points will be added to each found interest according to the defined criteria.
3. Click "each found interest" if you want to specify the interest or interest to which points will be added.
4. For information on adding or scoring an interest based on a jQuery Selector, see Interest based on Selector.
5. Click "any header" to see a list of content elements.
6. Select the position on the web page in which the interest must be present in order for points to be added to it (in the HTML title, in a heading type, etc.). To define a custom area of the web page, select "Custom defined area". Enter a name for the custom defined area in the "Name" text box. In the "Selector" field, enter a valid jQuery selector to identify the custom area and then click OK. For complete information on jQuery selectors, see http://api.jquery.com/category/selectors/.
7. If the string for the interest must be an exact match, click "contains" to toggle it to "exactly matches."
8. To define the area using the Visual Picker, click Visual Picker.
9. Click the "define click area" link.
10. Enter a name for the custom defined area in the "Name" text box. In the "Selector" field, enter a valid jQuery selector to identify the custom area and then click OK. For complete information on jQuery selectors, see http://api.jquery.com/category/selectors/.
11. To define an area using the Visual Picker, click Visual Picker.
12. For information on the advanced settings, click this link: Advanced Settings.
13. Click Save.

When you have finished, the rules will be shown in the definition. For example:

Form submit

This option allows you to add points to a profile property when the visitor submits a form pointed to by a jQuery selector. For complete information on jQuery selectors, see http://api.jquery.com/category/selectors/.

URL / Mobile Screen

This option allows you to add points to each found interest if it appears in the URL of the current web page, in the referring URL or either one. In this scenario, an interest is treated as a keyword. Each found interest that appears in the URL of the current web page or in the referring URL will have the specified number of points added to it. It is also possible to create and score a new interest based on a jQuery Selector.

1. Select "URL" from the drop-down list and click Add Rule.
2. Specify how many points to add to each found interest if the URL of the current web page or the referring URL contains an interest. In this case, the interest is a keyword. If the keyword (interest) appears in the URL or referring URL, points will be added to it according to the defined criteria.
3. Click "each found interest" if you want to specify the interest or interest to which points will be added.
4. For information on adding or scoring an interest based on a jQuery Selector, see Interest based on Selector.
5. Click the "URL or referring URL" link.
6. Select whether the points are scored if the interest appears in the URL of the current web page, in the referring URL or in either one and then click OK.
7. If the string for the interest must be an exact match, click "contains" to toggle it to "exactly matches."
8. For information on the advanced settings, click this link: Advanced Settings.
9. Click Save.

When you have finished, the rules are shown in the definition. For example:

Social Web Event

This option allows you to add points to interests based on the detection of an event in the specified social media. It is also possible to create and score a new interest based on a jQuery Selector.

1. Select "Social Event" from the drop-down list and click Add Rule.
2. Specify how many points to add to one or more interests if the social media event is detected.
3. Click "each found interest" if you want to specify the interest or interest to which points will be added.
4. For information on adding or scoring an interest based on a jQuery Selector, see Interest based on Selector.
5. Click "select event" to select the type of social event from the drop-down list that leads to the scoring. The options are:
   
   

   Event	Description
   Facebook Like	The visitor has clicked a Facebook "Like" button.
   Facebook Unlike	The visitor has clicked a Facebook "Unlike" button.
   LinkedIn Share	The visitor has clicked a LinkedIn "Share" button.
   Twitter Follow	The visitor has begun following someone on Twitter.
   Twitter Tweet	The visitor has sent a Tweet from their Twitter account.

6. Click Save.

When you have finished, the rules will be shown in the definition.

Advanced Event

This option allows you to add points to interests based on an advanced event in a social medium or in a custom-defined event. The event must be detected and it must contain a value in a specific context in order for points to be added to one or more interests. It is also possible to create and score a new interest based on a jQuery Selector.

1. Select "Advanced Event" from the drop-down list and click Add Rule.
2. Specify how many points to add to one or more interests if the social media event is detected.
3. Click "each found interest" if you want to specify the interest or interest to which points will be added.
4. For information on adding or scoring an interest based on a jQuery Selector, see Interest based on Selector.
5. Click "select event" to select the type of event from the drop-down list that leads to the scoring. The options are:
   
   

   Event	Description
   Facebook Like	The visitor has clicked a Facebook "Like" button, either on Facebook itself or on a website that has a Facebook "Like" button.
   Facebook Unlike	The visitor has clicked a Facebook "Unlike" button, either on Facebook itself or on a website that has a Facebook "Unlike" button.
   LinkedIn Share	The visitor has clicked a LinkedIn "Share" button.
   Twitter Follow	The visitor has begun following someone on Twitter.
   Twitter Tweet	The visitor has sent a Tweet from their Twitter account.

6. To specify a custom-defined event, select "Custom defined event" and enter the name of the event in the "Name" field.
7. If the value received in the advanced event must be an exact match, click "contains" to toggle it to "exactly matches."
8. Click "any value."
9. Expand the drop-down list and select the value from the array that must contain the interest. The options are "any value," "first value," "second value," and "third value." Consult your application manager if you do not know which value to select.
10. Click Save.

When you have finished, the rules will be shown in the definition.

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Interest based on Selector

This option adds points to one or more interests based on text found at the specified JQuery Selector. When a partial or full match with an interest is found, points are added to the specified interest(s). For example, the following HTML contains several products:

<div class="products">
    <div class="product">
        <div class="product-name">Bose Headphones</div><a href="#">More Info</a>
    </div>
        <div class="product">
        <div class="product-name">Apple iPhone 12</div><a href="#">More Info</a>
    </div>
    <div class="product">
        <div class="product-name">Dell Inspiron laptop</div><a href="#">More Info</a>
    </div>
   <div class="product">
        <div class="product-name">Google Nest</div><a href="#">More Info</a>
    </div>
</div>

When this JQuery Selector is defined, all text will be examined within the HTML. If any of the interests are found, then points will be added to those that match. To define an interest based on a JQuery Selector, follow these steps:

1. Select "Interest Based on Selector".
2. Enter a name for the jQuery Selector in the "Name" field. This is the string that will appear in the rule.
3. Enter the jQuery Selector in the "Selector" field.
4. To define the area using the Visual Picker, click Visual Picker.
5. Click OK. For example:
   
   

 

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Location selection

By default the predefined web selector "any header" is selected. 

Other options are:

Predefined Web Selector

Select one of the following:

• The HTML title - Matches the rule against the contents of the <title> tag.
• Any header - Matches the rule against the contents of any header tag (<h1>, <h2>, etc.).
• Any Heading X - Matches the rule against the contents of the specific header (e.g. <h1>).
• Any paragraph - Matches the rule against the contents of any paragraph (<p>).

Mobile screen

Matches the rule against the contents of the mobile screen.

Custom defined area

Select to define your own custom area to match the rule against. You can either use the Visual Picker or enter a valid JQuery selector that identifies the custom area in the "Selector" field. For complete information on jQuery selectors, see http://api.jquery.com/category/selectors/.

Value from JavaScript

Select this to match the rule against the value of a JavaScript variable that is available on the global scope (in other words: window.variable should exist).

To select a suitable variable, either type its name or use the VisualPicker to pick it from a webpage. Enter the URL of the webpage and the Visual Picker will display the variables and their values to the left of the page. Highlight the variable you want and click Apply to select the variable.

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Advanced settings

The following is an explanation of the Interest Ranking advanced settings.

Setting	Description
Threshold	The threshold determines the minimum number of points that an interest must have before it can be a candidate for being added to the profile property. Reaching the minimum point threshold does not actually mean that an interest will always be added to the profile property if the setting "Interests to Store" contains a value. Assuming that the setting "Interests to Store" (explained below) contains no value, all of the interests that reach the minimum point threshold will always be added to the profile property.
Interests to Store	This setting limits the number of interests that are added to the profile property. Only the top X interests that have reached the threshold are added, where X is an integer. If you specify 10, then only the top 10 highest ranking interests (according to their total number of points) that have reached the threshold will be added to the profile property. All other interests that have reached the minimum point threshold but that do not fall within the top X number of interests will not be added to the profile property.
Decay Period	This setting defines a period during which the number of points is "decayed", that is, BlueConic will decrease the number of points for all interests based on the specified time period. The decay period is in number of days. If you define a Decay Period of 30, then the visitor's point total will be reduced over 30 days to about 10% of its starting value. This means the initial score isn't lost, but it is made less important over time. As a result recently scored interests will rank higher than older interests.

 

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Copying and deleting rules

Learn about copying and deleting rules in BlueConic.