Dating site IwantU.com has started biotargeting members; that is, targeting specific ads at each member based on the interests they state in their member profiles, in order to increase paid conversions.
The system is currently based on the member’s gender, what gender they are seeking, nationality sought, and IwantU club preference (dating, alternative, or adult). So if a male member stated his preference as Asian women for adult activities, he would be met with an ad featuring an Asian woman asking him to ante up for a VIP membership in the adult club.
“We came up with the thought that, based on a member’s particular interests, why aren’t we showing them ads they would be interested in seeing? Wouldn’t they be more inclined to click? The answer, we believe, is yes they would,” IwantU director of operations Keith Bussey told AVNOnline.com.
IwantU has already been experiencing an increase of between 2 and 3 percent in conversions since adopting the strategy, Bussey said. Once more criteria are defined and submitted by members, he believes an increase of up to 10 percent is viable.
The system can employ multiple ads for multiple preferences and display them on different pages at random. If a user likes Asian women and Latino women, he can be targeted by an ad featuring an Asian woman on one page and a Latino woman on the next.
“What we would do is, based upon his profile information, compile an array of matching ads from the available pool. Then one is selected at random to be shown. When the member clicks a new page, he will very likely see a different ad, however one that is still targeted to him,” Bussey said.
Not only does biotargeting give webmasters another tool in the marketing game, but it’s also easy to use.
“Technically, the code is quick and light. It is also very modular, allowing for new profile criteria to be integrated at any time,” Bussey said.
“There is no limit to the number of criteria that can be matched on, all that is needed is for ads to be designed and uploaded for each possible combination. We can target ads based on everything from hair colors to drinking habits, or whatever our current member profiles contain.”
The folks at IwantU have not only made a splash in the webmaster community with their new advertising idea, but they have also made some notable improvements to their dating service.
The new version of the company’s software, IwantU 7.0, will feature mobile phone-enabled software that includes SMS billing. Another feature, for GPS-enabled mobile phones, will tell users if a potential IwantU match is in their neighborhood.
Another feature of the new software is called PrivateCall and allows members to schedule telephone calls to each other over an automated system, without giving out their name or phone number.
