Show returning visitors something different from new ones
First-time visitors need an introduction; returning ones need a reason to act. How to tell them apart and show each the right message.
A first-time visitor doesn't know you yet: they need to learn what you offer and why to trust you. A returning visitor already knows that, and the same introduction wastes their time. Showing each the right message takes two rules: one for a visitor's first visit, one for every visit after.
How GeoEngage tells them apart
GeoEngage keeps a small visit count in the visitor's browser. A visit ends after 15 minutes without activity, so three conditions can tell visitors apart (Behavior conditions):
| Condition | Matches |
|---|
| First Visit | Whether this is the browser's first visit. |
| Visit Count | How many visits this browser has made. |
| Days Since Last Visit | Whole days since the previous visit began. |
It's per browser, not per person: someone who visits on their phone and then their laptop counts as new on each. Clearing site data, or a private window, also starts them over.
What to say to each
| Visitor | What helps | Example message |
|---|
| First visit | What you offer, why to trust you | Free returns for 30 days on every order |
| Returning | A reason to act now | Welcome back! The items you looked at are still here |
| Back after a month | What's changed | New this month: the feature you asked for |
| Visited three times, hasn't signed up | A nudge | Questions before you decide? Book a 15-minute call |
The first two are a store's, the last two a software company's. The messages are examples: write your own, and only promise what's true.
Build the two rules
- New visitors: a rule with First Visit is
true, and a Show Banner or Sticky Bar with your introduction.
- Returning visitors: a rule with First Visit is
false, and a Show Notification that welcomes them back.
- Set each one's Display Frequency to Once Per Session, so it says its piece once a visit (Display frequency).
- Choose Save & Publish on both.
Try this rule in the GeoEngage rule builder, no account needed.
For the longer gap, use Days Since Last Visit greater than 30. A first-time visitor has no previous visit, so it never matches them.
Leave out your customers
A returning visitor may already be a customer, and "first order discount" or "start your free trial" reads badly to them. If your site knows who's signed in, your code can tell GeoEngage with setAttributes, and a Visitor Attribute condition can then leave customers out of a rule (Customer data conditions).
Check that it helped
Turn on A/B Testing for each rule, with one version against nothing, and judge it on your goal (A/B tests). To see how new and returning visitors convert in general, save a segment for each and compare them.
Common questions
Does this need cookies?
No. GeoEngage sets no cookies. The visit count lives in the browser's storage on your own domain (Identity and storage).
Can it show the exact products they looked at?
Not by itself. A rule shows words you write. To mention products, your own code would have to pass them to GeoEngage, for example as an attribute.