What Are Push Notifications?

What Are Push Notifications?

Push notifications are clickable pop-up messages that appear on your users’ browsers irrespective of which device they use or which browser they are on. Subscribers can be anywhere on the browser and still receive these messages as long as they are online or have their browsers running on their devices.

Browser push notifications are different from in-app notifications because in-app notifications appear only when triggered by an existing application on your mobile device, while browser push notifications can be triggered through browsers on any device as long as the user subscribes to receive your notifications. It is an instant mode of automated, direct communication between a website and its end users.

The digital marketing channel of online push notifications is newer than most existing channels. Even though it has gained significant momentum over the last few years, there is still a wide gap in strategic implementation between this newer method and others. Marketers are still discovering use cases for push notifications, but it has been observed to increase repeat visits, user retention, and re-engagement. This guide will tell you all that you need to know about push notifications.

Types Of Push Notifications

There are three types of push notifications – Web Push Notifications, Desktop Push Notifications, and Mobile App Push Notifications. Let us now look at each of these in detail:

1. Web Push Notification:

With web push notifications, you can send alerts on mobile as well as desktops even when users are not on your website. With zero installations required, users simply need to give their consent in a single click to receive notifications. Web push notifications can be sent to users without the need to build an app as they are sent directly to their browsers. These notifications are mainly used by marketers to increase website engagement and encourage visitors to keep coming back to their website, thereby increasing conversions. It’s fairly easy to build web push notifications for your website and can be done even by those with little or no technical background. This is what makes web push notifications such a handy tool for marketers.

2. Desktop Push Notifications:

Unlike web push notifications, desktop push notifications appear only on your users’ desktops. These notifications are driven mainly by the products that you have installed on your desktop, with the aim of driving customer engagement. Desktop push notifications are fairly difficult to build when compared to web push notifications and require developer’s help.

3. Mobile App Push Notifications:

Like desktop push notifications that are triggered by a product you have installed, mobile app push notifications, too, are triggered by existing/downloaded applications on your device. These notifications are crafted and sent with the aim of increasing customer engagement. Mobile app push notifications, like desktop push notifications, are fairly difficult to create when compared to web push notifications and require developer’s help to be built.