If you’re running B2B marketing or web ops, you know “personalization” can mean anything from “good intent” to “pointless busywork.” This guide is for folks who want to use Optimizely’s audience tools to actually help real users—not just check a box on someone’s roadmap. If you want to segment your B2B audiences in a way that’s practical and won’t turn into a maintenance nightmare, keep reading.
Why bother segmenting B2B audiences at all?
Let’s get this straight: not every visitor needs a totally custom experience. But if you’re serving everyone the same copy, you’re probably missing chances to help people do what they came for—especially in B2B, where buyers have different roles, needs, and pain points.
Good segmentation helps you: - Show the right content to the right companies or roles (without hand-coding a million landing pages) - Avoid wasting your best offers on people who’ll never buy - Test real differences in user behavior (not just vanity metrics)
But don’t get sucked into the hype. Fancy segments won’t fix lousy content or bad data. Start simple, see what works, and build from there.
Step 1: Know what you can (and can’t) segment in Optimizely
First, a reality check. Optimizely is a solid platform for web content experiments and personalization, but it’s not a magic mind reader. Here’s what you can actually use to create B2B audience segments:
- Geographic data: Country, region, or city based on IP (good for broad targeting)
- Device/browser info: Desktop, mobile, browser type (not B2B specific, but sometimes handy)
- Referrer/UTM params: Useful if you run campaigns targeting certain industries or accounts
- Behavior on site: Pages viewed, time on site, or actions taken
- Known user data: If you’ve got login or CRM data piped in (this is where real B2B targeting happens)
- Firmographic data: Info like company name, industry, revenue, or size—usually via third-party tools (think Demandbase, Clearbit, 6sense) connected to Optimizely
What you can’t do out of the box: - See someone’s job title or company without extra data sources - Perfectly identify anonymous visitors as specific accounts (despite what sales decks claim) - React to signals you don’t collect (garbage in, garbage out)
Step 2: Decide which B2B segments actually matter
Don’t start with “what can I target?” Start with “who are our key audiences, and what do they need?” For most B2B orgs, useful segments look like:
- Industry: SaaS vs. manufacturing vs. healthcare—each speaks a different language
- Company size: SMBs vs. enterprise—different priorities, buying cycles, and expectations
- Account status: Existing customers vs. prospects vs. partners
- Decision-maker type: Technical vs. business vs. procurement
If you try to slice it any finer than this (e.g., “people named Dave in Ohio”), you’ll spend all your time building segments no one uses. Stick to what’s actionable.
Pro tip: Map out what content would be different for each segment. If you can’t answer “what would this group see that’s actually useful?”—skip it.
Step 3: Gather and connect your data sources
Here’s where things get real. For basic segmentation, Optimizely’s built-in rules (location, referral, behavior) are enough. But for true B2B segmentation, you’ll need to connect richer data:
- CRM integration: If you have users logging in, connect user profiles to Optimizely via APIs or data feeds. This lets you target known accounts, industries, or roles.
- Firmographic enrichment: Use a tool like Clearbit Reveal, Demandbase, or 6sense to identify companies based on IP address. These services aren’t perfect, but they’re far better than guessing.
- UTM parameters: For paid campaigns, tag your links with UTM params that flag industry, persona, or segment—then catch these in Optimizely’s audience builder.
What to ignore: Don’t waste time on unreliable “intent” data or fuzzy third-party signals unless you can actually see them working. If your sales team doesn’t trust the data, you shouldn’t either.
Step 4: Build your audience segments in Optimizely
Assuming you’ve lined up your data, it’s time to set up segments. Here’s how to do it without making a mess:
- Open the Audience builder: In Optimizely, go to Audiences > Create Audience.
- Choose your targeting rules: Stack rules for location, device, behavior, UTM, and (if available) custom attributes from your data sources.
- Name segments clearly: “Enterprise SaaS - Returning Visitor” is better than “Audience 7.”
- Test your logic: Use Optimizely’s preview/test tools to check if your segment actually catches the right people. Don’t assume it works—prove it.
Common segment examples: - “Finance industry visitors from US, not customers, desktop device” - “Known account: Fortune 1000 prospect, any region, any device” - “Clicked LinkedIn ad for manufacturing solutions, first visit”
Pro tip: Keep the number of segments manageable. More than 5-7 major B2B segments and you’ll spend all your time maintaining rules, not improving content.
Step 5: Map tailored content and experiences to your segments
This is where most teams trip up. Don’t just segment for the sake of it—actually show something different that matters. Some ideas:
- Industry-specific case studies or testimonials
- Different CTAs for enterprise vs. SMB (e.g., “Request a Demo” vs. “Start Free Trial”)
- Custom banners for known target accounts (“Welcome back, Acme Corp!”)
- Relevant product features highlighted per persona or role
- Different navigation or page layouts for different buyer journeys
Avoid cheap tricks like swapping out one buzzword for another. If your tailored content isn’t meaningfully different, you’re just adding complexity for no reason.
What to skip: Don’t try to personalize every page. Focus on key conversion paths—homepage, pricing, signup, or product pages.
Step 6: Measure, learn, and adjust
The point of segmentation isn’t to pat yourself on the back—it’s to see if tailored content actually moves the needle. Here’s how to keep it honest:
- Set up clear goals: Demo requests, downloads, signups—whatever matters for each audience.
- Compare against control groups: Don’t assume personalized = better. Sometimes “vanilla” content wins.
- Watch for segment decay: Over time, audiences change, and your segments can get stale. Review them quarterly.
- Kill what doesn’t work: If a segment’s not showing impact, drop it and focus elsewhere.
Real talk: Sometimes, after all the effort, you’ll find that only 1-2 segments are worth the hassle. That’s fine. Quality beats quantity.
What’s worth your time (and what’s not)
Worth it: - Using firmographic data to show relevant proof points for target industries - Personalizing CTAs based on company size or account status - Testing messaging for different buyer roles
Not worth it: - Hyper-specific micro-segments with one-off copy - Over-engineering for anonymous traffic with weak signals - Relying on third-party data you can’t validate
Quick checklist for B2B audience segmentation in Optimizely
- [ ] Identify your 2-5 most important B2B segments
- [ ] Connect the best available data sources (CRM, enrichment, UTM)
- [ ] Build clear, testable audience rules in Optimizely
- [ ] Map meaningful content or offers to each segment
- [ ] Measure results and adjust ruthlessly
Wrap-up: Keep it simple, keep it real
Don’t overthink it. The best segmentation is the kind that helps your users and your team, not just your marketing dashboard. Start with what you know, focus on a handful of segments you can actually serve, and be ready to kill what doesn’t work. Tailored content should make your site better—not just busier. Experiment, learn, and don’t let “personalization” become a black hole.
Now get in there and make your content actually work for someone.