Targeting Options for Web Push Notifications

With Alertelevate, you can send web push notifications to all subscribers or precisely target specific groups.
Our platform offers several targeting methods, so you can reach the right people at the right time.

1. Multiple Projects

A project acts like a mailing list, holding its own set of subscribers.
You can create multiple projects for each website through the dashboard or API.

Note: Multiple projects for the same domain must be linked to the same sender.

When to use multiple projects:

  • Your site has a few independent sections with distinct audiences (e.g., “Students” vs. “Professors” for a university).
  • You need strict separation between environments (e.g., Development, Staging, Production).

Tip: If you have many changing segments, consider tags instead for more flexibility.

2. Tags

Tags let you dynamically group browsers inside a single project.
They’re assigned via the JavaScript SDK and allow for flexible, on-the-fly segmentation.

When to use tags:

  • You have many or overlapping segments (e.g., “Visited Pricing Page”, “Clicked Upgrade Button”).
  • You want users to choose the topics they receive notifications about (like email preferences).
  • You need to track browser-level attributes for marketing when users aren’t logged in.

Important: Tags are linked to browser subscriptions — not to specific user accounts.
If a user has multiple devices or browsers, each subscription has its own tags.

3. Users (User IDs)

For registered users, you can target notifications using User IDs set via the JavaScript SDK.
This is the preferred method for transactional notifications, where security and accuracy are critical.

When to use user IDs:

  • Sending one-to-one or group transactional alerts (e.g., “New message in chat”, “Package delivered”).
  • Avoiding data sync issues between your app and Alertelevate.
  • Maintaining security — user IDs require signatures and protect against unauthorized sends.

Performance Tip: If sending to more than 10k users at once, batch notifications into groups of 10k recipients.

4. Notification Preferences

You can let users opt in to certain notifications while muting others.

Two main approaches:

  1. Tags or Multiple Projects (Browser-Based Preferences)

    • Create a preferences page with checkboxes for topics.
    • Use the JavaScript SDK to subscribe/unsubscribe the browser from each topic.
    • Preferences are tied to the browser subscription.

  2. User IDs (Account-Based Preferences)

    • Store preferences in your database for logged-in users.
    • Your backend filters recipients before sending notifications.
    • Preferences stay with the user account, regardless of device.

With Alertelevate’s targeting tools, you can run broad campaigns, send highly personalized alerts, or strike the perfect balance between reach and relevance.