Create and manage smart content rules

Smart content modules display different versions of your content based on information about the viewer, such as their country, device type, referral source, or segment. Use smart content to tailor emails, blog posts, website pages, landing pages, and templates for different audiences.

Learn more about which modules are eligible for smart content in emails, blog posts, pages, and templates.

Before you get started

Before you create and manage smart content rules, review these requirements and considerations.

• The order of smart rules determines which content appears when a visitor qualifies for more than one rule. The first matching rule takes priority.
• The available content types depend on your subscription:

Smart rule categories

Configure your smart rules based on the following categories:

• Ad source: show content to viewers based on the ad they've clicked. The ad source is determined by the UTM parameters in the page URL. Learn more about requirements for tracking ad interactions.
• Country: display content to your viewer based on their country. The country is determined by the IP address of the visitor.
• Device type: target visitors accessing your site via mobile, tablet, or desktop. The smart content tools analyze the user agent of your visitor’s browser to determine their device type. Since this can be changed manually on the device, accurate segmentation cannot be guaranteed.
• Referral source: show visitors smart content based on how they found your site.
• Preferred language: personalize your content based on the language set within the visitor's web browser.
• Contact list membership: show different content to visitors who are members of a specific HubSpot list.
• Lifecycle stage: display different content based on a visitor's Lifecycle stage property value.

Please note: contact list membership and lifecycle stage are evaluated by using cookies to associate visitors with known contacts. Learn more about how HubSpot associates contacts with visitors.

• Query parameter: show content based on the query parameters in the visitor's page URL. A query parameter rule is determined by the name of the parameter and the query string value. For example, to set a rule for users with "blog" in a utm_source URL parameter, enter utm_source in the first field, select Contains in the dropdown menu, then enter blog in the last field.
  
  
  

Please note: the following characters aren't supported in query parameters: #, %, =, &, and ;. To use one of these characters, replace it with the corresponding encoded character listed here.

Add smart content to marketing emails

Add smart content to the subject line and modules of marketing emails. Only contact segment membership and Lifecycle stage categories are available for marketing emails because emails are sent to known contacts.

Learn more about editing smart content in an email template.

Add a smart rule to a subject line

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Marketing > Email. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Marketing > Email directly.
2. Hover over your email and click Edit, or create a new email.
3. In the editor, click the Inbox content module at the top of the page.
4. In the sidebar editor, click Add smart rule below the Subject line section.

5. In the dialog box, click the Show different content based on dropdown menu and select your smart rule category (e.g., Contact segment membership). 
   • If you select Contact segment membership, an additional dropdown menu option is displayed. Click the dropdown menu and select the contact segment. 
   • If you select Contact lifecycle stage, an additional dropdown menu option is displayed. Click the dropdown menu and select the lifecycle stage.
6. When finished, click Create.

Add a smart rule to a module

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Marketing > Email. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Marketing > Email directly.
2. Hover over your email and click Edit, or create a new email.
3. In the email editor, hover over the module, click the down carat icon, and select Add smart rule.

4. In the dialog box, click the Show different content based on dropdown menu and select a smart rule category (e.g., Contact segment membership).
   • If you select Contact segment membership, an additional dropdown menu option is displayed. Click the dropdown menu and select the contact segments.
   • If you select Contact lifecycle stage, an additional dropdown menu option is displayed. Click the dropdown menu and select the lifecycle stages.
5. When finished, click Create.

Manage smart rules for a marketing email

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Marketing > Email. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Marketing > Email directly.
2. Hover over your email and click Edit.
3. To manage a smart rule for a subject line, click the inbox content module at the top of the page.
   • In the sidebar editor, click Manage in the Subject line section.
   • To remove a smart rule, click the delete icon in the right panel.
   • To add additional contact segments or lifecycle stages to the current rule, click the dropdown menu and select your options in the right panel.
   • To add a new smart rule, click + Add in the right panel.
4. To manage a smart rule for a module, hover over the module, click the down carat icon, and select Manage smart rule.
   • To remove a smart rule, click the delete icon in the right panel.
   • To add additional contact segments or lifecycle stages to the current rule, click the dropdown menu and select your options in the right panel.
   • To add a new smart rule, click + Add in the right panel.
5. To change the smart rule category, delete all existing rules, then click the Show different content based on dropdown menu and select a different smart rule category.
6. When finished, click Save.

Preview an email as a specific contact

After adding smart rules to your email, preview your email to see how it'll appear to a specific contact. This helps you view how multiple smart modules interact.

All smart modules will display the version that applies to the contact you're testing. To preview a smart subject line, send a test email instead.

Add smart content to a blog post or page

Add smart content to any module on a blog post or page, except the Blog content module. Smart content based on contact segment membership or lifecycle stage will only apply to tracked contacts.

Visitors to your page who qualify for a smart rule category will see the content you've set for that rule. If a visitor qualifies for multiple smart rule categories, they'll see the content set for the matching rule that appears first.

Add a smart rule to a blog post or page

1. Navigate to your content:
   • Website Pages: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Website Pages. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Website Pages directly.
   • Landing Pages: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Landing Pages. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Landing Pages directly.
   • Blog: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Blog. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Blog directly.
2. Click the name of your content.
3. In the content editor, click the module.
4. In the sidebar editor, click + Add in the Smart rules section.
5. In the right panel, click the Show different content based on dropdown menu and select a smart rule category (e.g., Contact segment membership). Only one smart rule category per module is supported.
6. Click + Add in the Rules section to select your smart rule options. For example, if you selected Contact segment membership, select your contact segments.
7. When finished, click Save.
8. In the sidebar editor, click the Editing for dropdown menu to switch between the default content and smart content for each rule.

Manage smart rules for a blog post or page

1. Navigate to your content:
   • Website Pages: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Website Pages. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Website Pages directly.
   • Landing Pages: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Landing Pages. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Landing Pages directly.
   • Blog: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Blog. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Blog directly.
2. Click the name of your content.
3. In the content editor, click the module.
4. In the sidebar editor, click Manage in the Smart rules section.
5. In the right panel, click + Add to add a new smart rule.
6. To remove a smart rule, click the delete icon.
7. To change the smart rule category, click the delete icon next to each existing rule. Then click the Show different content based on dropdown menu and select a different rule type.
8. When finished, click Save.

Preview a blog post's or page's smart rules

To view a blog post's or page's smart rules from the content editor:

1. Navigate to your content:
   • Website Pages: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Website Pages. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Website Pages directly.
   • Landing Pages: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Landing Pages. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Landing Pages directly.
   • Blog: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Blog. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Blog directly.
2. Click the name of your content.
3. In the content editor, click the smart module.
4. In the sidebar editor, select your Smart rule.

When you've selected a smart variation, the content editor will display the version of your content that those visitors will see. All smart modules with the same rule will display content from that smart variation. Confirm which variation you're viewing at the top of the editor in the Previewing smart variation banner.

To view the content's smart rules from the preview page:

1. Navigate to your content:
   • Website Pages: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Website Pages. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Website Pages directly.
   • Landing Pages: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Landing Pages. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Landing Pages directly.
   • Blog: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Blog. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Blog directly.
2. Click the name of your content.
3. In the content editor, click Preview in the top right.
4. In the top left of the preview screen, click the Preview as a contact dropdown menu and select Preview smart rules.
5. Click the Select a smart rule (optional) dropdown menu, then select a smart rule variation.

Add smart content in the design manager

In the design manager, set a module to display smart content for a drag and drop template. This automatically prevents users from editing this module in the content editor.

Add smart content to a local module

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Design Manager. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Design Manager directly.
2. In the finder, select the template.
3. In the layout editor, click the module.
4. In the inspector, click the More dropdown menu and select Make module smart.

5. In the dialog box, click the Show different content based on dropdown menu and select a smart rule category. Click the second dropdown menu and select your options. For example, if you selected Contact segment membership as your smart rule category, in the second dropdown menu select your segments.
6. Click Create.
7. In the Default content section of the inspector, edit your module's smart content.
8. Click the Editing for dropdown menu to switch between the default content and smart content for each rule.
9. To add or change smart rules, click Manage.

10. In the right panel, click + Add  to add additional rules based on the same rule type.
11. To change the smart rule category, click the delete delete icon next to each existing rule. Then click the Show different content based on dropdown menu and select a different smart rule category.
12. When finished, click Save.
13. In the upper right, click Publish changes to take your changes live.

Add smart content to a global module

Please note: global modules support smart content, but modules inside global groups do not.

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Content > Design Manager. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Content > Design Manager directly.
2. In the finder, select your global module.
3. In the inspector, click Edit global module.
4. In the global content editor, click Add in the Smart rules section of the sidebar editor.
5. In the right panel, click the Show different content based on dropdown menu and select a rule type. You can only select one rule type per module.
6. Click Add smart rule.
7. Select a smart rule category.
8. Click Add smart rule again to add additional rules based on the same rule type.
9. To change the rule type, click the delete trash icon next to each existing rule. Then click the Show different content based on dropdown menu and select a different rule type.
10. When you've added all smart rules, click Save.
11. In the upper right, click Publish to [#] assets to take your changes live.