How to test personalisation in AEM ContextHub based on Geolocation, URL Parameters, and User Behaviour?

[GauravDu1]

Hi Community,

We’ve recently enabled ContextHub on our AEM instance as part of stakeholder request.

We plan to use ContextHub for rule-based personalisation in the following ways:

1. Geolocation-based targeting
2. URL parameters
3. User behaviour: e.g., first time users, returning visitors.

Could you please guide on:

How to set up and test these personalisations in AEM using ContextHub?

Any tips for verifying that rules (especially geolocation and URL-based) are being picked up correctly?

Appreciate any best practices or examples!

Thanks in advance,

[pradnya_balvir]

Hi @GauravDu1 ,

1. Geolocation-based targeting

Setup

• In ContextHub, make sure the Geolocation store is enabled (/etc/cloudsettings/default/contexthub)

• This store uses IP-based location via browser APIs or external services

Create a Segment

1. Go to Personalization → Segments

2. Create a new segment with:

   • Store: Geolocation

   • Property: country, region, or city

   • Condition: equals, contains, etc.

   • E.g., Geolocation.country == "US"

Testing

• In AEM Author, go to the page with targeting.

• Enable Targeting mode

• Open the ContextHub toolbar

• Modify the Geolocation values manually to simulate location (e.g., change country to India)

• Check if the correct experience variant is rendered

2. URL parameters

Setup

• ContextHub includes a URL store by default
• You can access values like ContextHub.get('url').parameter.<paramName>

Create a Segment

Create a segment using:

• Store: URL
• Property: parameter.campaign
• Condition: equals summer2024

Testing

Add the parameter to your URL, e.g.:

https://your-site.com/page.html?campaign=summer2024

• ContextHub will automatically parse it

• Check ContextHub UI → URL Store → Parameters

• Confirm value is correctly picked up

• Experience should switch accordingly

3. User behaviour

ContextHub includes a Profile or Persistence store (via cookies/localStorage)

Create Segments

• First-Time Users
• Check if custom flag like visitCount == 1 or hasVisited == false
• Returning Users
• Use a flag hasVisited == true or store last visit timestamp

You may need to customize a JavaScript module in ContextHub that tracks this via localStorage or a cookie.

(function () {
var visited = localStorage.getItem('hasVisited');
if (!visited) {
localStorage.setItem('hasVisited', 'true');
ContextHub.get('profile').setItem('isFirstVisit', true);
} else {
ContextHub.get('profile').setItem('isFirstVisit', false);
}
})();

Testing:

• Clear your browser localStorage/cookies → simulate first visit

• Reload → ContextHub Profile store → check isFirstVisit == true

• Reload again → isFirstVisit == false for returning visitor

Verification and debugging Tips:

• Enable Debug Mode
• Use ?debug=true in the URL to get additional logs (depending on your config)
• Use ContextHub Toolbar
• Visually inspect and manipulate store values
• Test multiple conditions live without changing the actual URL or location
• Browser DevTools
• Check cookies/localStorage for flags
• Check network tab to validate the page variant/content rendered
• AEM Logs
• Use tail -f error.log or request.log to trace segment matching in publish mode

Hope this information helps you.

Thanks.

Pradnya

[GauravDu1]

Thank you Pradnya. This is really helpful. when you say - "In ContextHub, make sure the Geolocation store is enabled (/etc/cloudsettings/default/contexthub)" you mean in CRXDE?