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Do You Know How Your Target Audience Will Find You Online?
October 2, 2008 · Print This Article · Comments
You should. It’s impossible to stay up on everything happening online. But, some things you absolutely need to at least have some knowledge of. One of them is online statistics and demographics, particularly those that refer to your audience. It’s also a good idea to understand the trends in technology uses as a whole. Example, knowing that there is a huge drop jump or drop in the use of a technology and that another technology is replacing it, can make a huge difference in the marketing decisions you make. Particularly if those decisions can be costly to implement and maintain. It just makes sense to stay on top of those things.
Ran across some recent research from Marketing Charts, showing that more than half of Internet users use search on a daily basis. Indeed, we all know search engine traffic is a key part of online success. We also know that search is being done on a more massive scale than before.
If you look at the data, there’s much more to really understand - that most online entrepreneurs wouldn’t even bother with. Again, if you want to make the right online marketing decisions for your audience, shouldn’t you understand the feasibility of success for each strategy? Just a thought.
Here’s some good chunks of data that you may find useful 
Search, from 2006 to 2008, was the fastest growing activity online, above all other activities of information research (news, email, etc). Alone this data may not be that important, but connected to all the other data I research online — the fact that 2 years ago, people spent a significantly higher amount of time in email than all the other activities combined, AND that now we see people finding their own information at a much higher rate than getting it shoved to them via email — says a lot about internet users mentality. And, for those that don’t see it yet, it should clue you into some possible directions for marketing opportunities. I’ll leave it at that.
Those that are increasing their search activities, are also more likely to be younger, socially upscale, with at least some college education, and annual incomes over $50,000 per year. Whether or not this applies to your audience, much more data and insight is needed. But again, with that extra insight, this says alot to you if your audience is the younger, more affluent type.
The point here is: Pay attention to internet marketing data that is relevant to your audience. Don’t let your mindset get stuck in the bubble of your existence, and truly look outside for information that can help you make better online marketing decisions. The time has come where much more is needed to stay competitive and profitable.
Here’s to your online business success!
Maria Reyes-McDavis
Photo Credit: Danard Vicente on Flickr
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Check Out the Conversation on FriendFeed 
Great tip Maria,
I do have to say that as I personally get more and more busy - I find it hard to stay on the top of everything. I’m starting to rely more and more on twitter feed.
By subscribing to people who present and share information I like and need (such as yourself) - I manage to stay on top without doing the heavy research
Cheers
TheSpotter
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This is exactly what I needed to read. I can drive traffic to my blog, but I’m not sure if it’s the right type of traffic. It seems like search engine traffic is about SEO and tools such as Adwords and StumbleUpon, no? I always hear mixed reviews about those methods so that leaves me a little unsure.
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Great post maria. yes, to be successful in business means to make a placement in search engine.
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Those are interesting stats and have me thinking about our market over at JoomlaBear - I had been thinking to design Joomla Templates for the entire cross section of society - but maybe it makes more sense to produce designs for the younger generation you mention… Insightful. This also means ranking in Google is our top priority again
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i think in this kind of business there are not imporant details
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WebSuccessDiva Reply:
November 13th, 2008 at 8:57 am
I disagree Zobel, online statistics relevant to a company’s industry and target audience, can be critical in resource allocation decisions and more. Thanks for stopping by
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