It wasn’t too long ago when good marketing methods simply meant putting an ad on the TV, taking out a spot on a radio station and possibly putting up a billboard in a high-traffic area. In the Age of the Internet, however, having a website is the only way to ensure success. Common sense would dictate that simply bringing in visitors to a website would be enough to increase revenue, but in actuality, bringing in the wrong audience is nearly as bad as bringing in no audience at all.

Who is Your Target Audience?

Though it seems obvious, a company’s target audience consists of the people who ideally are viewing a website. A company that sells AC/DC band memorabilia, for instance, probably wouldn’t do well if they created a website similar to those found on Justin Bieber or Justin Timberlake fan sites. Defining a target audience can include looking into demographics and psychographics, but in reality, that’s only part of the equation.

Many companies that are international actually have to create different websites and advertisements that are appropriate to the tastes and interests of each particular country. This is known as geographical data. A Pepsi commercial displaying a sexy young woman enjoying the soft drink, for instance, wouldn’t go over nearly as well in a Middle Eastern country as it would in America. This is why defining a target audience is essential.

If an individual doesn’t know who their goal audience is, it’s very unlikely that they’ll end up reaching them. Professional SEO (search engine optimization) companies such as Everspark Interactive, can help companies drill down to determine their exact markets. This will free up time for the company to focus on other important aspects of daily business.

Why Numbers Aren’t The Whole Picture

It seems as if attaining a high number of visitors to a site would be ideal, but this may not actually be beneficial. A company who focuses on selling life insurance, for instance, wouldn’t really reach its target audience if its entire website and online marketing strategy focused on hilarious jokes.

Sure, people would probably share the jokes on their social media sites and tons of individuals would go to the site for a laugh; but really, are people who are looking for life insurance going to be that intrigued by jokes? This means that, even if a million people visit the website of the company daily, those looking for that specific service aren’t being targeted. Sadly, this can easily result in failure.

How to Figure Out Who’s Visiting

One of the great things about the Internet is the anonymity it provides. When it comes to businesses, however, this is definitely a disadvantage. Fortunately, a company can use analytics software to discover who is visiting their website. Geographical data on visitors, for instance, can be easily obtained through the IP addresses of those visiting. While this won’t be a definitive measure of who is visiting, it will show whether or not the website is targeting those in the right geographical area.

Even though there is a steep learning curve, analytic programs can be a great tool. They report the page a visitor enters on, and from which he or she leaves, the words used to find your site are noted (keywords), and if the arrival was from a link on another site, or a direct search. They can pinpoint the browsers used such as Chrome, Firefox, Explorer and if views came from a mobile device. Also documented is if visitors are recurring, or unique.

Additionally, analytics can show just how effective a company’s online and traditional marketing efforts are. By measuring website traffic and other factors, a company can determine if the new marketing campaign they’re trying out really is bringing in new customers, or people who are just looking.

Online marketing is an essential aspect of making a business, band, organization or anything else with the need for advertising successful. While this has been difficult in the past, web analytics makes it easier for these individuals to define, seek out and hold onto their target audience. Luckily, business owners with no technical knowledge can have others provide these services for them. This means that, regardless of what a company’s target audience is, they have no reason to not be able to find them.

Teresa Stewart is a website publisher who depends on analytics to grow her target markets. She anticipates the day when she can relinquish that portion to an experienced full-service SEO company such as Everspark Interactive. Their team not only optimizes their client’s sites for sales conversion, but also provides services for site design, marketing and branding.