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Analyze Audience
Developing a profile of the people who visit your website

Audience analysis should drive your website design

Audience analysis is the starting point for any website project. You need to figure out your audiences demographics: how old they are, where they work, what they earn, where they live, anything that's appropriate. The more that you understand your audience the better are your chances of capturing their attention.

Capturing the attention of your audience

The success or failure of any website hinges on the intrest that you generate in your visitors. This can only be accomplished by knowing who they are. The following process is essential to developing website content that will capture and hold your visitors.

Audience analysis process: analyze audience + target audience = website content
Use this formula to develop your website content.

Demographics of your website visitors

Demographics marketing involves researching who your prospects are and then determining how to position a website to attract them. Important areas are; age specific demographics, languages demographics, regional demographics, business demographics, lifestyle demographics, and interest specific demographics.

Psychographics of your website visitors

After you've done that, figure out their psychographics. "Psychographics is the study of personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles". Psychographic variables are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. Such as;

  • What do they want to accomplish.

  • What are their hobbies, their dreams, anything that might help them to discover and patronize your website.

    People who use the internet are seeking information and if you can tell them what they want to know they will respond to your website in a favorable way. Thus, your website content must be geared to their way of thinking. Researching the psychographics of your website visitors is imperative if you want your website to succeed.

    Gathering information on your website visitors

    How do you gather this kind of information? Visit the kinds of websites that your target users go to. Read the magazines they are likely to subscribe to. Pay special attention to the ads, because advertisers are doing the same research you're doing to target an audience.

    You will have to do your homework on this aspect of website design if you plan on reaching your visitors with your message. Your website must meet the requirements of your website visitors as to their needs and aspirations if you wish to achieve success.

    Your website content has to have a goal.

    The key thing to remember about audience analysis is the goal of this study: to have a well-defined target audience at the end of the process. The only good audience definition is a specific target definition. You must be able to focus your website content toward a specific group of individuals.

    Even if your website is intended for general audiences there will still be certain interests which apply to the population as a whole that you should be targeting. Some universal principles apply to everyone. But, if you are seeking a certain type of individual you need to know specific things about them. The better you can pigeon-hole or niche your audience, the more likely your site will succeed.

  • Website audience analysis resources

    There are several resources available to you in your study of the visitors coming to your site but one of the best sources of insight into your visitors mind is researching their reading material.

    Collect and study consumer magazines: although there are some general interest magazines, most periodicals go after a well-defined demographic, such as gardening, photography, web designers, etc.. You can use these materials to great effect in targeting your audience.

    Remember, knowing your audience makes it easier to write effective, appropriate, and usable content and will serve your visitors interests well.



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