Knowing the Demographics of your Website Visitors
By: Gene DeFazzio

Demographics & Marketing

Your website visitors and/or customers may be people or other businesses and it is imperative that you know as much about them as you can. Marketing is an effort to sell to those customers.

Market Segment

A demographic or demographic profile is a term used in marketing and broadcasting to describe a demographic grouping or a market segment. A market segment typically involves age groups (e.g. teenagers as opposed to senior citizens), social classes (e.g. wealthier groups who tend to spend more as opposed to poorer groups who have less to spend) and gender (e.g. different physical attributes require different hygiene and clothing products, and because of the male/female mind sets).

Demographic Profile

A demographic profile can be used to determine what type of website content should be used to achieve the best results. It is important that the webmaster tailor the website content to match the interests and needs of their visitors, and so careful research should be done to match the demographic profile of the target audience to the demographic profile of the website and its content.

Demographic and Marketing Resources

The following links can provide you with the data you need to determine the market segment and demographic profile of your target audience.

• Demographics.com - http://www.demographics.com - Extensive site dedicated to the entire field of demographics and related information.
  
  
• Bureau of Labor Statistics - http://www.bls.gov - With the strongest commitment to integrity and objectivity, the BLS is best among statistical agencies, producing impartial, timely, and accurate data relevant to the needs of their users and to the social and economic conditions of our Nation, its workers, and their families.
  
  
• National Telecommunications and Information Administration - http://www.ntia.doc.gov - NTIA is pleased to release Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide. This is our third report examining which American households have access to telephones, computers, and the Internet, and which do not.
  
  
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology - http://www.mit.edu/people/mkgray/net/ - Want to know how big the Internet is? How fast is it growing? Will it ever stop? These pages are meant to be a collection of Internet statistics in one place.
  
  
• U.S. Census Bureau - http://www.census.gov/ - Your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data.
  
  
• Consumer Research Center - http://www.conference-board.org/economics/consumer.cfm - The Consumer Research Center provides members with access to consumer information, analysis, special reports and forecasts that help in day-to-day decision-making and long-term planning.
  
  
• U.S. Small Business Administration - http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/marketing/basics.html - To succeed, entrepreneurs must attract and retain a growing base of satisfied customers. Marketing programs, though widely varied, are all aimed at convincing people to try out or keep using particular products or services.
  
  

Summary

Spend the lions share of your time researching the nature of and acquiring feedback from your website visitors.

With patience and time the mystery of market share and demographics will become clear.

Always pay attention to the demographics and marketing of your website and success will be forthcoming.