10 Effective Ways to Get to Know Your Audience
Creating and running a successful website is a lot more complicated than most people think, but it boils down to one thing: being able to identify your target audience. In order to do that, you need to take lots of things into consideration when creating your content. Some of the key categories you need to pay attention to are:
- Audience demographics – whether they are male or female, as well as their age.
- What do they like – knowing their preferences will provide guidelines for you to create content for them.
- Where they are – this will let you know about their country and language.
- Their habits – what do they rely on for internet browsing, including devices and browsers.
Now, let’s get on to how you should really do it. Here are 10 effective ways to identify your target audience.
1. Make Use of Analytics Software
There are plenty of free and paid analytics tools available online, such as Google Analytics, Nielsen, Quantcast, or Sitemeter, which are a real goldmine of information when it comes to your audience, especially when regarding categories listed in the intro. Use this data when creating content for your audience.
2. Find out How They Came to Your Website
There are many ways in which your audience may be able to find you, and that includes social media, paid ads, organic search, links, or even through word of mouth. Whatever the case, it is important to include this information in your next campaign.
3. Use Interactive Elements Such as Polls, Surveys, and Questionnaires
These are effective for two different reasons. The first reason why you should have them is because they can help you collect data about your audience by simply asking them about what you want to know. The second reason is that they will spend more time on your website, making them more likely to check out your other content.
4. Join a Network
Networking is all the rage these days, and it’s no different if you have a website to run. Networks will allow you to connect and collaborate with other creators, learn new things, and get referrals. And they work both ways, which means you should do the same.
5. Create a Forum for Your Audience
Forums are not only a good environment for discussions, chat, and a source of different ideas, but they are also valuable because your readers will inadvertently leave information about themselves which you can use in order to figure out the profile of your target audience. 
6. Allow for Comments and Reviews
Leaving reviews and commenting makes your website more genuine, because it shows it is read by actual people. Furthermore, positive reviews can help spread the word about your website, product, or a service that you have to offer, which results in more traffic and more conversions.
7. Create a User Profile Database
Allowing your readers to create their own custom profiles and leave their feedback takes work, but it’s worth the trouble, because not only do you receive feedback that is not anonymous, but those members which are especially constructive and active can turn out to be your future collaborators.
8. Focus on Social Media
People use social media all the time, which means it’s another opportunity for them to leave comments about you and your website, and an opportunity for you to get in touch with them and figure out a solution for a specific problem they might have.
9. Offers Discounts, Rewards, and Coupons
Everybody likes free stuff, and offering some on your website will help you draw in more visitors, and convert some of the regulars into paid customers. In addition to that, you can make use of analytics and record valuable data for later.
10. Analyze Your Competition
It may seem like spying on your competitors is a bit unethical, but websites are public places, so anything is fair game. There are also plenty of EO tools out there that can provide you with a peek into what your competition is doing, and let you know what you need to do in order to improve your website.
Conclusion
Identifying your target audience is complex, but with these useful tips and tools under your belt, you will have no trouble doing that time and time again. All it takes is a bit of research and effort, and you will be able to reap the benefits sooner than you think.
About the author
Rachel Bartee is a part-time content writer at Edugeeksclub. She knows how to put words into action and constantly searches the ways to improve. She gets inspired by her morning yoga and personal growth classes she has joined lately. Follow her at @rachel5bartee.
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