It may seem simple to understand your audience, and it can be! With tools like Google Analytics, it is easy to see who you are gaining traction from with your products or services. Ryan, our developer analyst at Evergreen Media, walks us through the steps to find out more.

Step 1

When you log into your dashboard, you’ll see an overview of your site’s analytics account. From this home screen, you’ll be able to get a snapshot of your main traffic highlights, as well as a rough look at where your users are from, how they got to your site, and the times your site is frequented.

After this screen, you will want to click on “Audience” in the left-hand column. Here is where you’ll start to dive into your demographics.

Step 2

If you are seeing a screen like the one below, you will need to first enable this feature. To do this, simply click “Demographics” in the “Audience” section, then click “Overview.” To the right, in the main panel, you will be able to then click “enable.” What are you enabling? You are telling Google to sort through your site’s data and gather information on those who have visited you URL.

You’re in! Do a little happy dance.
Only if you want to.

Step 3

Now that you’re in, it’s time to explore your information. In the top right-hand corner, you can define the data range you want to see. (Typically, we look at one quarter at a time.)

Step 4

By clicking on the “Demographics” title under “Audience,” you will be able to find an overview of the age and gender of your website’s audience. Want to dive in a little deeper? Click the subcategories of “Age” and “Gender” for more graphs.

Step 4.2

To keep building out your audience, it is oftentimes helpful to see what their interests are. From a marketing standpoint, this will help with messaging and promotion creation for your business. Underneath the “Interests” menu on the left, you will be able to drill down into deeper data which includes number of times they’ve visited your site and the topics that interested them.

Step 5

To get a good idea of where your audience is coming from, click the “Geo” tab and then “Location.” Here you will be able to see the countries your site has seen traffic from. Narrowing the search more, you can find your users’ states and cities by simply clicking the country’s name.

So you’ve found your website audience…
now what?

It’s easy to get bogged down with data and then nod your head at the facts before moving on with the rest of your to-do list. But this data can be extremely helpful when you are deciding on avenues to best market your products. For example, Facebook ads may be inexpensive, but maybe your audience group is not heavily saturated in social media…or perhaps your ad targets have been off. Maybe you’ve been pushing your message in one community, but you have more site visits from another. Make your dollars work for you! Choose your advertising platforms with strategy backing your decision for stronger returns.

Need help gathering and defining your data? We’re happy to help!
Just give us a call (605.343.7684) or contact us here.