Are you familiar with the concept of the target group?
Do you believe you need one?
On the other hand, perhaps you agree with the tagline from the movie Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come.”
Both today’s contributing author and I agree you need a target population.
After reading this post, you will know why you need a target population, how to determine the target group you want to create content for, and how to create such valuable content for the target group that visitors will be flocking to your site in droves.
Until you know this information, you can’t effectively produce content because you can’t effectively make a content marketing plan.
This post will use the example of an online shopper to illustrate these points.
By reading this post, you receive two action plans: You get a 3-step action plan for producing content for a target audience. In addition, you get three more actionable hacks for boosting your website traffic.
Let’s get started.
How to Boost Traffic to Your Blog With the Target Group
Why You Need a Target Group
Consider this scenario:
Your target audience needs to shop online.
How will you determine your target audience for online shopping?
The reasons you need a target group are clear:
Is your target client shopping for women’s clothes, men’s clothes or children’s clothes?
Their demographics like age may determine their clothing styles. Are they living in a cold-weather environment or near the equator where it’s likely to be hot year-round?
As you can see, you need to determine the target group you want to create content for.
How to Determine the Target Group
This part is easy, and, if you enjoy analysis as I do, fun.
You have several options to choose from when determining the target group.
Go to Google Anlytics and click Audience.
As you can see from the screenshot, Google Analytics shows you important metrics like age, gender, and geographical location. All of these should be considered in your plan to market your content to your target client and the target group.
Using my scenario, these metrics would certainly be important when creating content for a target audience for online shopping.
Can you envision how you’d use Google Analytics to determine how to create content for the target group in your content niche?
As an example, let’s look at some of my blog’s demographics:
While doing research for this post, I discovered that the amount of male and female visitors to my blog is almost evenly split with just over 52% of males and over 47% of females visiting.
These metrics are for the week of March 10. You can change the date range at Google Analytics to get a more complete picture.
Assuming this data consistently reflects the demographics at Mostly Blogging, I should plan on having content that appeals to both genders.
I mentioned you have alternatives. You can also find these metrics at other sites like Alexa.com. Here you can find an Alexa tutorial.
How to Create Content for the Target Group
If you’re looking to boost traffic to your blog, a key piece of advice is to stop using a blog post format that looks like it belongs in 1998 and start realizing your blog needs to be polished and professional-looking.
This might seem obvious and straight-forward, but you’d be surprised at the sheer number of blogs that don’t fit on a mobile screen or have MIDI files that automatically play in the background as soon as you click on the website link.
So, how do you make sure your blog reaches your intended audience?
Write in the way you speak
First, remember that your readers are real people, seeking knowledge from other real people or businesses. If your blogs sound robotic or boring, readers aren’t likely to return to your site again. A great piece of advice is to write how you speak.
Do you tell silly puns that have your friends groaning? Add those in!
If you give everyone a nickname in conversation, don’t suddenly turn everyone you write about into a formal name. Give your readers something to laugh, smile, or think about just in your word choice.
Need some tips on how to add creative flair to your blogs? Check out some of these creative writing tips.
Don’t fear the intricacies of SEO and website design
Don’t think you have to do it all yourself. If blog writing is what you want to put your time towards, you don’t need to spend hours learning how to create your own website.
Consider outsourcing your website design. Let the professionals do the dirty work, and spend more time crafting your blogs about the knowledge that you have.
Credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/seo-sem-marketing-optimization-web-758264/
Again, staying current is incredibly important when you consider how quickly technology changes. SEO, or search engine optimization, is not as difficult to learn as many people think, and there are countless articles online on how to integrate it so your blog can reach the intended audience.
Stay true to your topic
Make sure that you have a specific theme or niche if you want readers to return week-in and week-out. A blog that has a tiny bit of information about every aspect of your life isn’t going to create return readers.
Think about some of your favorite blogs. What does each one have in common?
The travel blog you read is unlikely to start throwing in baseball stats, while the blog you reference for Vegan recipes probably shouldn’t start talking about ballet practice.
The same is true for your blog. Find a niche or topic that you enjoy writing about, and have enough knowledge to share with others. Don’t stray, though, as tempting as it might be.
Let’s examine the screenshot once again:
Look between the red boxes. To find the interests of the target group you want to create content for, click Interests/Overview.
Look at the interests of my target population:
This screenshot from Google Analytics shows the target group that I create content for.
Based on the areas I highlighted, I should create content that appeals to people who like social media (media), technology, video, business, marketing, SEO, and SEM.
The Target Group: FAQ
Who is your target audience example?
Check metrics sites like Google Analytics to find your target audience. In this post, my target audience example was people who shop online. On this blog, my target audience example is a mostly male demographic as explained in this post.
How you identify your target customers?
Create content for people already interested in your niche. Find a subset to market to. That subset is the target group. Sites like Google Analytics will tell you the demographics of people already interested in your website. Continue to cater to them.
What is the target group?
A target audience is your intended audience. This is the target group.
Wrapping Up: Tips About the Target Group
Reaching your intended audience, also called “the target group,” doesn’t need to be a full-time job. However, keep in mind that your readers want a polished experience every time they visit your blog.
Readers expect a consistent voice, whether it be humorous or serious. A clean and polished website will go far in obtaining return readers. Finally, stay true to that niche topic!
Important Takeaways:
This post provided two action plans.
This post gave you a plan for producing content:
Step 1: Understand why you need a target audience.
Step 2: Determine the demographics of the members of the target group.
Step 3: Based on those demographics, create content for the target group.
Only when you know the target group you are writing for can you sit down and write for them.
This post also gave you actionable strategies for boosting blog traffic once you begin to write:
- Write the way you speak
- Don’t shy away from SEO
- Stick closely to a content niche.
Readers, please share so online marketers discover these strategies for determining, attracting, and writing for the target group they desire.
I look forward to your views in the comments section. Have you checked Google Analytics or Alexa.com to determine the target group you have in mind?
Are there any other actionable strategies you can recommend for determining and writing for the target group in your niche?
Related Reading
How to Get More Search Engine Traffic to Your Website, 9 Ways
Authors: Janice Wald and a Contributing Author
This post was made possible by the support of our readers.
