To effectively interact with customers in your market, you must first understand who they are. Consider this sentence in the context of a public speaker. Suppose the speaker does not know their audience. In that case, they risk selecting a topic they will not be interested in, using language they will not comprehend, and struggling to encourage them to take desirable follow-up actions.

On the other hand, a speaker who understands their audience may talk directly, clearly, and convincingly. So, here's the question: how do you learn about your target audience?

In a marketing setting, researching website demographics is one technique to understand better who you're speaking to. Unpacking the data can help you enhance your marketing plan by allowing you to communicate more effectively with potential customers, reach a larger audience, and motivate the desired action. 

What Does Website Demographics Mean?

Demographics, in broad terms, are the characteristics of people within a group. A group of individuals could be as vast as an entire country or city or as little as a school, firm, or even a marketing team.

By analyzing features inside a group, you can obtain demographic data to help you better understand the group's composition.

In this case, visitor demographics are the characteristics of the visitors. Some typical demographics of website visitors include:

• Age
• Gender
• location geographically
• Access method (mobile vs. desktop)
• Channels of communication (social media vs. search engine vs. direct)
• Purchasing habits

Assume you work for a cosmetics company, and Nykaa is one of your primary competitors. If you needed demographic information for your website, you would go straight to Google Analytics. However, suppose you require demographic information about Nykaa and others in the sector. In that case, you could use a market explorer tool to look at the age and gender breakdown of visitors to competitors' sites and the market as a whole.

What role can demographics play in target audience analysis?

Once you grasp your competitors and the market's demographic data, you can use it to refine your audience analysis and your marketing plan.

While demographic data may be used in a variety of ways, here are three examples of how it might boost your marketing:

Attract new consumers – Understanding who visits competition websites (and who does not) might help you tailor your marketing efforts to attract new customers. Finding a specific audience demographic gap can help determine where to focus your marketing efforts. Similarly, identifying a trend might assist you in choosing where to double down.

Provide what people want – Understanding your market's wants and preferences allows you to provide the information, goods, and services people want. It's easier to estimate what people want when they visit your site if you know who's visiting your competitors' sites.

Speak your audience's language – Using language your audience recognizes helps develop trust. Demographic data about people in your market allows you to investigate the unique challenges they confront, their desires, and how they communicate about those desires and issues. Speaking to your customers about their wants and requirements in their language can make all the difference. 

In Website Target Audience Analysis, begin with Age and Gender.

When using demographics in your marketing plan, age and gender are two important factors to consider. The age and gender of a site visitor can reveal a lot about what they are searching for, how to approach them about it, and how to meet their needs.

Gender – Regarding demography, the most common genders are male and female. Some people identify as non-binary or choose not to answer gender-related questions. Though a lower proportion of visitors will identify as non-binary or prefer not to respond, this information should not be overlooked when conducting audience research.

Why Is It Important to Compare Demographic Data with Your Competitors?

While understanding your website demographics is crucial, comparing your data to your competitors can reveal critical insights that help you compete in the bigger market.

When you compare your demographics to those of your competitors, you can study:

• Where your target audience intersects with that of your competitors
• Where your audience differs from your competitors' audience
• Where your efforts are successful or unsuccessful
• What percentage of the relevant audience have you not yet engaged?

Knowing where your target audience spends their time online can help you make critical decisions about where to put your marketing efforts when expanding your audience.

Viewing Visitor Demographic Information for Competitors' Websites

There are numerous methods for obtaining demographic data for your website. Google Analytics is the most widely used software for gathering demographic information. Similarly, some website development and hosting providers, such as Squarespace, include analytics software that provides information about your website's demographics.

The disadvantage of Google Analytics and other analytics software is that you cannot examine data about your competition. This is the true benefit of products like Semrush's Market Explorer and Traffic Analytics. With these tools, you may get competitive digital insight for any website across 190 countries and regions.

Conclusion

To market effectively, you must first understand who you are speaking with. A detailed picture of your website's demographics and the demographics of your competitors' sites allows you to engage with your consumers more effectively, identify gaps in your targeted audience, and understand how to expand your reach.

When you initially start, the sheer amount of demographics you may measure can be overwhelming. Begin with the most critical data. Though we recommend starting with age and gender, various demographic options may make more sense depending on your company goals.