Your advertising can now get even more targeted when you take advantage of Google Analytics’ new demographic and interest targeting. Analytics now provides access to information on users’ age, gender and interests. This new demographic targeting information can be found in the audience section of Analytics.
According to Google, the addition of demographic targeting will allow you to “see not only how many of your users visit over a date range, but also who those users are, and how their behavior varies by attribute.” With a better understanding of your website’s visitors, you will be able to:
- Segment Analytics data
- Gain a more clear understanding of how converting and non-converting visitors differ
- Analyze how visitor behavior varies by demographic category (age, gender, etc.)
- Refine ad campaign strategies
Google does caution that these reports “may only represent a subset of your visitors.”
So, why would you want to use the demographic and interest reports generated by Google Analytics? If your website caters to a specific type of customer, these reports could have some real value to you. For example, if your business sells products specifically targeted to men 25-54, you may want to segment your advertising to only attract those who meet this profile.
Additionally, you can use this information to reach difference audience groups with customized messages. For example, if your business has a two product lines, one that targets college students and one that targets parents, you can use the demographic information to target different ad content to each group.
How does Google gather this demographic information? Some information is gathered through the use of cookies. Cookies are attached to browsers and can be used to identify the gender or age range of the user based on the sites they visited. Google also partners with some sites that provide the demographic information of the people on their website, such as social networking sites. Finally, Google uses the demographic information of individuals on their own sites to enhance these reports.
To gain access to these valuable reports, you must update the code on your website. This is a relatively simple process. Google provides detailed instructions on updating your website code here.
It is important to note that if you intend to enable the demographic and interest reports in Analytics, you may need to update your website’s Privacy Policy. Please review Google’s recommendations on Privacy Policy updates here.
If you have questions about how to use the new demographic and interest reports to enhance your use of Google Analytics or if you are concerned about updating code on your website, please call Qiigo today at (404) 496-6841. Our internet marketing team can help.
