If you run a website, you know that not every reader, user, or subscriber is the same. You also know that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to marketing and engaging your audience. To connect with your website’s visitors, understanding who they are, what they’re looking for, and what their needs are is essential. 

Segmenting customers into different groups and targeting them with relevant content and messaging can help you do just that. Not every customer is the same and not every marketing message or adjustment to your website will work for everyone.

There are many different ways to segment your website’s visitors. You could group them according to their demographics (location, age, gender, etc.), interests (hobbies, music preferences, etc.), or even their buying behavior (purchasing history, engagement with your site, etc.).

Once you’ve identified the different groups of users on your website, you can begin to target them with relevant content and messaging. While 81% of consumers and viewers wish that they were better understood by companies, 94% of marketers wish the same thing. Tailoring your marketing and website content to specific user segments can help you connect with them more effectively and convert them into long-term viewers. 

There are a number of different ways to segment your website’s viewers to better understand them, and the most effective approach will vary from website to website.

Types of User Segmentation 

There are three types of user segmentation: demographic, behavioral, and psychographic. Within these groups, there are also sub-groups, such as millennials and baby boomers, paid and free subscribers, and tech-savvy and not.

  • Demographics can impact how a person interacts with a product or service. For example, a product aimed at young women would likely have a different design than one aimed at men in their 50s. 
  • Behavioral user segmentation takes into account how people interact with a product or service. A company might track navigation through its website to understand how to improve the experience. Are viewers clicking on the ads? How long are they spending on each page? These impact what methods of marketing and engagement work best for that company and its customers. Implementing tracking cookies can help keep track of online habits such as what websites they visit and how best to market to them. 
  • Psychographic factors consider lifestyle, personality, and interests of a website’s visitor. A company might target users who are environmentally conscious for a new product launch and knowing how to appeal to that personality type will be important for the success of the product.

Subgroups of User Data Segmentation

A subgroup of user data segmentation is the process of dividing user data into groups according to some shared property or characteristic. This process can be used to improve the performance of data-intensive operations, such as sorting, searching, and aggregating.

  • Time is a major subgroup to utilize for data segmentation. For example, web server logs can be subdivided into hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly logs. This subdivision can help speed up the process of finding data associated with a particular time period.
  • Location is another common way to subdivide data. For example, data about users in the United States can be subdivided from data about those in the United Kingdom. This subdivision can help speed up the process of finding data associated with a particular geographic region. If a company knows where its readers and customers are coming from, it can tailor its marketing and advertising to those regions.
  • Firmographic data is data that describes a company or organization. This data can include information such as the company’s size, location, and industry. Such information can be used to segment customers into groups based on their affiliation with a certain company or organization and to understand how different companies and organizations interact with each other. It can be obtained from public sources such as the company’s website or commercial sources.
  • Technographic data is concerned with the various types of technology that a person uses. It can include information such as what type of phone a person has, the computer they use, what type of internet connection they have, and the kind of software they use. If an individual primarily uses their phone to visit a website, they would be classified as a mobile user. This information can be used to focus efforts with specific technology-based advertisements and let you know that it’s in everyone’s best interest to amplify the mobile experience of your website.
  • Conversion goals for your website and company can be categorized into three main types: acquisition, engagement, and monetization. 
    • Acquisition goals focus on drawing in new users to a website or product. 
    • Engagement goals center around keeping users active and interested in a website or product. 
    • Monetization goals are about converting users into paying customers. 

Paying attention to all three goals is important for a successful website or company, but it is especially crucial to focus on one type of goal in order to start seeing results.

  • Understanding not only what viewers of your website do is just as important as negative behaviors (such as spamming or hacking). Knowing and implementing this information can help you create a website that is not only more secure but most effective for you and your customers. If marketing messages are targeted to specific user types, conversion rates on the site are likely to improve, but if a reader didn’t consent to receive emails, it could negatively impact the experience and the longevity of their commitment.

In conclusion

Customers can be segmented by their user data in many ways. All of which can be useful for better understanding customers and for tailoring marketing messages and strategies to best suit your individual audience. By understanding your customer’s demographics, interests, and online behavior, you can create a more effective marketing strategy that speaks to your customers on a personal level. Consistency and longevity are key when it comes to customer retention, so start by understanding your customer base and then go the extra mile to ensure that your messaging and delivery are on point.