I had an interesting discussion with a customer the other day. The topic was reaching a diverse audience with content that engaged all their needs without driving away one audience segment or another. The customer serves several vertical markets with a suite of services. While they have specialists for each market segment, fundamentally the description of each service is very similar for all the vertical markets. The problem is communicating to one audience segment without driving away another.
Those of you in my generation, that is people who have the wisdom and maturity that comes from experience 😊, may remember Gary Colman’s character Arnold Jackson in the 80’s sitcom “Different Strokes”. One of the signature phrases from the show was “What you talkin’ bout Willis”. What you talkin bout Willis! The premise of the show was the cultural differences between the father and oldest daughter, and Arnold and Willis. The phrase was meant to show an incredulous response to a statement by Arnold’s older brother Willis.
If we do not spend time optimizing our content for ALL our target audiences, we are likely to face the same issues as the Different Strokes family. These issues will affect our ability to draw the visitors to our website (classic SEO dilemma). They will also affect the engagement of the visitors who do arrive (website conversions).
One of my primary goals when working on your SEO program is to learn about the culture and vocabulary of your audience. I use this understanding to optimize your website content so that it speaks to your customers and prospects. In the case where you have more than one target audience, we segment your content to speak to each of them. You may not be aware that you have multiple audiences. Here are some examples to consider.
- Your product or service is used in multiple markets, for example the Agriculture, Construction, and Transportation Industries
- You must meet the needs of both resellers and end users.
- You must meet the needs of maintenance and purchasing staff.
Each of these user communities has unique needs. They also have their own vocabulary and culture. We address their needs using content optimization, menu structure changes, and adjusting your website structure to improve your website’s performance. We know it’s not only how to get people to your website, but also how you engage with them when they arrive. Your site will seem to talk to each visitor as an individual and capture their attention.
Do you have the need to serve a diverse audience with your website? If you do I would like to talk with you about how we can help.