Gender Demographics: SEO Beyond Mutually Exclusive Groups

Targeting ‘Demographics’ in your digital marketing strategy still counts – just not the way it used to. Demographics are still on the top of Google’s analytical means of determining what displays on page one of your search results. Next on the list: ‘Interests’ and ‘Geographics’.  That order has not changed. Still, that does not mean that we have any grounds to say that “Pinterest is for girls…” The possibility of multiple connecting threads between two mutually exclusive groups is too great and marketers cannot afford to generalize and stereotype their audience demographics anymore.  What has changed is the way in which digital marketers should view these demographics, since the very notion of ‘Demographics’ has changed shape and complexity. 





What it was, is what it was

In the early days of advertising, Demographics held its weight in Gender. The Bill-Boards, the magazine enticers and the radio slogans firstly focused on two target markets; that which would appeal to the male, and that which would appeal to the female. They considered mutually exclusive groups, but the complexities inherent in these groups were largely and naively over-looked. As global search engine usage grew, and analytics embedded into our search engines became a given, this trend continued into standard Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices’. The analytical data, forming the base of their research, was extracted from websites showing the most traffic, such as gambling sites, categorized into a few main groups and once again gender was on the top of the list.  

How do we know this?

Browser research and case studies conducted as little as a couple of years ago would circle around the latter claim. For example, studies on the difference between how males and females use social media, and the different ways they phrase their requests when searching on Google. As the algorithms that make analytics became more complex, and analyzers gained access to more data, we found the much needed increase in variants effecting modern SEO. For example, Google was now able to decipher what specific interests a user from a geographical region would have in relation to for example technological topics, entertainment genres, educational subjects and product preferences… all of which wouldn’t necessarily relate to Gender.

Use what you know… and make sure you know everything

Statistics, analytics, figures and reports are more detailed than ever. They are there for you to utilize and analyze. Below follows a couple of suggestions:

• Subscribe to quality blogs that aim to keep you informed in trending SEO
• Customize your Google analytics account relating to your Brand/Product/Service
• Pay special attention the interests section in your Google analytics statistics
• Investigate your referral sites and how they add detail to the characteristics of your targeted demographic
• Utilize the sophisticated software available for your Social Media analytics
• Use and evaluate ALL this criteria through testing them first
• Decide upon your methods and establish your final SEO strategy
• Revisit your stats, re-evaluate your methods, adapt and alter your SEO strategy over time

In Closing

The market has always been competitive. That does not change. The trick is to say ahead of your competitor. Use the latest trends in SEO, spend more time and budget on researching ways to adapt your SEO methodology, rather than just standard SEO implementation.  Google’s page 1 of top 10 search results is your destination. To stay there is a continuous race. Start training.