Americans’ daily use of the internet has almost doubled over the past five years. 48% of adults in groups that have historically have used it less – now are reporting that they use the Internet more than an hour per day. This is in comparison with only 26% in ‘02 these results are from a recent Gallup Poll.

Any idea which groups use the internet more frequently?
According to this Gallup Poll; those with college degrees, those who make more than than $75K per year, and those 30 and younger. More than 60% in each group reporting they go online more than one hour per day.

So who uses the internet the least?
The least educated, least affluent, and oldest Americans. Smaller, though noteworthy, gaps also exist between men and women, and the employed vs. the non-working

Gallup Poll Frequent Internet Use December 2008

The digital divide is slowly narrowing.

Several demographic groups in the lower income, lower education and older age brackets show a rise in frequent internet use in the past year.

The five groups posting double-digit gains:

• Those making less than $30,000 per year
• Those who are not working
• The unmarried
• Those under age 30
• Those with post-graduate educations

Why is this important to you?

If you are in the market of advertising online, then you will know that the more niche markets that there for you to advertise to the more likely you will have a successful business online.

What tools do I have to find these niche groups?

This past year google has released a research tool called Google Insights. Use it abuse it. Google made enough money last year to feed several large countries. I am glad to see them give a small peek into all the information that they collect on their users.

What Makes Google Insights So Cool?

Google insights combines Google Trends, Google keyword reaserch tool and Demographic targeting. I can try to explain the tool here in this blog or just get you to go and try it out.
So get out there and do it. Try Google Insights Now

Technorati Tags: age brackets, gallup poll, google insights, google trends, niche markets, research tool

In previous posts I have discussed the choice between using a shotgun and a rifle, and how depending upon your business either could work. For those that don’t know the difference a rifle shoots a single bullet in a single path, a shotgun shoots many pellets in an ever widening path to the target. A rifle is exact, but there is a larger chance that you might miss. While a shotgun increases the chances that you’ll hit the target, the penetration of the pellets isn’t as deep. How about using many rifles at once? The only marketplace where this makes sense is on the internet, any other advertising medium would cost too much.

In Chris Anderson’s book, The Long Tail, he explains how the internet caters to niche markets and communities. He also discusses the fact that big online businesses have taken advantage of the niche markets that were “too small” and these niches have become a major portion of their businesses. Think about it, online, people can find the most random stuff—sure the popular stuff is still there, but so is a whole bunch of stuff that you can’t find in any store. Read more of Chris Anderson’s stuff at www.thelongtail.com .

If I am not selling a product or service that has mass appeal, but I can aggregate enough niches together, I’ll still be able to sell in high volumes.

So how do I do this?

Well, it takes quite a bit of work. I look at the possibilities, narrow it down to those niches that are most likely to enjoy my product or service, and then examine what modifications I need to make to make my product or service attractive to that particular niche. Then I pick a couple of niches that are prime targets and don’t require a lot of modification to my business to facilitate that new business. I’ll find the right mixes that work, and then I’ll start with modifications once I know it is worth doing. I’ll look at the marketing materials and campaigns, the look and feel of the website/landing page, the pricing strategy, and what modifications to the product or service will make it more palatable.

It can be a lot of work, but many companies have proven that the business model is effective in the online world. The result will be exact campaigns with an increased number of sales.

Technorati Tags: campaigns, chris anderson, niche markets, Online Advertising, prime targets, targeting