When you have limited resources, how do you prioritise what to provide on an e-commerce website? In the PEW Internet and America Life report, Generations on-line 2009, Jones and Fox present data in a format useful to help you prioritise.
To answer these sample questions, consider the colour coding in the data, below:
- Should you do any search-engine optimisation (SEO) on your site? What kinds of things will users search for?
- Should you provide video on your site? What kinds of users will watch video?
- Should you help site visitors research your products? Should you deliver that information in a podcast?
An excerpt of the Generations On-Line 2009 data
Below are common online activities, by age group. The more people report doing an activity, the higher it appears in the list.
The boxes ( █ = 5% ) show the portion of the online population in each age group (total = 100% of online USA adults).‡
| Ages 18-32 | Ages 33-44 | Ages 45-54 | Ages 55-63 | Ages 64-72 | Ages 73+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| █ █ █ █ █ █ | █ █ █ █ ▀ | █ █ █ █ ▀ | █ █ ▀ | █ ▀ | █ |
| E-mail. Search. Research a product. Get news. Watch video. Buy something. Get health info. Visit SNS*. Make travel reservation. Get job info. Create SNS* profile. Instant messaging. Download music. Banking. Visit gov’t site. Research for job. Play games. |
E-mail. Search. Research a product. Get health info. Buy something. Get news. Make travel reservation. Banking. Visit gov’t site. Research for job. Watch video. Get job info. |
E-mail. Search. Research a product. Get health info. Get news. Make travel reservation. Buy something. Visit gov’t site. Research for job. Banking. |
E-mail. Search. Get health info. Research a product. Buy something. Get news. Make travel reservation. Visit gov’t site. |
E-mail. Search. Research a product. Get health info. Make travel reservation. Visit gov’t site. Buy something. Get news. |
E-mail. Search. Get health info. Make travel reservation. Research a product. |
| Activities above this line were done by more than half the group, below this line by less than half. | |||||
| Read blog. Download video. Rate product. Get religious info. Auction. Podcast. Create blog. Visit virtual world. |
Download music. Instant messaging. Get religious info. Play games. Visit SNS*. Rate product. Read blog. Download video. Auction. Create SNS* profile. Podcast. Create blog. Visit virtual world. |
Watch video. Get job info. Get religious info. Rate product. Instant messaging. Auction. Read blog. Play games. Download music. Download video. Visit SNS.* Podcast. Create SNS* profile. Create blog. Visit virtual world. |
Banking. Research for job. Get job info. Watch video. Rate product. Get religious info. Play games. Auction. Read blog. Instant messaging. Download music. Download video. Podcast. Visit SNS*. Create SNS* profile. Visit virtual world. |
Banking. Research for job. Get religious info. Rate product. Play games. Instant messaging. Watch video. Read blog. Auction. Download music. Download video. Get job info. Visit SNS*. Podcast. Create blog. Create SNS* profile. Visit virtual world. |
Buy something. Get news. Visit gov’t site. Get religious info. Banking. Instant messaging. Play games. Rate product. Read blog. Watch video. Get job info. Podcast. Research for job. Auction. Create blog. Download music. Visit SNS*. Create SNS* profile. Visit virtual world. |
* Social-networking service.
‡ Data from teens (ages 13-17) isn’t listed here because I had incomplete population data. However, teens do a smaller range of online activities than all adult age groups.
By examining the data, you can quickly see the size of your potential audience and the likelihood that they’ll engage in particular activity. For example, you’ll definitely want to optimise your site to help potential customers find product information on your site, both before they get there (from Google or Bing), and after they get there. This may seem like an obvious statement, but ask yourself: “What three things have I done to improve SEO, or search-engine optimisation, on my site?”