Why People Go Online - eMarketer

"According to Ruder Finn, 100% of US Internet users surveyed in Q2 2009 went online to pass the time. Other popular reasons were education, connecting with others, researching and sharing. The least common intentions when logging on were to make purchases, manage finances, comparison shop and join causes. "

As Internet Marketers, we have to go where the people we are trying to reach are going. This survey tells us more about what people are doing when they are on the internet, and most of the time they are not there to buy things or do business! If we focus our efforts too narrowly on those kinds of activities, the people we are trying to reach are not going to be interested most of the time that they are on-line. That does not sound like a productive approach.

The message that this survey emphasizes once again is the importance of content to effective on-line marketing. Note that "Keep informed" was given as a reason for going online 79% of the time. Other similar reasons like "Research" and "Educate self" were cited more often. Entertainment reasons like "Pass time" and "Be entertained" also ranked very high. What this says is that if you provide interesting and informative content on your website, you will be in the zone that most of your prospects are seeking when they go online!

For effective outreach on the web, always keep in mind what the people you are trying to reach might find useful or entertaining. If you can communicate with them in that mode, you can be there when they are ready to make a purchase or another commitment that supports your business objectives.