Audience research
Part of What local SEO audience research means for agencies and clients
Check local SEO target audience data before you build a campaign
How to build a local SEO target audience from ONS housing data, ASA and ICO rules, and first-party sources such as interviews and site search, with a glossary.
What to take away
- Decide the geographic unit first (postcode district, local authority, or town), because every later source is matched to that boundary.
- Use ONS housing tables to size and profile an area, then check the ASA and ICO rules before you collect or target anything.
- Treat first-party signals (enquiry logs, call notes, site search) as the only evidence of actual demand.
- Write down the assumptions you cannot verify, and label them as assumptions rather than findings.
- Budget for the research as a fixed task, not an open-ended one, so the campaign can start.
Which geographic unit should define the audience?
Start with the boundary, not the persona. A local SEO target audience is defined by where people are, so pick one unit and keep it consistent across every dataset. Postcode districts suit service businesses with tight travel radii. Local authority areas suit multi-town campaigns.
Mismatched boundaries are the most common error. If your keyword research uses towns and your data uses districts, nothing lines up and the audience looks larger or smaller than it is.
Record the choice in the research file. Anyone joining later needs to know why a district was used instead of a county.
What can ONS housing data tell you about an area?
Housing data gives you tenure, household size and dwelling type, which shape how people search for local services. Areas with high private renting behave differently from areas dominated by owner-occupiers. The ONS housing statistics page is the starting point for that profiling.
Use it to compare candidate areas, not to describe individuals. A high proportion of flats in one district may support a different service mix and a different landing page structure.
Keep the output short: a table of three to five candidate areas with the measures that matter to your client. More detail rarely changes the decision.
Where do compliance rules limit audience research?
Two regulators shape what you may collect and how you may use it. The ASA AdviceOnline library sets out what marketing claims and targeting must satisfy, including digital activity. The ICO guide to PECR covers cookies, email and tracking used in analytics.
Read both before you install tracking or build an email list from local enquiries. Consent wording and analytics configuration are easier to fix at the start than after a complaint.
If the client sells to consumers, assume stricter rules apply than in B2B. Document the basis for any direct marketing you plan.
Which first-party sources beat third-party estimates?
Your own data is the strongest evidence of a real audience. Enquiry logs, call notes and site search terms show what people actually asked for, in their own words.
A structured interview programme turns that raw material into segments. The customer interview method for England explains how to recruit and run those conversations without leading the answers.
Aim for a dozen interviews before you generalise. Below that, treat findings as directional.
How should you record and test the audience?
Write one page per segment: who they are, where they are, what they search for, and what would make them choose the client. Add the source and date for every claim.
Where no source exists, write "assumption" and set a review date. This keeps the campaign honest and makes later testing meaningful.
Then test cheaply. Run a small ad set or a single landing page variant per segment and compare enquiry quality, not just click volume. Update the page when the evidence changes.
For the full sequence from boundary choice to segment testing, the England audience research guide sets out the wider process this article supports.
What should you do when the data disagrees?
Conflicts are normal. ONS averages may suggest one area is stronger while your enquiry log shows another performing better.
Resolve conflicts by recency and specificity. A recent first-party signal usually beats a broad regional average for a single client.
If the conflict persists, split the test. Run both areas for a fixed period and compare cost per enquiry.
Glossary
- Boundary: the geographic unit used to group all audience data.
- First-party data: information you collect directly from your own enquiries and site.
- PECR: the rules covering cookies, email marketing and tracking.
- Segment: a group within the audience with shared location and need.
- Assumption: a claim without a cited source, flagged for later review.
Common questions
How many areas should I profile?
Three to five is usually enough to compare and choose. More areas add work without changing the decision, unless the client operates nationally.
Do I need interviews if I have ONS data?
Yes. ONS data describes places, not motivations. Interviews explain why people in those places choose one provider over another.
Can I reuse audience research for another client?
Only the method and the public datasets. First-party findings belong to the client whose enquiries produced them, and consent terms may restrict reuse.
How often should the audience be reviewed?
At least once a year, and whenever enquiry quality shifts. Housing and demographic data are updated periodically, so check the source date before relying on it.
