Several years back, in the hope of further understanding the conversion tactics for internet users, we wrote an article regarding internet users and internet demographic breakdowns. Considering the nature and speed of change online, internet data that’s over three years old might as well be considered ancient. Here is a look at a more up to date demographic structure of the usage of the internet in 2013, and a comparison to how it has changed since 2010.

In 2013, 85% of the United States population is online - that's 85% of males and 84% of females. The age breakdown is:

  • 98% of users between ages 18-29 are online (up 5% from 93% in 2010)
  • 92% of users between ages 30-49 are online (up 11% from 81% in 2010)
  • 83% of users between ages 50-64 are online (up 13% from 70% in 2010)
  • and 56% of users 65 and over are online (up 28% from 38% in 2010)

Compared to the user data three years go, each of the demographic age groups experienced growth in usage. The vast majority of people under 50 are online, and those older are starting to catch up. Interestingly, it is the senior age group of 65 and over that experienced the highest increase in usage (up 28%) over the three year span. The 50-64 age group had the second largest usage growth (up 13%)..

The breakout by number of users in various household income levels also experienced a slight change:

  • 76% of users online have income of less than $30,00/year (up 16% from 60% in 2010)
  • 88% on online users have income levels of $30,000-49,999 (up 12% from 76% in 2010)
  • 94% of online users have income levels of $50,000-74,999 (up 11% from 83% in 2010)
  • 96% of online users have income level of $75,000 and higher (up 2% from 94% in 2010)

Most of the change in internet adoption by income came from the lower income groups of the country. With $30,000 and under users experiencing a 16% increase in the past three years and the $30,000-49,999 income group experiencing a 12% increase in users. Compare that with the $75,000-and-up income group experiencing only 2% growth in the last 3 years.

The demographic breakdown of users by level of education experienced a similar increase, with most of the user adoption in the lower educational level groups.

  • 59% of individuals without high school diploma user the internet (up 20% from 39% in 2010)
  • 78% of high school graduates use the internet (up 15% from 63% in 2010)
  • 92% of individuals with some college user the internet (up 5% from 87% in 2010)
  • and 96% of individuals with a college degree or higher user the internet (up 2% from 94% in 2010)

To further break down the demographics, with regard to race:

  • 86% of the white, Non-Hispanics population is online
  • 85% of the Black, Non-Hispanic population is online
  • and 76% of Hispanic population is online

With regard to urbanity:

  • 86% of urban population being online
  • 86% of suburban population being online
  • and 80% of rural population being online

The most interesting change came in the usage trend data of why users go online. Considering all the new possibilities and new features that the internet has come to offer within the last several years, it’s not surprising that online habits have become more diversified. However, a surprising percentage of users who access the internet for reasons previously listed in our original article remained about the same. Here are some of the reasons with more recent survey data that we found interesting:

  • 91% of individuals went online to use a search engine to find information (up 3% from 88% in 2010)
  • 88% of users access the internet to send or read e-mail
  • 84% of users access the internet to look into a hobby or personal interest
  • 84% of users access the internet to search for driving directions or maps (down 2% from 86% in 2010)
  • 78% of users access it to get news
  • 74% of users go online to pass time or for fun
  • 71% of users go online to purchase a product (down 4% from 75% in 2010)
  • 71% of users go online to watch video on YouTube or Vimeo
  • 67% of users go online to access social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Google +
  • 65% of users go online to make hotel reservations
  • 61% of users access the internet for online backing
  • 53% of users access online looking for information on Wikipedia
  • 51% of users go online to search for information about someone they know or might meet
  • 46% of users go online to upload photos for future sharing
  • 30% of users go online to make a phone call using Skype or Vonage
  • 16% of users go online to use twitter

Considering this updated demographic and usage data, the question is no longer "does your target market use the web?". Instead, you should be asking what is the best way to capture your target market's attention while your target market is using the web, considering their browsing preferences. By using this data, marketing experts and business owners alike can tailor their marketing efforts to coincide with their target market's online browsing patterns and areas of interest.

  • Your Website Rankings and Social Media

  • Website Home Page Elements for Brick and Mortar Businesses