Writing for the Web › how it works › know your audience Mass Tailoring content for many individuals. customisation Persona A character used to define a group of users to a website. Pay Per Click Pay Per Click usually refers to advertising on search engines. (PPC) The name that is chosen to appear in the sender or from field of an Sender alias email. Search engine optimisation Aims to improve rankings in search engines. (SEO) Search engine results page What you see when you perform a search on a search engine. (SERP) Unique selling This is what makes your offering different to your competitors’. point (USP) 5.3 how it works5.3.1 Know Your AudienceOne of the assumptions one can usually make about writing is that it is donefor an audience. In marketing and advertising, knowing your audience is vital.It will guide you in your content strategy, determining the topics they want, andhelp you organise information in such a way that makes sense to them. It willdirect the tone of your copy. Ultimately, understanding who you are writing forwill ensure you are more able to communicate your message to them and thusincrease the likelihood that your copy will achieve the desired result.Step one of writing for the web is to ensure you have researched your audienceand understand what they want. Once you have a clear idea about this, you canfigure out how to fulfil those needs using your copy.Holly Buchanan of “Future Now” summarises this with three questions youshould ask: 1. Who is my audience? 2. What actions do I want them to take? 3. What information do they need in order to feel confident taking action? 117