Examples of useful SparkToro searches
SparkToro is very good at revealing the attributes and characteristics of audiences when certain types of searches are used.
There are six types of SparkToro queries:
- Searches for: Research the audience that searches for this keyword on Google
- Visits the site: Research the audience that visits a website/domain
- Profile contains: Research the audience that has these words in their public social media profile
- Visits the URL: Research the audience that visits a specific URL — not just the domain
- Custom audience: Upload your own .CSV list of data, and we’ll find that audience for you. There isn’t a hard number of line items that we need, but in general, we recommend at least 500 (and a minimum of 50). Here are the datasets that we’ll read and interpret:
- Domains – websites relevant to or visited by your audience, and should be in the format of “xyz.tld”
- Keywords – terms and phrases your audience is likely to search for in Google
- Email Addresses – Email addresses from your list(s) or manually entered, segmented however you wish.
- Conversational Query: Describe your audience with natural language; using our LLM “Audience Agent,” we’ll find your audience for you, present you a confirmation step, and if you approve, run that analysis.
Additionally, here are examples of good and not-so-good searches based on the SparkToro query type:
| SparkToro Search Type “Research the audience that…” | Good Searches | (Potentially) Bad Searches |
| …searches for the keyword | Pasta recipes; B2B marketing; interior design | Reading (If you’re an author and want to find potential readers for your new book, you might be tempted to try this broad query. But, because book readers would rarely use a super-broad search terms like this, the query is unlikely to yield relevant insights. Try searching for a keyword that more closely describes your book and is likely to be searched-for by a relevant audience, e.g. “nonfiction history” or “young adult fantasy books.” |
| …visits the website | cancerresearch.org; thesill.com; apartments.com | nytimes.com (The New York Times has a lot of visitors on every topic. This search is likely too broad to be meaningful) |
| …uses these words in their bio | VP sales; php developer; journalist | Former baby (This is a jokey way that some people choose to self-describe on social media. But it’s not a great search because it doesn’t tell you about who this audience is.) |
Are you trying to find sources of influences in a particular hobby or sector?
Say you want to learn more about the audience that’s interested in environmentally-friendly fashion. They might search for the term “sustainable fashion” on Google, so you can try that as your first SparkToro search:
- Research the audience that searches for the keyword: sustainable fashion
- You’ll see the influential websites, press, Social Accounts, YouTube channels, Subreddits and podcasts. You’ll also see their demographics and their other search keywords. One of the influential websites in this audience is TheGoodTrade.com. That can be your next search!
- Research the audience that visits the website: TheGoodTrade.com
- Voila! An even larger dataset that shows you more insights about this audience. These are more related to fashion than sustainability, however.
- Research the audience that uses these words in their bio: sustainable fashion
- If you have any paid SparkToro plan, you can go to Demographics > Bio/Profile Terms and see the popular words used in bios. These can power your next search! “Sustainable fashion” were some common words in the demographics of our original example search, and this yields even more insights. Remember, these are people who put the words “sustainable” and “fashion” in their public social media profiles. This is likely to signal that they work in one of these industries or that they’re very passionate about the sector.
Are you in the B2B space, trying to figure out what moves your audience, your clientele, or prospects? Try searching by their job title or by keyword.
- Research the audience that uses these words in their bio: b2b marketing
- This works well if the audience you’re trying to reach works in B2B marketing.
- Research the audience that searches for the keyword: customer retention
- Say you’re trying to reach folks in B2B SaaS. Is a person who works in B2B SaaS likely to search for the term “B2B SaaS” on Google? Probably not. But they might be searching for something like “customer retention,” because they’re cognizant of growing their business.
- When running a keyword-based SparkToro search, It’s helpful to think about what they might be searching for or what their intent might be. You could consider using pain points as potential keywords. For instance, a person who’s new to gardening might be searching for “indoor plant care.”
Hopefully, these examples can inspire you to broaden, iterate, and experiment with searches for your target market so you can find exactly the data to help your market research or marketing campaigns soar.