If you publish content at times when most of your audience isn’t online, you won’t receive the attention you want from it.

People want information that’s conveniently in front of them when they turn to the Internet.

That’s why it’s important to publish your content at the times your audience is most likely online.

When more people see it, you’ll end up being more effective at improving your brand, increasing site traffic and boosting online revenue.

When and What Should You Publish?

The Nieman Lab studied the habits of Internet users reading news stories.

They found that people use the Internet throughout the day, but there was a significant spike in traffic during certain parts of the day. They also found that people were more likely to read during those parts of the day.

They quickly decided to call the act of publishing content during certain parts of the day when people were most likely to read it dayparting.

Dayparting involves looking at traffic patterns and matching them up with published content. During traffic lulls, less content should be published. When traffic spikes, more content should be published.

Every Audience is Different

Some publishers found that Internet users are more likely to read longer articles during their lunch break. They were also more likely to comment on those articles.

This means that publishers should publish longer pieces of content during the lunchtime hours. It may also be wise to publish something that’s debatable to elicit discussion during that part of the day.

Publishers also noticed that people are online reading during the morning around the time they wake up. They also read when they get to work, so just after 9:00 for some of them.

End of Day

The end of the work day is another time that people turn to the Internet.

They may be turning to the Internet for traffic information or just to unwind after a difficult, stressful day. Providing information these people seek during that time of the day is a good idea, if you have an industry that can do that.

Mobile

Another finding is that mobile devices seem to be used much more during the night hours, as people are getting ready to go to sleep.

Most of these Internet users are probably reading in bed. Providing content that will help them relax to get a better night’s rest is a good idea for this time of the day.

Learn What Your Audience Wants and When They Want It

Using analytics tools can help you determine when your audience is online and what they want. Look for spikes in traffic throughout the day for a week. When you identify a pattern, look into which pages on your site people are going to during those times.

This will give you information about what they want, so you can publish similar content at those times.

It’s a good idea to review your analytics monthly because people’s schedules change throughout the year. What they want from content also changes, especially during the holidays. It’s important to keep records of times and popular article topics for each month of the year, so you can publish similar content during the same times the following year.

When You Can’t Figure Out the Best Time to Publish Content

When you can’t figure out the best times for your audience, turn to social media.

By following the posts of your followers, you will soon be able to see when they are most active and what they are posting about during those times. You can take that information and use it for publishing content on your site.

You can then market that content on the social media sites you were using before. Since you know your audience is most active during that time, and you know what they are most likely going to post about, your content fits in well.

Conclusion

Start using analytics on your site today. You may be surprised at what you’ll find. You can then start to publish content much more effectively and efficiently to increase traffic to your site.

What are your best times to publish content? What are some ways you found this out? Let us know in the comments below!