The Digital Marketing course has been interesting, but a lot of work. The most important thing I learned was how all different aspects of digital marketing tie in together. We discussed social media, different advertisement types, email marketing and search engine optimization. I still have a lot to learn but I feel I gained a foundation on how to become a successful marketer for online companies.
Another thing I learned that becoming very good at SEO and online marketing takes a lot of work. Despite learning a lot, I need to reenforce the things I learned by actively seeking ways to improve my skills, and because the internet is an ever evolving environment, I must stay up-to-date with new practices.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Individual Assignment 8
The Webmaster Tools unit discussed how to get started with Google's Webmaster Tool, which enables user to improve their website by testing and setting up protection against unwanted activity on the site. For our client in GOMC, it can be questioned whether this is a useful tool for them, as our client has an in-house webmaster. Then again, there are some useful tips that they might not have considered. For example, the Webmaster tool helps detect and remove spam, and even though this might not be an issue right now, it could be beneficial to able to protect the website from spam in the future, if it gains popularity among users. In addition, the Website tool helps make the website more mobile-friendly, which is important especially now as smartphones keep gaining more and more users.
"The dawn of marketing's new golden age" article discussed science, substance, story, speed, and simplicity in marketing, and how it is important to implement all of these aspects in a business' marketing plans. Our client should consider really using the Google Analytics tool to help them find the best marketing tactics even after the GOMC, should they want to continue with AdWords. Overall, they should focus on making sure their brand is getting more awareness on the internet, as the company is based online, and they should join Google's Webmaster Community, as there is support and answers to many questions they might have.
"The dawn of marketing's new golden age" article discussed science, substance, story, speed, and simplicity in marketing, and how it is important to implement all of these aspects in a business' marketing plans. Our client should consider really using the Google Analytics tool to help them find the best marketing tactics even after the GOMC, should they want to continue with AdWords. Overall, they should focus on making sure their brand is getting more awareness on the internet, as the company is based online, and they should join Google's Webmaster Community, as there is support and answers to many questions they might have.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Experiments in Business
For this blog post, I had to read two articles on experiments and how they should be conducted in a business setting. I also watched a brief video explaining the benefits and disadvantages of a scientific study, more specifically it discussed the differences between randomized clinical trial and an epidemiological study. Essentially, a randomized clinical trial is not always possible due to many factors, such as potential dangers to people's health, so epidemiological studies are conducted to search for correlation between two things, such as smoking and cancer.
The first reading, "Finally, A Majority of Executives Embrace Experimentation" (2010) by H. James Wilson and Kevin Desousa, discussed differences between experimentation styles: prototyping, simulation and test groups & A/B testing. It was interesting to consider what types of experiments would be the most useful for different business ideas. I found it interesting that there is a difference between prototyping and simulation, and that prototyping could be done quickly without wasting much time on trying to come up with features that might not work. The second reading, "How to Design Smart Business Experiments" (2009) by Thomas H. Davenport, explained a general way to conduct an experiment for a business idea, starting with how, what, when and why to do experimentation.
I learned that simulation works best with big projects, such as cars, and it enables many people to participate in data gathering. Prototyping works best when there is the possibility to recreate the product again after certain tests, and it is fairly easy to modify. I also learned the steps that should be included in an experiment: creating a hypothesis, designing the test, conducting the test, analyzing the test and acting according to the results.
My question is that why so many companies have not engaged more in experimentation? The piece by Wilson & Desousa claims that in 2010, around 51% of surveyed executives claim experiments are their preferred research method. I find that percentage to be quite low, even though I understand that some business ideas are harder to experiment with. I personally find experiments a great way to study how people see different products and how they work in different situations.
For the Google Online Marketing Challenge, an experiment I would conduct is to see whether our client gets more click-throughs from an ad using the words "gift registry", rather than "wish list". This would be a sort of a A/B test, and it would benefit our client by establishing an AdWords ad that provides a better click-through rate, and which could be showed more often to potential visitors.
The first reading, "Finally, A Majority of Executives Embrace Experimentation" (2010) by H. James Wilson and Kevin Desousa, discussed differences between experimentation styles: prototyping, simulation and test groups & A/B testing. It was interesting to consider what types of experiments would be the most useful for different business ideas. I found it interesting that there is a difference between prototyping and simulation, and that prototyping could be done quickly without wasting much time on trying to come up with features that might not work. The second reading, "How to Design Smart Business Experiments" (2009) by Thomas H. Davenport, explained a general way to conduct an experiment for a business idea, starting with how, what, when and why to do experimentation.
I learned that simulation works best with big projects, such as cars, and it enables many people to participate in data gathering. Prototyping works best when there is the possibility to recreate the product again after certain tests, and it is fairly easy to modify. I also learned the steps that should be included in an experiment: creating a hypothesis, designing the test, conducting the test, analyzing the test and acting according to the results.
My question is that why so many companies have not engaged more in experimentation? The piece by Wilson & Desousa claims that in 2010, around 51% of surveyed executives claim experiments are their preferred research method. I find that percentage to be quite low, even though I understand that some business ideas are harder to experiment with. I personally find experiments a great way to study how people see different products and how they work in different situations.
For the Google Online Marketing Challenge, an experiment I would conduct is to see whether our client gets more click-throughs from an ad using the words "gift registry", rather than "wish list". This would be a sort of a A/B test, and it would benefit our client by establishing an AdWords ad that provides a better click-through rate, and which could be showed more often to potential visitors.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Post for missing class on 2/11 & 2/13
Recently we have discussed Google Analytics in our class, and it is a major component of the Google Online Marketing Challenge. In fact, we have spent a good amount of time on Analytics both in and out of class. Our guest speaker on January 26, Chris Vella from LunaMetrics, discussed Analytics briefly as it relates to Search Engine Optimization. Also Tim James from Pittsburgh's Google office mentioned Analytics and how important they are. Both emphasized that you should learn how to use the Analytics tools to their best capability, as they are a great help when trying to get as many visitors on your site as possible.
As we are moving forward with our GOMC pre-campaign proposal, we have had to pay special attention to Analytics. Right now, we are creating keywords for our AdWords, and trying to find proper metrics and key performance indicators for our client. Engaging the client in this process is important as they are the ultimate benefactors from this campaign and we should consider their goals for this project. Also, they should have some knowledge already of Analytics, and they might be able to guide us to the most useful metrics and sites on Analytics.
I have learned many new skills, but the most important one might be the basic metrics of Analytics, and when to apply each of them. Our textbook does a good job explaining which metrics & key performance indicators might be useful different websites, and as my team's client's website has elements from both social media and affiliate marketing sites, it is great to have guidance as to what we should pay special attention to when doing our campaign.
What baffles me the most about Google Analytics is just the sheer size of it. There are tons of metrics and things you can collect data on, and it is difficult to comprehend everything without being able to actually see it. My team does not have the access to our client's Analytics page, as we have not needed it yet, but we will most likely request it sooner or later. However, I don't fully understand how Analytics manages to collect so much data, but luckily this is a marketing course, and not computer science.
PS. Here are some good pictures of really simple Analytics pages.
As we are moving forward with our GOMC pre-campaign proposal, we have had to pay special attention to Analytics. Right now, we are creating keywords for our AdWords, and trying to find proper metrics and key performance indicators for our client. Engaging the client in this process is important as they are the ultimate benefactors from this campaign and we should consider their goals for this project. Also, they should have some knowledge already of Analytics, and they might be able to guide us to the most useful metrics and sites on Analytics.
I have learned many new skills, but the most important one might be the basic metrics of Analytics, and when to apply each of them. Our textbook does a good job explaining which metrics & key performance indicators might be useful different websites, and as my team's client's website has elements from both social media and affiliate marketing sites, it is great to have guidance as to what we should pay special attention to when doing our campaign.
What baffles me the most about Google Analytics is just the sheer size of it. There are tons of metrics and things you can collect data on, and it is difficult to comprehend everything without being able to actually see it. My team does not have the access to our client's Analytics page, as we have not needed it yet, but we will most likely request it sooner or later. However, I don't fully understand how Analytics manages to collect so much data, but luckily this is a marketing course, and not computer science.
PS. Here are some good pictures of really simple Analytics pages.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Keyword Planning & Helpful Tools
On Wednesday, the Digital Marketing class, our GOMC clients and some other Chatham University student's visited Google's Pittsburgh Office to learn more about the AdWords and especially the Keyword Planner, as we will soon start developing our first campaigns. Timothy James and his associate showed us around the building, and then James presented us some useful facts about AdWords. On the webpage, there are some great pictures of the office, and since we were not allowed to take pictures, I suggest you to take a look at them. What sticked the best on my mind from James' presentation was that you can get better with AdWords the more you use, so if you have a lot of time, energy, and interest, you can become very good at ad planning.
When it comes to the actual Google Keyword Planner, you have to sign up for AdWords in order to use it, and create a first ad campaign. However, on the second sign up page, you can play with the keywords: I had never realized that one can search for essentially the same thing in many ways. That's also another point Timothy James made in his presentation; one should search for all kinds of related words before choosing certain ones, as competition might have many good keywords that you would like to use too.
Another keyword planning tool is Moz, which is slightly more sophisticated website for SEO and keyword planning. It helps with pretty much all kinds of SEO issues, like rankings, content, and of course, how to improve the keywords on your ads. The big drawback to Moz is that it is not available for free, after an initial 30-day trial. In addition, it seems to be very similar to the services Google offers for free, but maybe more neutral and better for more accurate advice.
What I learned from the Google Keyword Planner is essentially how to set up an AdWords campaign, and honestly, it was not that difficult. However, the planner itself is quite handy too, as you can see the number of searches for specific keywords, but I was slightly confused as what the number meant (searches per day/week/hour/month?). I did not sign up for Moz, so I can't be sure what their keyword planner looks like, but they suggest on the website that they analyze the keyword suggestions more carefully than Google.
When it comes to the actual Google Keyword Planner, you have to sign up for AdWords in order to use it, and create a first ad campaign. However, on the second sign up page, you can play with the keywords: I had never realized that one can search for essentially the same thing in many ways. That's also another point Timothy James made in his presentation; one should search for all kinds of related words before choosing certain ones, as competition might have many good keywords that you would like to use too.
Another keyword planning tool is Moz, which is slightly more sophisticated website for SEO and keyword planning. It helps with pretty much all kinds of SEO issues, like rankings, content, and of course, how to improve the keywords on your ads. The big drawback to Moz is that it is not available for free, after an initial 30-day trial. In addition, it seems to be very similar to the services Google offers for free, but maybe more neutral and better for more accurate advice.
What I learned from the Google Keyword Planner is essentially how to set up an AdWords campaign, and honestly, it was not that difficult. However, the planner itself is quite handy too, as you can see the number of searches for specific keywords, but I was slightly confused as what the number meant (searches per day/week/hour/month?). I did not sign up for Moz, so I can't be sure what their keyword planner looks like, but they suggest on the website that they analyze the keyword suggestions more carefully than Google.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
On-Site SEO
Since I will be missing class on Friday, the 23th of January, I am writing this blog post on the third chapter of the Internet Marketing Essentials online book, "On-Site Search Engine Optimization". The number one thing I learned was that one should optimize all keyword phrases according to the website they have, and how big their website is. Also, all keywords should point to specific webpages, instead of just the homepage, from where the visitor would have to click onwards, as the map illustrates.
Other important aspects of on-site SEO are relevance of the webpage content and its quality. Relevance is measured by how well the keyword is related to the page. For example, if the keyword appears in the webpage's URL, it gets a lot of relevance points. Quality, on the other hand is measured by the click-through rate from SERP (Search Engine Results Page), low bounce rate from landing page or overall good quality of the content of the webpage.
What I learned from this chapter is the basis of on-site SEO. As of right now, I feel that I could assist my group's client for the Google Online Marketing Challenge a little bit better, when it comes to attracting more visitors through SEO. I also learned more about relevance and why it is so important to be very descriptive about the website's content and link appropriate keywords to each webpage.
I still have little knowledge when it comes to the internet, but I feel I'm getting a better understanding of it every class. However, as I was reading the chapter, I could not understand a header tag. What is it and what exactly does it do? I also thought about how the chapter describes the usage of long tail keyword phrases, and how small websites benefit more from that than bigger ones. What if not that many people search for longer than one- or two-word phrases? Wouldn't that make it harder for a small website to gain a higher ranking on search results? I certainly try to keep my search words to a minimum, but I guess I can't know what other people are doing, at least not until I learn more about Google and how it works.
 |
| Source: Internet Marketing Essentials |
What I learned from this chapter is the basis of on-site SEO. As of right now, I feel that I could assist my group's client for the Google Online Marketing Challenge a little bit better, when it comes to attracting more visitors through SEO. I also learned more about relevance and why it is so important to be very descriptive about the website's content and link appropriate keywords to each webpage.
I still have little knowledge when it comes to the internet, but I feel I'm getting a better understanding of it every class. However, as I was reading the chapter, I could not understand a header tag. What is it and what exactly does it do? I also thought about how the chapter describes the usage of long tail keyword phrases, and how small websites benefit more from that than bigger ones. What if not that many people search for longer than one- or two-word phrases? Wouldn't that make it harder for a small website to gain a higher ranking on search results? I certainly try to keep my search words to a minimum, but I guess I can't know what other people are doing, at least not until I learn more about Google and how it works.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Market Research Tools
For the Google Online Marketing Challenge, it is crucial to be able to conduct research. Some useful tools that Google itself provides are Global Market Finder, Think with Google and Google Trends. I had never heard of these tools before this assignment, so trying to find out what they are, and what I could use them for, was a bit of a challenge. However, I did manage to discover a few things that hopefully will be useful for the GOMC.
The Global Market Finder proved to be the most difficult to grasp at first, maybe because it is the most advanced form of research, at least for me. The Finder lets the user type in keywords for an AdWord campaign and see where in the world they would create the best opportunities. It uses a combination of Google's other services to create an Opportunity Score for each market, which helps the user to identify which market & country would be ideal for their business.
While the Global Market Finder is better for more advanced businesses, Think with Google and Google Trends are more helpful for aspiring entrepreneurs and new businesses. Think with Google helps you to get advertisement, consumer surveys and other platforms to expand your business, and Google Trends is a great way to find out what the world is talking about right now. It can show you potential competitors and issues that interest consumers, like (for example) the picture below illustrates the most popular searches of 2014 in the United States.
What I learned from these research tools is that there is so much more to Google than just google.com. It is truly fascinating how much information one can find if they just look at different sources and think creatively. Overall, I believe that these tools will become handy in the GOMC, when we become more involved in actually making the AdWord ads for clients.
The Global Market Finder proved to be the most difficult to grasp at first, maybe because it is the most advanced form of research, at least for me. The Finder lets the user type in keywords for an AdWord campaign and see where in the world they would create the best opportunities. It uses a combination of Google's other services to create an Opportunity Score for each market, which helps the user to identify which market & country would be ideal for their business.
While the Global Market Finder is better for more advanced businesses, Think with Google and Google Trends are more helpful for aspiring entrepreneurs and new businesses. Think with Google helps you to get advertisement, consumer surveys and other platforms to expand your business, and Google Trends is a great way to find out what the world is talking about right now. It can show you potential competitors and issues that interest consumers, like (for example) the picture below illustrates the most popular searches of 2014 in the United States.
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| Retrieved from Google Trends |
What I learned from these research tools is that there is so much more to Google than just google.com. It is truly fascinating how much information one can find if they just look at different sources and think creatively. Overall, I believe that these tools will become handy in the GOMC, when we become more involved in actually making the AdWord ads for clients.
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