BUS572-1 SEO Optimization and Campaign Setup

 Concept 1 - Search Engine Optimization

In the first session, one important concept that I have learned is in regards to Search Engine Optimization; specifically in mentioning what a search engine actually does.  Search Engine Optimization is defined as the "practice that aims to improve a Web Site's ranking in the search engines for specific keywords" (Stokes, 2013).  I found this concept particularly interesting because someone close to me recently started their own website within the last 5 years.  I was able to share the information with her regarding some of the reasons her website might take a long time to receive the popularity she is hoping for; without pay per click advertising.  It is helpful to understand the logic the search engine uses, when determining rank on their search engine results page. In using search engines numerous times a day, I always had a curiosity with how search engines filtered through the millions of pages to identify and rank the most relevant web sites.  I also found it true that users are unwilling to go past the first 30 results to find what they are looking for.  What I also found relevant to my preference is that I actually never click on the pay per click advertising, because most of the time it does not take you to what you are looking for, but to the home page of their website.  We learned this week, that a common flaw with the landing page is that it is irrelevant to the user's search (Stokes 2013).  Knowing how the search engines work and what they are looking for, could significantly impact the amount of visitors to a client's website.  One question worth mentioning would be if the bot separates the libraries that it indexes by the keywords and their lack thereof, for example would the tennis shoe be in one library and the shoe - tennis be in a separate library?

Concept 2 - Campaign Setup

Another important concept this week deals with the importance of campaign setup.  The 7 steps of campaign setup will tie directly into our Google Online Marketing Challenge for our clients.  Listed below are the 7 steps:

Step 1:  Do your homework - this is very important, in order to create the most effective campaign, one has to know about the client.

Step 2:  Define your goals - before setting up a campaign, one has to know their goal for the individual client.

Step 3:  Determine your budget, cost per action and targets - a budget is necessary to determine how much one can spend to achieve the predetermined goals. In our challenge, the budget is set at $250.00. 

Step 4:  Research keywords - identify common search words that capture the identity of the client's website.  This will be important, to separate the client from all the other websites. 

Step 5:  Write the advertisements - become creative in order to promote the client's business in just a few words.

Step 6:  Place the bids - a lot of preparation needs completed up until this point, determined based on the goals and keywords selected.

Step 7:  Measure, Analyze, Test and Optimize - Analyze how the process is working in relation to the predetermined budget and goals (Stokes, 2013).

The 7 steps will play an integral role in our successful completion of the client's goals and our outcome in the course.  A challenge we will face is going to be using the most effective keywords and stay within budget.  Creativity will play a massive role in the success of this project.  It would be interesting to find out the minimum dollar amount one has budgeted to receive an optimal financial result. 



Skill Set 1 - Emarketing basics

Up until this point, I was not familiar with how to set up a blog and how to use Google Adsense to potentially make money.  I particularly only used Google as a search engine, however in this first week I am able to see how much more there really is to a "search engine".  This knowledge will become very helpful as I help someone that is close to me with their online marketing.  As I mentioned earlier in the blog, it is my mother who set up her own luxury and fine goods website around 5 years ago.  Although the website is semi-successful, there is much more that can be completed to have her accomplish her goals.  With this skill set that I have learned in session 1, I am able to help her create a blog, sign up for Adsense and have her turn on Google Analytics. 


Personal Reflection

This session I have found particularly rewarding in identifying how "things" work.  The concept I found most interesting as I mentioned above, was how the search engines "search".  I found the first session challenging, being a new user to all that Google has to offer.  To one that has never blogged before, it appears to be a challenging yet rewarding recap of everything we have learned in session 1.  I enjoyed reading other's blogs to see if they identified the same concepts as being important takeaways.  It was interesting to see how emarketing relates to other fields we have studied in the MBA curriculum; specifically with the SWOT analysis and the importance of setting SMART goals.  I am looking most forward to identifying and learning more about keywords and how to create them efficiently and cost effectively.  Below is a link regarding the creation of SMART goals.

SMART GOALS
  

Stokes, R. (2013). emarketing: The essential guide to online marketing. (Vol. 1). Washington DC: Flat World Knowledge. Retrieved from http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/19?cid=1515571