Week 14 - MKTG 349 - Using Columns To Find Specific Performance Data

Columns in your statistics table show you various information on your account.  Your columns vary based on what you have selected to look at.  You can easily choose which stats/columns you want to look at.  This allows you to look at specific data quickly.  Throughout this blog, I will detail the steps on how to add and delete columns to view your data.

After logging in to your AdWords account, click on the campaigns tab.  Next click one of the tabs that appear in the middle of the page such as: campaigns, ad groups, ads, or keywords.  Then click on the columns button above the statistics table.  After clicking on that, click on "modify cloumns" from the drop down menu.  From there, you have to the ability to add and remove specific columns to add to your table.  You can also drag and drop these columns to put them in any order you like.  You also can save this order so you do not have to re-organize it again after logging out.  After saving the data set, you can download it and share it with anybody and/or print it out.

Week 14 - MKTG 348 - Tips From SEO Professionals

I recently read another article on Forbes.com that had 25 tips from SEO professionals.  It was a very interesting read.  It is always great to receive insight from people who have real world experience.  Receiving insight is always beneficial, as we can better prepare ourselves now and in the future.  Since there are 25 tips, I will only share with you certain ones that really stood out to me.  

The first tip was from Bruce Clay, who is considered an industry leader in SEO.  His tip is to blog.  He believe blogging is the awareness channel that leads to micro-conversions.  The second tip that stood out to me was from Joelle Gropper Kaufman.  Kaufman was a CMO at Clarizen Inc. and is now head of partnerships and marketing for BloomReach.  Her tip(s) include: identifying and reducing duplicate pages and content, and making sure your in-linking helps users and search engines find their way around your site, among others.  The final tip that I will share with you is from Julia Rosien, Brand Engineer at Restonic.  Her tip is authenticity.  Rosien notes that the word "authentic" is over used and often misconstrued.  However, she believes that your own thoughts and beliefs are unique and you should be able to express them, authentically, because people want to read about them.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2015/04/13/25-tips-from-seo-professionals/3/

Week 13 - MKTG 348 - The Future of SEO

I recently read an article on Forbes predicting 7 themes of SEO 10 years from now.  While these predictions can be wildly off the mark come 10 years from now.  These prediction were based off of past history with SEO and the ever changing Internet.  The first prediction is that users will rely heavily on specific niche search engines when searching for specific topics.  The second prediction is that embedded online search in apps will be on almost any desktop and mobile application.  While searching on applications is already prevalent, application searching will almost be an everyday activity as data begins to grow and become more embedded into our lives each and every day.  The third prediction is that SEO and social media will further merge together with traditional public relations and marketing practices.

The fourth prediction is that Social Media sites that have every day user functions will outlast others.  The fifth prediction is that technical SEO professionals will find better opportunities with software companies instead of marketing agencies.  The sixth prediction is that users will be more savvy making older online marketing tactics obsolete.  The term "banner blindness" will no longer be effective.  Users do not respond to these banners anymore.  They will evolve and find other methods that will make their marketing tactics more effective.  The last prediction is that SEO will never be a popular professional degree in college.  The reason for this is that there are so many other majors out there that cover SEO and the certifications that come with it.  SEO will never develop into a popular professional degree.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2015/04/06/7-bold-statements-about-the-10-year-forecast-for-seo/

Week 13 - MKTG 349 - Evaluating Ad Performance On Search Network

There are many ways to track your performance of your adwords campaign.  A good starting point is to monitor clicks, impression, and click-through-rate (CTR).  You can find these numbers in the accounts statistics table.  There are also many other options to track your ad performance.  The first option is monitoring your actual ad performance.  You can do this by checking on the status of your ad by simply clicking on the status button in your campaign.  Another great method is to check on your average position.  This will tell you where you typically land on a search result list.  The last way you can check your ad performance is through your ad variations.  By checking out each of your ad variations, you can see which ads are performing better than others.

Another great way to track your ad performance is through monitoring your keyword performance.  The first way to monitor your keyword performance is through keyword status.  Keyword status will tell you which keywords are triggering a response to web users.  Another great way to monitor keyword performance is through quality score.  This option is usually disabled, but when enabled, you can see how well your keywords are scoring.  The last way to track keyword performance is through search terms.  This option allows you to see what the users actually searched for when they saw your ad. This is a great way to see what people are searching for and how you can refine certain keywords to fit these search terms, thus increasing your ad performance.

Week 12 - MKTG 348 - Blog Links

John Dodson - http://jdodsoniii.blogspot.com

Francesca Guido - http://francescaseoblog.blogspot.com/

Shannon Oconnell - http://shannonsmarketingblog.blogspot.com/  

Carlos Salinas - http://carlosmarketingblog.blogspot.com/

Ashfaaq Seedat - http://ashmarketingblog.blogspot.com/

Maureen Lepke - http://maureenlepkemarketingblog.blogspot.com/

Cory Evans - http://coryevansmarketing.blogspot.com/

Caitlin Campbell - http://campbellmarketingblog.blogspot.com/  

Kaitlyn Szaflarski - http://kaitlynmarketing.blogspot.com/  

Bruno Gomes - http://brunogomesmarketing.blogspot.com/  

Sumaira Quraishi - http://sumairasmarketingblog.blogspot.com/  

Trevor Walzak - http://trevormarketing1.blogspot.com/

Anthony Phipps - http://phippsmarketingblog.blogspot.com/

Kevin Carroll - http://kc3marketing.blogspot.com/

Tommy DiPonio - http://tommydmarketing.blogspot.com/

Steve Kositzky - http://stevesmktgblog.blogspot.com/

Drew Keil - http://drewkeil.blogspot.com

Week 12 - MKTG 349 - Designing A Mobile Site

When designing a mobile site, there are four best practices.  The first practice is keeping it quick.  Since your design is made for a mobile site, get rid of the large sections of text that will not be legible.  Replace these large sections with bullet points.  Also compress pictures so that that they are not too big for the site as well.  The second practice is making the mobile site easy to purchase something off of it and create the site to make it easy for customers to contact you.  Good ways to do this are: reducing the number of steps it takes to make a transaction, keep forms short, use check boxes, lists, and scroll menus to make data entry a lot easier, and use a click-to-call functionality for a phone numbers.

The third practice is to simplify navigation of your site.  You should minimize scrolling and keep your site vertical.  Organize your menu and make sure each option is properly spread apart so as to not overlap each option.  Create clear, easy to find back and forward buttons for your customers to easily navigate through your site.  And make sure to use seven links or less per page.  The last practice is helping people find and get to your site.  You should include your address or store locator on the landing page.  Include maps and directions and, when possible, a GPS to personalize even more with your customers.  You should also allow customers to check stock at nearby stores.  And finally, make sure your site is being indexed for web search.

Week 11 - MKTG 349 - Tips For Creating Successful Ad Groups

Now that your campaign is all set and ready to go, it is time to create your ad groups.  A simple start is to organize your ad groups into similar themes.  Ad groups contain a set of keywords, ads, and bids that you manage.  We will go into a deeper understanding of these elements that you will be using on Google search or the display network.

Lets start with keywords.  Building a good keyword list can help you show your ads to your target market/audience.  When choosing your keywords you should be in the mind of your audience.  Think about what they are searching for and how they are searching for it.  You should also align your keywords with your goals.  Don't just throw any old keywords out there and hope that your target audience will find it.  You need to look at this as, "what do I want out of this campaign?"  After finding that answer, you will have a few keywords in mind.  Finally you need to group your keywords into themes.  It is crucial for you to group similar keywords together.  Do not just throw together a bunch of keywords that all have different meanings.

The second element that will be discussed in more detail is the ad itself.  There are various forms of ads that you can choose from that will show up in a Google search result.  Choosing the right ad type all depends on what you are trying to advertise.  There are various ad types, they include: text, ad extension, image, WAP mobile, App promotion, video, product listing, and call-only ads.  As you can see there are a lot of ads that you can choose from.  Choosing the right ad that fits what you are trying to do is crucial and will make your ad campaign very successful.