Reflection on Google Analytics Assignment

This week our individual assignment for class was to complete the two Google Analytics videos and the final assessments for each of them.  It was very time consuming to watch every single video, I feel like it took me hours to complete.

The most interesting thing that I learned was the many options you have when it comes to collecting and filtering data on your website/mobile app/etc.   You can pretty much figure out anything you want to by using google analytics.

I am glad that I watched the google videos, and I did learn a lot of information about Google Analytics that I would have never known before.  The information was very detailed and pretty specific for an assignment for a Marketing course though. I hope that I get to use this knowledge at some point in the future!

Google Analytics

This week, I would like to discuss the concept of Google Analytics.  Google Analytics is a service that is operated by Google that generates and provides detailed data from a website.  It monitors traffic and conversions on a website as well.  For example, you could use Google analytics to see what is the most popular page on your website and how many people have visited this page.

           

This more I learn about Google analytics, the more I am just fascinated with it.  It is interesting to me because you get to see all of this data that you would have never thought about before when it comes to visitors on your website.  You can see this data, and make changes to improve every aspect of the site. The website can be continuously updated and improved based off the data you are receiving from Google Analytics.  In my MSM capstone class, we are currently working with a client to increase their website traffic and their conversion and bounce rates.  Google Analytics has already shown us many ways this organization can improve and what they need to focus on.

           

 For this class, we had to watch the Google video on Google Analytics and it primarily covered cookies.  Cookies are very confusing to me, it was very insightful, however I would have liked to learn more about the data you receive through Google analytics, how to interpret it, and then what actions to take to improve the website.  The dashboard is extremely easy to use, and is pretty self explanatory, but I want to be sure that I am getting as much out of this tool as I possibly can.  If anyone has used and understands Google Analytics and the benefits you’ve had, please share some of your experiences!

http://tracymatthewman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/google-analytics.jpg

http://www.web-savvy-marketing.com/2013/06/the-good-and-bad-of-google-analytics-real-time-data/

Search Engine Optimization: Real Life Example

Search Engine Optimization

Since this week's reading was on Search Engine Optimization, I wanted to discuss this topic and how it relates to a client that I am working with in the Pittsburgh area for another class.  I am not permitted to discuss the name of this client, but I do know they can benefit from an SEO strategy. 

Search Engine Optimization is defined as "the practice of optimizing a web site so as to achieve preferred ranking on the search engine results pages." (Stokes) Obviously, search engines are a great way to get people to websites. By using SEO effectively, 

websites can be found easily by the appropriate users to increase website traffic and conversions.  

The organization I am currently working with is struggling with getting traffic to their website.  Their website is aesthetically pleasing, however they are not being found by users with search engines due to the lack of important keywords on their website HTML.They desperately need to implement search engine optimization.  When you would search the most obvious keywords for this organization, this company is not listed on the first or second pages of the SERPs.   Having the skills to determine what a website needs to do to optimize their search results would be a great skill to have.  Especially for real life situations where a company is struggling with getting users to their website, and have no idea why.  (like the client mentioned above)  

I would love to be able to learn more about Search Engine Optimization and how I can develop a plan to help out my client for the other class.  The book lists multiple tools and information that you can get for free, so I will probably be looking into this more. Google seems to have a lot of information regarding search engine optimization practices. Has anyone else ever considered actually implemented a SEO plan for an organization?  Or should we recommend the client to hire someone to do this? 

Stokes, Rob. eMarketing: The Essential Guide to Online Marketing. Washington DC: Flat World Knowledge, 2013. Print.

Data Analysis & A/B Split Testing

http://www.digitalorganics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/A-B-split-testing.jpg

BUS572 Blog #2

A/B Split Testing & Google AdWords

In this week’s reading of Stoke’s chapter 15: Web Analytics and Conversion Optimization, I found the section on testing and data analysis to be the most intriguing topic.  We use data analysis to test and analyze data that will tell us about the user’s experience, so we can improve that experience for the user.  There are multiple types of testing such as A/B split testing, Multivariate testing, listening labs, and the book also mentions single-page heat maps.  These are all examples of tools to study user behavior and help to determine why users do what they do to ultimately increase website performance rates.

            A/B split testing seems to be one of the most successful and popular testing strategies.  A/B testing will measure two different version of a page and determine which page results in a better outcome or conversion rates and Click through rates.  With this testing tool, you can have half of the users see one page, and the other half will see another page that you are testing, but not ready to launch fully yet.  This way you can see if your new page is successful by looking at the results of the conversion rates on each page.  This is a very useful tool because it is proven that it will improve the website’s revenue by ultimately determining what the customers and users want.  The global marketplace is constantly changing and updating, and the consumer is also ever changing as well.  The reason A/B testing is so important is that it can keep up with this fluctuating market. 

            The most important skillset I have acquired in this past session is definitely working with Google’s AdWords.  It was interesting working with all of the features and tools on Google to find keywords and to determine the best keywords to use with the budget we have.  It seems that having this skillset and knowledge is important because it helps to fully comprehend search engine optimization. 

            What I have found rewarding and challenging in this session is the topic I mentioned above, Google AdWords.  It took some messing around with the keyword tool and watching multiple Google tutorials to finally understand exactly what I was supposed to be doing with my keywords.  It was a little frustrating at first because obviously, I had never used AdWords before, however now I am somewhat confident that I can use the keyword tool and develop keywords successfully. I guess we won’t know until we launch these keywords.  However, Google made it pretty easy to learn how to use AdWords and I will say that it was rewarding to be able to teach myself the skills.   

            Has anyone else had the same struggles I have had with using Google AdWords?  Do you think it can be confusing the first time using it and once you have used it, do you feel confident in your keyword choices or are you still a little unsure?  I would love to hear other’s feedback regarding their first time using the keyword finder.

OWDT Admin Team, . "OWDT." The Many Advantages of A/B testing. N.p., 07 10 2013. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. <http://owdt.com/the-many-advantages-of-ab-testing/>.

Silver & Gold Marketing

Bus 572 - 1 Holly’s First Blog Session 1

Silver & Gold Marketing

 

This week, I learned about Search Engine Marketing, Pay Per Click advertising, and E-Marketing Strategy.  I would like to discuss what I have learned about older, more traditional ways of marketing as well as some of the new e-marketing strategies that I have become familiar with during this session.

The first and most important concept that I learned about, is how powerful pay per click advertising is.  I’ve known the basic concepts of pay per click advertising for a while now, and I knew it was an option, but didn’t realize that it is the most widespread option for online advertising.   Pay per click is a form of advertising in which a business or advertiser pays each time a searcher clicks on their advertisement.  From the reading, I have learned that the sponsored ads show up at the top of the page and the right side of the page.  The top of the SERP is where the majority of people click, and is the most expensive to advertise.

           

            Secondly, I wanted to discuss McCarthy’s four Ps of marketing.  Stoke’s Chapter 19, (E Marketing Strategy) discusses how the internet has changed marketing.  I would assume that the four p’s would be outdated and irrelevant.  However, as the book states, the four p’s have not seen a change.  The four Ps have seen a shift.  To me, this is important because any theory that withstands this long should not become irrelevant.  McCarthy’s four Ps of marketing include product, price, placement, and promotion. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_94.htm  The biggest shift has been in the first, the products.  I have learned that digital products is now the largest category of products sold online.  This is because companies are now offering customizable goods online.  Also, it is interesting that others have changed the four ps.  Idris Mootee has changed them to personalization, participation, peer to peer commodities, and predictive modeling.

           

            Even though I am still in the first session of my global marketing class, I feel that I have already learned some important skills.  This is my first time in the MBA program working with a real, existing client.  It makes the learning experience a lot more interesting when you are creating a real life project or plan for a client that will benefit from it.  From the Google videos that I have watched, I learned the importance of the details and design of a website, as well as the importance of keywords in advertising.

As mentioned above, I am excited to be helping a client with their business and I know this will be  a rewarding experience for me.  I am looking forward to becoming more familiar with Google’s Adwords because as of now, I feel uncomfortable using it and know that I need to become more knowledgeable, which is a personal goal of mine for this term.  

Stokes, R. (2011). emarketing: The essential guide to digital marketing. (V 1.0 ed.). Quirk Education. Retrieved from http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/19