L13: Ranking, Link Building & Google Analytics

This week we packed in learning all about link building, rankings and Google Analytics.  There was a lot of information packed into the week but it was definitely all good information. 

The topic that was the most difficult for me to understand was link building.  While I understand the concept of getting content out there with links back to your website, I had hard time following just how you are supposed to do that beyond creating all of the content and links yourself.  Maybe that is all there is to it, or maybe there is a whole lot more, I'm not sure.  Along the same lines, I didn't understand that concept of "deep linking" either.  I tried to research a few thing but it was just too confusing.  So for now, I think that my basic understanding of creating links will suffice.

I really enjoyed learning about how to dig for data on Google Analytics.  I had no idea that you could drill down to so may specifics pieces of information.  It just makes me realize just how much Google has about our activities as we visit websites.  When you take out the element of Google being a creepy stalker information gatherer, the data becomes invaluable to helping website owners improve their sites and target their ads to their key audiences.

Another piece of valuable information that we learned this week was how to use WooRank.  I found the information that site provided to be helpful in steering me in the right direction to improve my website going forward.  I love that it hows how big of an impact each topic will have and how easy or difficult it is to resolve each issue. 

L12: Social Media for SEO & Social Networking

This week we learned about about SEO and how to use social media to influence our analytics.  In order for this to really work for me and my business, I will need to actually create some soial media accounts for my business.  As I have thought about it, I think that Instagram, Facebook and interest will be the most relevant social media platforms for me to use in relation to what I am trying to do with my business. 

Another thing I will need to do is link all of my social media accounts to my website.  Not only do I want to drive traffic to my websites through social media accounts, I also want to generate traffic to my social media accounts from my website.  For this reason, it is really important for me to install all of my social media icons and links on my website.  Then if someone finds my site from a Google search and they like what they see, they can easily follow me on social media as well. 

I didn't realize that you can track the way traffic comes to your website.  It was fun to learn that through Google Analytics I can keep track which platform people are finding their way to my website.  I think this was the most valuable thing I learned this week.  Being able to track this will help me know which platform I should focus on. 

L11: Landing Page Optimization & Basic SEO

This week we learned all about SEO or search engine optimization.  This is something that I've heard a lot about but didn't really understand very well.  After going through this week's lesson materials, I have definitely learned more about SEO but I can't say for certainty that I understand all of it very well.  I did learn a few tips on how to boost my sit's rankings in the search engines in relation to keyword targeting elements.  Below are seven tips:

1. Make sure the page title is relevant to the keywords.
2. Make sure the headline of your ad is relevant to the keywords.  
3. Make sure the body text on your ad and site are original and relevant.  
4. Make sure the URL of your site is as simple and concise as possible.  
5. make sure your images are tagged and that you have inserted alt attributes.
6. Make sure your internal and external links are going and coming from legitimate websites.  
7. Make sure our meta keywords are accurate.  

When it comes to making sure your landing page is in tip top shape, I learned that I should ask myself the following questions:

• Is the page featuring what you promised in the ad?
• Can people easily find what they are looking for on your site?
• What do you want them to do on your site?  include a call to action.  

As I move forward with my site and ads, I will definitely have to consider these things and adjust as needed.  

L10: ROI & Optimizing Ad Performance

This was a frustrating week for me.  I struggled to get my ad campaign turned on and when I finally did, I had no results.  I turned on the campaign on Monday, June 24 but did not have any impressions recorded until today, Saturday, June 29th.  I don't know if I did something wrong or if Google was just slow to activate everything for me.

I also struggled to set up the conversion tracking stuff.  I setup the conversion action on my Google Ads account an then setup an account on Google Tag Manager and created a container.  From there I  took the container code and put it in the marketing integration section of my website.  I got a check mark next to "Connected" for Google Tag Manager.  I think I did it right but i really have no idea if everything is going to talk to each other or not.  The sad thing is that I don't know how to check if it's right or not. 

This class was one of the ones that I was most looking forward to taking.  While I have learned some valuable skills that I will be able to use in the future, the last few weeks have left me frustrated and feeling like I am just barely scraping by.  I know that it isn't possible to for the course curriculum to keep up with the constant changes of Google products, but I really feel like I am lacking some key information somewhere.  I know how to look for stuff and figure things out and am not averse to doing so.  But this class has me spinning my wheels and I don't like feeling that way.  Hopefully the next few weeks will tie everything together and things will make sense.  Otherwise, I'm afraid my grade may take a nose dive. 

L09: Relevance & Quality Score

Can anyone say information overload?!  This week was packed with good information but it was A LOT to take in!

The first thing we learned about was what a Quality Score was for our Google Ads.  Before this week, I had never heard of a Quality Score or knew what it was for.  Google explains it the best:

"A Quality Score is an estimate of how relevant your ads, keywords, and landing pages are to a person who sees your ad.  Higher Quality Scores typically lead to lower costs and better ad positions."

When running a Google Ad campaign, it is important to review the Quality Scores on a regular basis.  As previously mentioned, the higher the score the better response you will have to your ad.  But when you have a low score, it is a clue that you need to make some adjustments to your ad.  Quality Scores range from one to ten with one being the lowest and ten being the highest.  Here is a guide to interpreting your score:

• A score of 1-2 indicates that your ad is barely showing.  You should pause your ad immediately and make some adjustments.  
• A score of 3-4 indicates that your ads aren't showing very often and you are paying above average.
• A score of 5-8 is good but could be improved.  
• A score of 9-10 is excellent.  

There are several different things you can do to raise your score.  When trying to decide how to raise your Quality Score, here are what the experts recommend that you focus on:  

1. Focus on your click through rate.
2. Make sure you have included keywords in the body of your ad.
3. Make sure your keywords are included in the headline of the ad.
4. Ad negative keywords.
5. Make sure your landing page is relevant and creates a good experience once your visitor has arrived.  

I have enjoyed learning new things this week.  Now I just need to sort it all out between my brain, my website and my upcoming ad campaigns!

W08: Ads and Ad Groups

This week we learned about ads and ad groups and I have to admit that I was overwhelmed by it all.  It makes sense when I am watching the little animated videos but when it comes to doing it, I seem to have a disconnect.  But I pushed through and tried my best to figure it out.

The lesson materials were great and I learned a lot from my group mates as I saw their ads and what they did.  But the best learning tool I had this week was taking advantage of the office hour from my instructor, Brother Poole.  I explained that I was having trouble making all of the connections and how the concepts related to each other.  He gave me the best analogy and I wanted to share it here.

When thinking about how Google Ads works and how the hierarchy is laid out, you just have to think about a file cabinet & how it's contents are organized. 

• The file cabinet is your Google Ad account.  
• The file drawer is your Google Ad Campaign..  It will house everything (ad groups) related to the specific campaign that you are wanting to run.  
• The file folder is what houses your ad groups.  Everything that you have specific to an ad group will go in here.  If it doesn't have anything to do with the ad group, it doesn't belong here.
• The individual pages in the file folder are the keywords you will use for your ad group that will contribute to the ad campaign.  

The hierarchy looks like this:

• File Cabinet
• File Drawer
• File Folder
• Individual Pages

Everything clicked into place when he explained that to me.  I will now have a better approach to my upcoming ad campaign.  I am a visual person and I do a lot of filing at my work, so this analogy was on the money for me.  Thanks Brother Poole!  

L07: Google Ads & Keywords

This week we learned all about how to create a Google Ad campaign.  I've always heard a lot about Google ads but never really understood them.  After this week's materials, I think I have a better understanding of how it works.  From what I gather, the most important part is setting up your keywords the right way.  

Below are the steps I learned to choosing the right keywords:

• Think like a customer.
• Organize your keywords by theme.
• Be specific and have about 5-20 words per group
• Use negative keywords to weed your ad out of certain searches.
• Use the keyword planner in Google.  

I think I have reached the point in the semester where I feel like I don't know what I'm doing.  I don't love how my website turned out and am not sure if I did it right.  Even with the things I learned this week, I am doubtful that I did the keyword assignments right.  I worry that I am not specific enough and might just be all over the place.  

One of my problems might be that I'm thinking about the future of my business too much.  I should probably just be thinking of a couple of products to sell for right now and then worry about adding products and additional searches.  I' hoping that next week will help me get more organized in my thoughts and help me really figure out what I'm supposed to be doing.  

Here's to week eight being better!