Week 4: MKTG 345- Introduction to Google Analytics Chapter 3

By now all of you should have created your own blog. It could be about cooking, traveling, your favorite sports team, or even digital marketing. This blog post is to help you learn how to gain more traffic for your blog. The most simple way to gain traffic is through your social media platforms. This includes Facebook, twitter, Instagram, or another social media you use. All you have to do is post a link and your friends and family will view your blog. The best way to draw in viewers is to post a text blur with your link. Don't just post a link, include a general overview of your blog post with something to grab your readers attention.

If you want to do more than just posting your blog on social media, you can try making a Facebook ad campaign. Go to https://www.facebook.com/ads/create and click on the Clicks to Website option. Copy your blog link into the field and upload an image relevant to your campaign. Once this is all done you will type in a header as well as text for the ad. The next step is to select an audience, add interests that you think people who would enjoy your blog have. Select your budget, place your order and your campaign is good to go!

Week 3: MKTG 345- Surfing the Tsunami Chapter 3

Whether you are an optimist or a pessimist on artificial intelligence (AI) you still need to take it seriously. Chapter 3 talks about why you need to take AI so seriously. One article that does a good job of explaining AI and its effects on jobs is:

https://www.cognizant.com/perspectives/21-jobs-of-the-future

It states that while jobs will be changing due to AI, jobs are always changing. Think about jobs from fifty years ago. Very few people work as telegraphists, switchboard operators, and lamplighters. Instead the people who used to have found new jobs, they did not just stay un-employed. Another positive of artificial intelligence is it could take away the jobs that people hate and replace them with new ones. This includes jobs that are dull, dirty, or dangerous. Even if jobs are being replaced with machines, humans are required to help the machine. This includes cleaning, creating, marketing, selling, delivering, and even feeding it. Technology will cause all of society to improve; education, health care, and gun violence are all things that could be improved and machines will not be able to fix. While technology solves some problems, it will create others, humans will be needed to fix the mistakes these machines make.

This article proposes that in the next ten years 21 jobs will be introduced into the work world. These could include data detectives, to cyber city analysts, and to augmented reality journey builders. Not all these jobs are highly technical, there will be low skill jobs created as well. While some people believe that AI will take away jobs from people, it will also help create brand new jobs that were not needed before.

Week 3: MKTG 345- Introduction to Google Analytics Chapter 2

Last week we set up your Google Account and Blogger Account. Now that both accounts are set up it is time to connect Google Analytics to Blogger. Go to your blog and click settings, under settings click other, find the section that says Google Analytics, paste the tracking code you just copied in the box, and  click save settings. It could take up to 24 hours for anything to happen but it is important to test it out to see if it worked. To test it out you need a few clicks on your blog.

Post on your blog and share it on your Facebook wall. Next, go to http://www.google.com/analytics. Sign in and click on home.Click on your website or "property." Google Analytics wants to show you your websites performance. It will show you how many people visit, and their behavior on your sight. You have now successfully linked your Google Analytics to Blogger!

This is a very simple version of Google Analytics. Most of the time Google Analytics is used to track revenue or goals. Once you have been tracking your blog for a while you can set a data range. This helps you to follow trends that your blog is taking. Google Analytics is an easy and free tool that really helps you make your website as best as it can be!

Week 2: MKTG 345- Introduction to Google Analytics Chapter 2

In this blog post I will be teaching you how to link your blog and your Google Analytics account. In order to do this you must make sure you have a gmail and a blog. If you do not go to http://mail.google.com and http;//www.blogger.com. From there click either create and account or sign into your existing account. Once you have signed up for both try and create a new blog on blogger. Come up with a title as well as an address. You are able to come up with a custom portion of the blog address. After the title and address you will pick out your template for your blog. Once that is done click create and you know have a blog!

Next you must create a Google Analytics account. To start go to http://www.google.com/analytics. Since you already signed up for a gmail you will have automatic access to this google tool. Once your signed in as a google user you can now sign up for a Google Analytics account. Come up with a blog name and a property. A property is whenever you add a new site or blog for Google Analytics to track. Once you've added the property click "Get Tracking ID." Tracking IDs are codes that Google gives you to place on your site or blog, so that the site can communicate with Google. Click the accept button and a page with the name you gave to your site or blog will pop up. Next you want to make sure you scroll down to the Tracking ID and copy it and put it somewhere you will not lose it. Next week, I will teach you how to link the two accounts for maximum efficiency!

Week 5: MKTG 348- Introduction to SEO Chapter 9

Hubspot is a developer and marketer of software products for inbound marketing and sales. Inbound marketing is a technique used to draw customers to products and services using content marketing, social media marketing, search engine optimization, and branding. It is not just the process of SEO, it is the next step. It helps generate sales, and track them, using a platform such as Hubspot. Obtaining a Hubspot Certification is very beneficial because it helps place SEO in context, and it emphasizes content.

Sarch Engine News Certification is another great qualification to obtain, but it is pricey. Start off with obtaining your Hubspot certification, and from there see what your next best step is in the SEO world. Having these certifications looks great on your resume and companies will love that you have given your time, effort, and money to further your knowledge of SEO.

Week 5: MKTG 348- Introduction to SEO Chapter 8

Once you have mastered SEO you are not done. SEO is constantly changing so it is important that you are following the changes so you stay up to date. In order to stay up to date try reading blog posts, attending webinars, and reading books. Some websites that are great sources are; www.searchenginenews.com, www.moz.com, and www.semrush.com. One thing to remember is to always check the dates, when it was written it was current but it might be an old post.

A quick example of the constant changes in SEO is an event called "Mobilegeddon." It occurred on April 22, 2015. Google released an algorithm update, stating that mobile rankings would differ for mobile-friendly sites starting on April 21, 2015.

Just like fashion, SEO does go out of date. Think of it this way, would you want to show up to a prom wearing the same dress your grandma wore to prom? Unless you have an extremely fashion forward grandma, her dress is probably very out to date and you would stick out like a sore thumb. You do not want your SEO to be the outdated dress at the prom, keep up to date!

Week 4: MKTG 348- Introduction to SEO Chapter 7

One important thing to always check is how Google sees your website. In order to do this simply type in your website domain into the Google. It will then list all the pages it sees. You can click through and find your page, you may even find that you had published pages you did not mean to. Doing this helps you keep up with the maintenance on your page.

Before website templates were available, you had to create your own website templates. This process is extremely difficult and not something that can be done easily. Often a Webmaster is hired to be incharge of optomizing the website and making sure that it is running smoothly for customers. Using another Google tool go to https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools. Once there click add property, copy your blog address into the box, and click the add button. If you are signed into the same gmail you used to make your blog, Google will tell you that you are a verified owner.