Week 5: MKTG 345- Introduction to Google Analytics Chapter 4

This week we will be talking about some of the ways you can track the performance of a website or campaign, as well as some related terms, and the idea of ongoing reporting. Go to http://www.google.com/analytics/. and click on the overview tab. This tab will show you recent data, based on sessions (technical term for a visit). There will also be a part of the page which lists sessions, users, page views, and a couple other sections. If there are more page views than sessions that is because people often view multiple pages while in a session. You are also able to see the average time a viewer spends on your page. The bounce rate represents the number of visitors who enter the site and then leave rather than continuing to view other pages on the same site.

Another fun thing to look at is the location of people who are viewing your site. If you click on Geo, then location a map will pop up with a break down of session with the area it was in.

Another fun thing to look at is trends. It helps you look at how well your website has done over time. To do this in Google Analytics simply go to Acquisition and then click All Traficc. You can look at the percentage of traffic from computers or mobile devices. Doing this can help you tell if you need to make your site more mobile friendly. One thing to be aware of when viewing your traffic is automated bots that appear like regular users.

Week 5: MKTG 345 Surfing the Tsunami Ch 5

Chapter 5 of Surfing the Tsunami is dedicated to the second step of excepting AI. Last week we talked about the first step, Adapt, but this week we are moving on to Adopt! As a review adapt means to learn to pay attention to AI, and to be aware of where things are headed. Adopt means to adopt AI-related tools and platforms, so you can be involved in managing AI. AI is already starting to be used in eCommerce, in most of the major social media platforms people use, in devices, digital assistants, and even more. Trying to resist AI is not going to help you, instead it is best to adopt the principles even if you do not like it.

The first place to look for AI is in routine work that is redundant and boring. Tools and platforms can be used to make this work done faster and easier. In order to fully accept AI you should advocate for it so your company takes it seriously. If you take AI seriously but your company does not, that will not help you. AI is not just automation, it can do a lot of complex things as well.

AI has impacted Google in a big way. Think of AdWords, it helps companies track results of advertising. There are platforms that help simplify working with AdWords, such as Marin and Kenshoo, where companies with enough to spend can automate the process of working with many keywords and bids. Optmyzr is an example of an AdWords tool that already has automization in it. It allows developers to connect to Google and make us of machine learning.

Step one and two of AI include adapt and adopt. Next week we will move on to the third and final step of becoming adept. Adept means to get directly involved with developing AI, by learning coding and how to work with related data.

Week 4: MKTG 345 Surfing the Tsunami Ch 4

The next couple chapters of Surfing the Tsunami talk about the three suggested options for responding to AI. Chapter 4 will specifically talk about Adapt. This principle is a good start to responding to AI, but it is the most basic and hopefully will lead you to move onto the next two steps. Artificial Intelligence is taking over the world and it this Chapter is to help you go from being passive to more pro-active about AI.

The first step in educating yourself about AI is reading articles. You do not need to dedicate hours upon hours to this, just a couple articles after work everyday is enough to get you thinking. New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC News, Wired, MIT, Technology Review, and TechEmergence are all great sources.

The second step is to read books. Rise of the Robots, Master Algorithm, and 2nd Machine Age are all great books that will help spark your curiosity on AI and help you to adapt. Once you have read articles and books you will start to fully understand AI and the importance of adapting to it. Once you start to adapt it is important to keep moving forward and head to the second phase, Adopt. In next weeks blog post I will be discussing the importance of the word adopt.

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!