Thread of the Week

Social media is alive and well in our web businesses. Learning about social media this week demonstrates it is a very important component in the success of our businesses. I have been struggling with how to really have social media help me grow my business. Most people like the quilts I make when they see them with their own eyes. The photos really don't do it justice. I have been thinking about a graduate sharing a photo of themselves with their quilt which consists of so many memories. Having this shared on Instagram would plant a seed in others and provide them with a special idea for a graduation or some other gift. I don't think there is a viable way to really have a contest or a give away for the custom quilts on social media. I have been trying to think of something, but feel that the exposure on social media would probably be the best avenue to take.

This week I watched my AdWords account with great interest. It was very fun to see the impression count grow higher and higher. I did have to lower my daily budget amount as I felt like I would run out of the dollar amount credit I was given after I spent my allotted $25. I thought I calculated it correctly, but it seemed off somehow. It has been interesting to see what keywords generate the impressions and clicks. I can see how important the stats of a website would be to business owners and the need to continually evaluate and change their approach, if necessary. In learning about the search engine optimization, I am a little confused on how I would link my page from other pages. I wasn't understanding the linking options very well. I did learn the importance of keywords along with being able to share the site through social media channels. Anything I can do to drive traffic to my site will yield benefits later.

I can safely say that I am in a state of confusion with regards to our assignments and what I am looking at in Google Adwords/Analytic information! This is definitely exposing me to concepts that I didn't know I didn't know and so I feel like I am learning new things. I appreciate that we have an active discussion board with people who all contribute and ask and answer questions. I will have to look at when the office hours are and try to attend (often times, I am at work) which may help my understanding a little more. I feel like I don't know my website too well either and don't feel proficient with what to do when someone contacts me on through the website. Luckily, a couple of people in my group are using Weebly as well so maybe they can provide some instruction. I have been excited to learn about this, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by it as well.

Learning about Google Analytics this week was very interesting. I really had no idea of the scope and breadth of the capabilities in assessing website traffic. This service will provide a very effective way to be able to analyze the keywords I have set up for my AdWords account. I like how the two services go hand in hand in helping business owners develop the best strategies for directing traffic to their site. In one of the discussion boards we were able to evaluate an AdWord ad. It was very easy to see how confusing it might be to a customer if our keywords and descriptions are not as pointed and directed as they can be. The example caused confusion and contradicted itself about what the service they were offering. Through this exercise, I understood the importance of really trying to see how your potential customer will see your website. Even though the message I am trying to portray is understood by myself, it might not be the case with others looking at my site

This week, since there wasn't too much to do by way of assignment in the class, I showed a lot of people at work the website I created for my project. Many people were impressed, as was I, when they first looked at it. I am happy with how it came out. It seems that the impression is, if I have a website, then I must have a very viable business. It makes the company seem more professional than if I just told someone about my business. To have them be able to look at it from one of their personal devices sure makes it seem more legitimate. Knowing this, however, may make me begin to think twice before I buy something off of someone's site. It is best to make sure it is a reputable company that I would be dealing with. Hopefully, with my website, those that see it will feel like it is a good and honest company to work with.

This week was learning all about keywords and their importance in driving potential customers to my site. I found that with my business, I had a hard time coming up with a list of 20 keywords. I make t-shirt quilts, so how many different ways could there possibly be to say that? Learning the characteristics of good and bad keywords definitely helped to be able to choose some that would actually provide customers with the information they needed to know and have them visit my website. Having words that are too broad may not do well getting customers to my site. One of the keywords Google showed me was pretty broad and not what my business was about, however I thought it could be good because if people were going to order a custom t-shirt, they could see what they could do with that t-shirt in order to preserve it. However, after learning about negative keywords, I don't think it would be a good idea to use a keyword that broad.