Schedule That Appointment

My husband and I once served as activity committee chairpersons for our ward. We were responsible for a Christmas party one year. While some things went swimmingly, there were other things that I would do differently if ever presented with another chance. When someone new was given the job, I watched how she did things. She and her committee planned and carried out multiple excellent parties, but I what was most impressed with were the analysis meetings held after each one. Doing that had never occurred to me.

If you want to make sure you’re progressing, every so often it is necessary to analyze how things are going. How will we know what changes need to be made otherwise? Human beings are encouraged to get physicals yearly. Doctors take blood, perhaps x-rays or other tests, and do physical examinations to assess what has changed in the previous year as well as what changes need to take place in the coming one.

Think of Google Analytics as a business checkup. Learning to use it to its full capacity can keep your business on a long, healthy road to prosperity. 

Learn, Rinse, Repeat

I once heard a story about a woman who attended a concert given by an expert pianist. Afterward, the woman commended the performer and told him, “I would give my entire life to be able to play like you do,” to which he replied, “Ma’am, I have.”

Anything worth learning takes time. Learning it well, well, that takes even more time.  That is my biggest takeaway this week. Building a web business takes time. Learning the many aspects of running a business takes time. Becoming good at SEO and social networking and marketing takes time. Tweaking a website to take advantage of potential earnings takes time. Even learning through trial and error—you guessed it—takes time.

Time is also a precious commodity. And, it’s something I feel I haven’t had nearly enough of in the last 12 weeks.

But, a lack of time is not a good reason to give up, not on something that you really want to learn in order to become successful. Sometimes, we need to restructure our time. Sometimes, we just need to wait until the right time. And many times, we have to do things multiple times.

Here I go again.

Fudgies

I have a recipe for no bake cookies (we call them Fudgies) that I have used since childhood. It has seven ingredients: margarine, milk, sugar, cocoa, peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Fudgies turn out best when the ingredients are added in a specific order. The margarine and milk are melted together, sugar and cocoa are added and that mixture is brought to a boil. Oats, vanilla, and peanut butter are added last. Cookies are spooned out onto parchment paper and left to cool. They are very yummy.

As it turns out, Search Engine Optimization also uses recipes, also known as algorithms. The key to making a website successful—found by Google search engines—is to make sure it has the ingredients for the recipe that Google is using. Google may occasionally change their recipe, but it basically stays the same. The right ingredients in Search Engine Optimization include the right words in body copy, the right words in titles, links as well as the words in those links, and site reputation.

I knew someone who knew someone who substituted ingredients that LOOKED similar to whatever ingredient she was missing, like mayonnaise for whipped cream. Can you image!?  Her website would NEVER get ANY traffic. 

Thrown Another Ad on the Barbie

I am a decent cook, but I don’t particularly enjoy it. I guess you could say I cook out of necessity. I do have two meals that I love and feel that I do well—lasagna and chicken pot pie. In fact, lasagna is one of the few meals that all four of my children agreed on when they lived at home. Because we all liked it, I changed the recipe so I could cook it in a crockpot.

One thing I did not care to do was barbeque. It required constant supervision, turning, seasoning, and tweaking to get it done just right. It was not as convenient as the crockpot where I could set it and forget it.

Optimizing Ad Performance is like barbecuing. It is not a set-it-and-forget-it kind of meal. It requires constant care, interest, and fine-tuning. Looks like I need to pull out my grill and find some new recipes. 

Thanks, Google

This semester, I am taking an art class—Intro to Graphic Design. This week, we are researching famous modern-day artists. We document everything as we study, and we answer questions that become part of our assignments. One of the questions this week was, “Why do designers conduct research?” Here is my response to that question:

“Designers conduct research to see what has worked and what has not; to learn about a specific artist, style, or era; and to learn what needs are for a current project.”

With Google Analytics, we are taking advantage of someone else’s research. Technically, I suppose we are taking advantage of an algorithm that was created by someone else to do research. We can use this wonderful piece of technology to see what has worked and has not, to learn about a specific item or product, and what keywords are meeting the needs of potential clients for our current project.

Sounds like our workload was just made a whole lot lighter and success will be that much easier. No wonder Google got the honor of a definition in the Oxford English Dictionary. 

                

How Can I Help?

Last fall, there was a new television series introduced. It's called New Amsterdam, and it's based on the oldest public hospital in the U.S., Bellevue Hospital, in New York. There is a handsome, compassionate, thirty-something medical director who is new to the institution by the name of Max. Max is always trying to make things better for the staff, patients, and the board of directors. I don't think I've seen an episode yet where he hasn't asked the question, "How can I help?".

This is exactly how we, as online entrepreneurs, must think when creating ads. How can I help those who are searching for what I have to find my site? What words and phrases will they type into a search engine to look for what I have to offer? We need to think as they think. Those four words are simple words. Our ad words must be simple, too.  

The acronym KISS comes to mind--Keep It Simple, Silly. 

Yeah, I know that's not exactly how it goes, but it never hurts to practice being nice. After all, nice and simple play well together. 

Human Sponges

Who you keep out can be as important as those you let in....sometimes, more so. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want some bum to waltz into my house, make themselves comfortable in my recliner, eat my food, get on my computer, and use my hot water. And, I’m sure as heck not doing to PAY for their gas to get there.

So, why should website traffic be any different? When you are using keywords to attract potential buyers to your website and you are paying for the cost of them to visit, you don’t want or need any “looky-loos” breezing through your site on your dime. This is where “negative” keywords come in handy. They keep people who are not really looking for what you are offering on your site from seeing it and visiting, thus saving you money.

It’s kind of like moving and changing your phone number and not telling your freeloading second cousin. He might be looking for you, but he can’t find you…