{"id":38,"date":"2022-12-13T21:32:35","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T21:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accdigitalmarketing2\/chapter\/module-2-readingsandvideospart1\/"},"modified":"2023-02-13T19:38:25","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T19:38:25","slug":"module-2-readingsandvideospart1","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accdigitalmarketing2\/chapter\/module-2-readingsandvideospart1\/","title":{"raw":"Module 2: Readings and Videos Part I","rendered":"Module 2: Readings and Videos Part I"},"content":{"raw":"\"\"\n

Overview<\/strong><\/h1>\nLast module, you learned how technology and the Internet have impacted marketing and consumer behavior, and you learned best practices for designing websites and analyzing the effectiveness of websites. It is time to learn how to use analytics to measure whether the business and marketing goals are being met.\u00a0This week, we will also discuss using search engine optimization and search engine marketing to get found on the internet. You will learn how to optimize your website for search engine ranking.\n
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Module Objectives<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/header>\n
\n\nUpon completion of this module, you should be able to:\n
    \n \t
  1. Choose the best key performance indicators for a given website.<\/li>\n \t
  2. Suggest improvements for an eCommerce website based on an analysis of metrics and analytics.<\/li>\n \t
  3. Research and discover keywords that would be most worthwhile for a website to target in its search engine optimization efforts.<\/li>\n \t
  4. Improve a webpage\u2019s relevance for a target keyword by suggesting specific changes to the webpage.<\/li>\n \t
  5. Identify possible technical issues that could be impeding a website's rankings.<\/li>\n \t
  6. Describe the distinct types of links found on a webpage.<\/li>\n \t
  7. Determine the weaknesses in a website\u2019s link profile that is preventing it from ranking well on relevant searches.<\/li>\n \t
  8. Create and implement a plan to earn high-quality links from external sources to improve a website\u2019s search engine rankings on relevant searches.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Tracking Website Analytics<\/h2>\nThe best way to track the success of your company\u2019s website is to use web analytics.\u00a0Through web analytics, you can measure everything from what pages people stayed on longest, where they came to your site from (i.e., did they type in your URL directly, find you from a search, or click on a link from a referring source?), and where your visitors are located. You can track conversions, if you have an ecommerce site, and you can get an idea of what content draws people to your site.\n\nThe following introduction to web analytics video featuring Zach Olsen from Columbia Sportswear Company provides a 28-minute overview of website analytics.\n\n[embed]https:\/\/youtu.be\/GnensUzdmGY[\/embed]\n\nAs with social media, it is important to track your search engine marketing activities to gauge success and progression. The best tool for tracking search metrics and analytics is Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a free tool that gives you the ability to track everything from website hits to demographics of your visitors to conversions and traffic sources.\n\nTo learn more about Google Analytics specifically, you can explore their YouTube channel here: Getting Started with Google Analytics<\/a> or read about it here: Google Marketing Platform<\/a>\n\nWatch the following video for a 1-hour instruction on using Google Analytics with case studies.\n\n[embed]https:\/\/youtu.be\/IbQjcj8mexY[\/embed]\n\nAdditional Resources: Analytics Training and Support<\/a>\n\n\"Search\n

    Search Engine Marketing (SEM)<\/h2>\n
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    Search engine marketing is the method of drawing prospects to your website through use of search engines. This could be through paid advertising on search engines or achieving high organic search engine results. We will discuss paid advertising later in the course, but this week, we will focus on search engine optimization, which is how you get your website to rank high on search results.<\/div><\/blockquote>\n

    Search Engine Optimization Overview<\/h2>\nThe following short video gives a basic overview of why SEO is important. It is a nice little summary, but please ignore the sales pitch at the end.\n\n[embed]https:\/\/youtu.be\/M4_x75M0S3Q[\/embed]\n\nThe best way to be found online is through a search engine, so organic SEO is vital for companies whose audiences search for them online. As an analogy to understand search engine optimization, think about your website as a book (one of many in the world) and search engines as the library.\n\nWhen you do a search\u2014whether it is on Google, Bing, or YouTube\u2014you are asking the library if they have the book you want. The librarian (search engine) checks the catalogue to see if they have the book in stock and where that book is located on the shelves. The librarian then checks to see if the book is appropriate. Is the title applicable? Is the content what you were really looking for? Is the book in decent shape? Are there reviews from other authors or experts? Are people talking about your book?\n\nLet us take our analogy a little further. These are the main elements of your website that search engines consider when they crawl and index How Google Search Organizes Information<\/a>\n\n\"Diagram\n