Creating Gravitational Pull - Class 4 Notes

We discussed top 10 things you can do to improve your rank in organic search results. Below is the list along with links to additional resources.

- Content
- Incoming links
- Website title
- Title Tags
- Meta Tags
- Internal links
- Keyword density
- Sitemaps
- Domains and URL structures
- Directory Listings

Webmaster Resource
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters
Website Directories
Google: http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
Yahoo! https://ecom.yahoo.com/dir/submit/intro?.scrumb=
DMOZ: http://www.dmoz.org/
Business.com: http://www.business.com/directory/

Mobile Directories
Google: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/topic.py?topic=8493&hl=en
Yahoo!: http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/mobilesubmit

Assignment: This is an individual assignment.

Identify a company of your choice and develop an SEM and SEO recommendation for that company.

Please make sure your recommendation addresses the following questions. Please feel free to append any data.

SEM
What is the company?
What is the company URL?
What business is the company in?
Who are the primary competitors in search?
What is the measurable goal of your SEM campaign?
What are the metrics you will look at to define success, what is working, etc.?
Who will the campaign target?
Are there any external factors we should consider that may impact campaign performance (seasonality, competition, etc.)
What is the campaign message(will that vary by keyword category or keyword)?
What is the experience or path we want user to take, toward what goal (will that vary by keyword category or keyword)?
What keyword categories and keywords should we consider (please provide a minimum of 100 keywords organized by category)?
What Ad Copy do we want use (consider writing at the keyword category versus keyword level)?
What Ad Copy do we want to test (please lay out an A v. B, B v. C framework)?
Where do we want users clicking through an Ad to land (consider assigning landing pages at the keyword category versus keyword level)?

SEO
For what keywords do we want to appear in SEO?
How well do we currently rank for those keywords?
What specific steps will you take to optimize the site for SEO?
Consider the top 10 SEO tactics from class.
- Content
- Incoming links
- Website title
- Title Tags
- Meta Tags
- Internal links
- Keyword density
- Sitemaps
- Domains and URL structures
- Directory Listings

Creating Gravitational Pull - Class 3 Notes

We conducted a search engine marketing simulation. We referenced Google's Learning Center at http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/index.html.

I'd recommend the following 5 videos.
- How Adwords Targets Users
- Selecting keywords
- Keyword Matching options
- Writing targeted Ad Text
- Pricing/Ranking

Creating Gravitational Pull - Class 2 Notes

Intro to research and analyticsAssignment 1:

Intro to Google Analytics:
Please watch and learn. Beginning Analytics: Interpreting and Acting on Your Data.
If you've just started to use Google Analytics and aren't sure which reports to look at, this video provides a helpful 1st-time analysis walkthrough. You'll learn how to interpret what you see in these key reports and what actions you should take as a result. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdsb_uH2yPU

Google Analytics Interface Tutorial:
This video will give you a brief overview of how to use the Google Analytics interface. If you are new to Google Analytics or you'd like to pick up a few tips on how to use some of the different features, this video is a good place to start. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHeKRvo6OhI

All of Google's video resources can be found on their external Agency Learning & Development site.

Creating Gravitational Pull - Class 1 Notes

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Assignment:Your needs? You've seen what we have planned. Now tell me the 5 things you want to get out of this experience? Write it down and give it to me at the start of class Wed.

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Assignment:Read: http://www.uie.com/articles/recession_strategy_webapps and be prepared to discuss at the start of class

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Some recommended reading ... warning! May make you smarter. The Design of Future Things, Donald Norman. Subject to Change, Peter Merholz, Brand Schauer, David Verba, Todd Wilkens