Participating in Full-Time Adulthood

All I can say is… holy guacamole, this website stuff is way more than I bargained for, but man have I enjoyed it! I never imagined going into this course that so much would go into something that seems to seamless as a consumer. I visit dozens of different sites a week and I see them all so differently now. I find myself imagining the person behind it, how they got the job, their experience level, what brought them to this career path, their connections with the company, etc. Before I know it, I’ve been aimlessly scrolling for several minutes without noticing the product. I had an interesting experience with a client of mine this week. He was telling me that he needed to get his company “on the web” to reach the current demographic. I was able to give him a lot of pointers and guidance because of the things I have learned in this class! Cheers to the end of a semester (almost).

At first I was creeped out that Google was watching my sight so intently and judging it so harshly, but I have found an appreciation for it this week. Google analytics is a game changer when it comes to creating a website. Now that I am seeing the numbers and results of my ads and keywords, it’s a wonder how anyone could live without these tools when running an online business. I mentioned what we have been learning to my mom who runs a small business. The majority of their sales are through the two small stores they sell their products from, but they also have a website where some products can be ordered and the story behind the business is told. I recommended she use google analytics to track her site and help it be more successful; she obviously had no idea what I was talking about. I explained a little bit about the tools and benefits and she is asking me to help her set it up the next time I am home. Sharin’ the google analytics love over here!

I won’t lie, I’m confused. I managed to get all of my ads made and all of my keywords into ad groups but the GoogleAds sight is difficult for me to navigate. BUT I’m always up for a challenge and I feel like I am slowly getting more acquainted with the site and its tools.  The other part I am having a hard time with is understanding the numbers that are presented in the analytics. I understand the terms but don’t get how the numbers are determined or correlate. What is good? What is bad? Will I ever know? We shall see. I’m concerned that my ads will have all zero’s and nothing will come from them. I also had one of my ads not get approved so that has been a project for me to work on this week. I like that the site gives you suggestions to apply to improve ads and keywords.

Google is far more intelligent than I gave it credit for. I had no idea that google analytics existed until now. This week I’m feeling the pressure of google judging me, my site, my product, and charging me based on their opinion… it’s like working for a raise, but the opposite… I’m a little bit confused how it all works so I am excited for everything to come together so I can really experience the full package of having a website. I had no idea so much went into it! Taking this course has opened my eyes to the complexity of the sites I visit when I am browsing the web. Now that I know firsthand how much work goes into the smallest details, I respect the people behind the curtain so much more. I’ve been thinking a lot about this career path of web design and wondering if I’ll ever be comfortable enough with the tools and processes to make this a full time gig. We are taking months to complete each step slowly and thoroughly and I still feel overwhelmed! I can’t imagine working with fa...

Small edits to my google ads this week made all the difference. I did a lot of research on how to best create ads to appeal to consumers and I expected big answers and big changes to be made. The reality of it is, it’s simple. Thing to keep in mind when writing ads is to showcase your product. Don’t hide behind fluff, tell the reader exactly what they will see when they click into your site. During this week’s assignment I really found myself considering what I look for when I google search for a product or service. If it doesn’t catch my attention, I scroll past and on to one that does. If it seems too good to be true, I don’t even take the time to check it out. Having prices in ads definitely peaks my interest because I am either excited that it is affordable or wonder what the catch is; either way I check it out. Here’s to hoping for success!

When creating my list of keywords this week I thought to how I search for things and what kind of things I search for. The instances that I am searching for something are usually when I know what I am looking for or I have no clue. I know that my keywords need to cater to both kinds of searches. Keywords that are directly from my titles and products are a must for those who know exactly what they are looking for. On the other hand, descriptive and more broad words need to be used for those consumers who aren’t quite sure what they’re after; maybe they can’t remember the name or they are looking for options when it comes to healthy meals or exercises and they want to look through a bunch of sites. The best thing to keep in mind at this point is the consumers point of view. I am a consumer, how do I respond to ads? What kind of keywords would I use or what kind have I used before? If I keep my consumer hat on, I think I will find a lot more success in my product.