Sarah Carpenter

It All Began With a Website…

One of the first tasks in my internet marketing class was to make your own website, and honestly, this was somewhat daunting to me. I was barely active on social media and didn’t believe I had enough to say to warrant a website. But now here I sit, writing my 11th blog post, feeling that I have something to contribute to the internet marketing world.

Google Analytics has revealed a lot about this site and it’s traffic. Currently, I’ve had 187 visits to my site, with 35 of them being returning visitors. On average, visitors look at 4.19 pages. 17.65% of this is search traffic while 45.45% is referral traffic. I noted that while more of my traffic comes from SEO than PPC, the traffic from PPC is higher quality, with those visitors staying on the site for longer periods of time and viewing more pages. My overall website bounce rate is an impressive 3.74%  compared to the class average of 14.38%

Valuable Lessons Learned

I  find value in all topics covered in class. Internet marketing used to be a mystery to me, but now I see things much clearer. Maybe that’s just because I’m a nerdy kid who likes learning, but I believe there’s more to it. This class is very applicable to the real world and in addition to the understanding it provides of the internet marketing landscape, it is great that we actually practice so many of the things we learn. This includes HTML, PPC, SEO, and E-mail marketing. Especially valuable to me has been the practical application of SEO techniques. My summer internship will involve SEO, and I feel much more prepared for the experience.

Extending This Classroom Internet Marketing Experience into the Real World

After this class, and participating in the Google Online Marketing Challenge, internet marketing is the focus of my career path. I believe it’s a thrilling industry with tons of potential growth and is 100% something I want to be a part of. When I begin applying for jobs they will certainly include positions such as “Search Marketing Analyst” or “SEO Account Manager”.

I am very excited to see what the field of internet marketing has in store for me and my future.

Discovering the Challenges of SEO

Do you remember when you were a kid and sang “This is the Song that Never Ends” until you drove your parents crazy? No? Ok, maybe it was just me, but that song sums up what I have discovered about SEO while optimizing my JMU page  for my internet marketing class. SEO is a never ending process where you can always take actions to improve your page rank within the organic listings on search engines. Rather than being annoying like the song, I found SEO to be exciting and like playing a strategic game.

What I Did Right

After optimizing my page I definitely saw improvements.  At the beginning of the semester I was not even on the first 10 pages of search results, but I am now happily on page 3 for the search query “love JMU”. This page rank was achieved through on and off page efforts. On page, I used the All in One SEO Pack to optimize my title tag and meta tags. I added keywords and also alt text to my image. The body copy itself included the keyword as much as possible without being obnoxious. By commenting on other blogs I engaged in beneficial one-way link building.

Plenty of Room to Grow

Despite my optimization efforts, my JMU page earned a measly 33% when graded by Crawler FX. I unfortunately did not have many other sites link to my page, which is a MAJOR factor in SEO. I believe this caused my low grade. To improve in the future I could offer to link to my classmates’ pages in exchange for them providing links to my own site. I look forward to continuing the trial and error learning process of SEO while I continue my blog this summer!

Google Webmaster Tools

Google Webmaster Tools gives you information and reports about your site’s visibility on Google. Similar to Google Analytics, this tool provides insight on keywords used to find your site. It also lets your explore what kind of “link love” you have been getting, stats about website subscribers, and crawl stats from Googlebot activity. After just a  fifteen minute exploration of Google Webmaster Tools, I learned a lot about my website.

Opening Up the Toolbox for My Own Site

My exploration mainly revealed how my website is perceived by visitors. For example, my site has received 3000 impressions and 30 clicks, which equates an acceptable CTR of 1%, for the search query “pinterest button”. This comes as a surprise to me considering that is one small element of a blog I posted several months ago. However, this is definitely not something negative to be associated with as Pinterest has recently been ranked the No. 3 social network. The keyword most relevant to my website is “marketing”, which makes me proud and shows that visitors and Google see my site the way that I want it to be projected. Other interesting things learned include that my page has had 21 crawl errors and that my Google Online Marketing Challenge teammate Jason Gannon has provided the most links to my site. Thanks Jason!

Why You Should be Using Google Webmaster Tools Too

Not only is this service relevant and helpful, but it is also completely free! So there is nothing to lose and everything to gain when you take a few short minutes to register your site for this Google service. In no time you will know how a Googlebot sees your site, what HTML suggestions Google has for you, what your page speed is, and much more.

Madison Marketing Association

Madison Marketing Association is a thriving student marketing organization at James Madison University. With approximately 150 members, it is the largest marketing organization at JMU and has been in existence for 30 years. MMA is financially independent of JMU and is the university’s collegiate branch of the American Marketing Association (AMA). The main activities of MMA include professional development through speakers and workshops, fundraising, socials, and community service. How do I know all of this? I am currently the president of MMA and running this awesome organization has consumed much of my life for the past 12 months. It has been both an amazing and challenging year!

A Repuation for Success

In the world of AMA, MMA is known for success. Every year the organization receives awards at the AMA International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans. In the past four years MMA has received 8 awards from the conference including Outstanding Membership, Outstanding Communications, and Outstanding Chapter Plan. This year was no different and we actually surpassed the accomplishments of previous years…

The 2012 AMA International Collegiate Conference

When I arrived in New Orleans this past month I must admit I was slightly intimidated. I was leading 14 people to a city 1000 miles away and to complicate things a little more, I had never been to the conference or New Orleans before. Scary, right? So needless to say I was already jittery when MMA sat at the awards banquet of the conference. I knew we had a shot with at least several honorable mentions due to our fantastic membership increase of over 45% and our expansive professional development program. Still, I did not expect what happened next. When announcing the “Silver Chapter” awards I proudly heard “James Madison University” called and in a wave of disbelief and bliss, I walked to the front of the banquet hall to accept our award. Being named a Silver Chapter makes JMU one of the top 12 AMA Collegiate Chapters in the world,  and puts us in the top 5% of over 350 universities! This is an amazing accomplishment that could not have happened without every valuable member of MMA!

Congratulations MMA! I am so proud to be a part of this organization!

A Unique Networking Opportunity

Last week I had the chance to host two great speakers in my MKTG 470 class. I was very impressed by both Deb Van Horn of The Rockingham Group and Lindsay Crone, Creative Editor at the The Search Agency.

Valuable Lessons Learned

I was especially able to connect with Lindsay. While speaking with her I learned three valuable things…

1. Apply anywhere and everywhere that you want to work! Even if they are not listing jobs you are qualified for, if you have always dreamed of working for Nike or Google, then contact them. There is nothing to lose by this and at the very least you will enhance your networking skills.

2. Focus yourself! Many college students entering the real world tell potential employers that they are “up for anything”. You are actually more marketable if you have a focus, an interest, a passion. This shows employers that you are driven towards something.

 3. Always, always be professional. While we are college students, we still have the responsibility to act as professional adults at all times. That doesn’t mean not having fun or making your profile picture on Facebook of you in a business suit. It means using common sense, acting responsibly, and knowing that you are constantly projecting your self image to others.

Thank you, Lindsay!

Not only did Lindsay provide valuable insight on the job process, but she also answered some questions I had about my team’s AdWords account for the Google Online Marketing Challenge. This was immensely helpful. This, combined with Lindsay’s discussion of careers in internet marketing, inspired me to continue pursuing this field! If you would like to learn more about Lindsay then check out her LinkedIn!

Thank you, Lindsay! It was a pleasure to meet you!

Retargeting Ads

Have you ever noticed the same ad pop up again and again on sites you’re exploring? If so, you have probably become the victim (as some would put it) of a retargeting ad. This ad is one that companies display on sites, other than their own, when a site visitor looks at their page and then leaves without a successful conversion. Surprisingly, the technology behind it is fairly simple and relies upon the tracking of cookies. To companies, retargeting increases the likelihood of a conversion. To consumers it can be extremely creepy.

Feeling Uncomfortable Yet?

Maybe it’s because I am a marketing major, but I see great value in this marketing tool, and it doesn’t make me uncomfortable. It’s a way to show consumers products at the right time and place. Whatever you do on the internet is already there and can be tracked. As long as it isn’t being used unethically, what’s the problem? Also, it’s not really personal information. It’s a search trail. You can infer things about a person from that, but it’s not like Google is tracking your SSN. The use and development of technology like retargeting seems both beneficial and unstoppable.

A Tool for the Future

Technologies similar to retargeting continue to advance. At the recent AMA International Collegiate Conference, I heard the Group Manager of Creative Innovation at Google/YouTube talk about how IKEA can now create a personalized digital room for you based upon a scan of your social media profiles. Intent marketing will soon be able to respond to Twitter posts such as “I’m hungry” with Panera Bread ads. These behavioral marketing techniques are simply personalizing interaction with consumer needs based upon information consumers provide. I find this all fascinating and plan to follow this advancing industry.

Wait…What is Palau?

In just twelve short weeks I’m going to begin a journey half way around the world to spend an amazing two months in the Republic of Palau. Normally when I tell people that they say, “Pa-what? That’s a place?.” Yes, it’s 100% a real place. Then I tell them how Palau is a tropical paradise in Micronesia and also where part of my extended family lives. Due to my amazing and welcoming family, I am fortunate enough to go visit them for most of the summer! I am confident that it is going to be a life changing experience!

What’s Going to Keep me Busy

Even though I’m sure I could fill every day with hours of scuba diving, laying on the beach, and boating around the Rock Islands, I actually am going to be busy. With my family’s company, Surangel and Sons, I will be doing an internet marketing internship to fulfill my marketing major degree requirements at James Madison University. Even though I’m a work-a-holic and have no idea what to do with downtime, I’m sure I will still have plenty of fun experiences on this two month vacation. I’m looking forward to the world famous scuba diving at Blue Corner and German Channel..even though it means swimming with sharks! I’ll play with jellyfish in Jellyfish Lake, go to the beaches where Survivor Palau was filmed, visit waterfalls, go hiking, and go snorkeling at Palau Pacific Resort!

My Travel Blog

Palau is 24 hours away when flying, and that’s a lot of distance between me and everyone I want to keep up with in the United States. So with this blog I’ll be regularly sharing all these experiences with you! Please keep up with my blog as I prepare for and embrace this unique adventure!

The Next Big Thing in Social Media

Pinterest is a social photo sharing website with the mission to, “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.” This invitation only site, is exploding with growth and marketers should take notice. A study shows that Pinterest is earning a spot in the top ten social networks, and that in just one week in December 2011, the site received 11,000,000 visits. This is 40TIMES the visits of just six months prior to the study. It is also revealed that the majority of Pinterest visitors are women ages 25-44 who share images of home decor, crafts, fashion, and food.

Yes, Companies are Catching on Too

While many firms are either disregarding Pinterest or are still figuring out how to get involved, there are a number of companies who have already realized the perks to being active on the site. Pinterest recognizes that Better Homes and Gardens, Whole Foods, Martha Stewart, and the Travel Channel are actively using the site to promote their brands. These companies align with the user demographics and theme of the site.

Where To Begin?

It isn’t obvious how to use Pinterest to boost brand awareness, but it can be done.  Here are several tips from Mashable:

• Host contests to see who can create the best board.
• Use hashtags to help consumers find your boards and pins.
• Add the Pinterest “Pin It” button to your ecommerce site.

Read more from Mashable about consumer involvement and launching brand awareness on Pinterest. You will find that this is not something you want to miss out on! Happy pinning!

Beginning as a skeptic…

I admit that I’m one of those people who brushed off Twitter as a useless social media trend for teenagers. It has taken until my Marketing 470 class with Dr. Theresa Clarke for me to realize that this isn’t the case. I thought that the only things people posted about were what they ate for breakfast, but  there is a lot of networking to be accomplished on Twitter. This became apparent to me while I was completing an assignment for 470 that involved staying on Twitter for at least one hour straight, and I must say the hour went by much quicker than expected.

I was amazed at how many things I learned in one hour! Especially because it was from 11:30 to 12:30 at night. In terms of marketing, I found out interesting bits of information from Mashable, such as the pet industry is going digital and which TV shows have the most media buzz. Through the American Marketing Association Twitter, I found out what competitions were closed for the upcoming collegiate conference in March. I even found out the final dates of Coffee Fest, an event I’m planning on attending during spring break.

…But now I’m convinced

It only took sixty uninterrupted minutes for me to decide that Twitter actually is a very valuable tool for me. For networking and staying up to date on trends, Twitter is an easy and fun way to find the information you need. Even after midnight I was able to find out more about trends affecting my major and even my spring break plans. I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be tweeting a lot more frequently now!

Difficulties of Choosing a Theme

I didn’t think that changing the theme to my website would be such serious business, but it took me literally 45 minutes to choose what I felt best fit my personality and my purposes for this website. After searching through themes with keywords such as “island”, “beach”, “travel”, and “summer”, I finally settled on the theme called HoPE 2.5.8. This theme was created by Patrick.

I chose this theme because I like the overall layout. It is professional with clean lines and a standard font. It’s easy to navigate with all pages clearly displayed at the top and right of the home page. I also like the contrast provided by the background. It makes the page look bolder while still remaining fairly traditional. It has a three column layout that does not comprise my widgets and allows me to add more.

The Transition

Switching to the HoPE theme was pretty seamless. The only problems I encountered were my favicon is not compatible with the theme and my current widgets are showing up twice on my page. This seems to be because it is a three column theme.

I chose this theme because it was developed specifically to be compatible with photo blogging. The header images are customizable, and there is a PicasaWeb gallery to add photos. This summer I will be traveling to an island in the South Pacific called Palau for a marketing internship with Surangel and Sons Company. It is crucial that I be able to provide a lot of pictures on my website to show my friends and family who will be using the site to keep up with me while I’m gone. This theme allows for a seamless transition between blogging for class and blogging about my experiences in the Pacific!