Marketing Blog
Search Engine Marketing
My class notes & assignments
Benefit from my Search Engine Marketing classwork
Lecture notes, links to recommended videos and some of my own interpretations and ideas on SEO and SEM can be found in this blog. Follow along as I learn about Search Engine Marketing through my class at Bellingham Technical College.
I’m taking this course at BTC to increase my knowledge on the topic of SEM and SEO. This subject has changed rapidly. Sure, I already know the basics, but Improving on this area of expertise will immediately impact the value I provide to clients. It also feeds my nerdy-web-design-curiosity.
Assignments will largely involve reading and citing the research work of others. I will include links to the works wherever I can. Keep in mind that assignments are generated for my instructor and classmates, but I expect that there will be valuable information for a wider audience of readers.
Please feel free to comment on individual assignment posts.
- What did you learn from it?
- What questions do you have on the topic?
- Cheer me on!
- Check out the cited materials.
I may respond and comment myself from time to time… BUT… Taking a full load of college classes (I’m also taking Technical Writing and Psychology at WCC this quarter) on top of client-focused work and family obligations means I have little time for responding to comments — please be understanding of this when commenting.
Class Assignments and Notes to explore:
Blending Paid Search with Social Media and SEO
5 Core Ways to Integrate Paid Search and Social Source: Sana Ansari SEM and paid social are both performance channels with particular strengths and weaknesses; SEM captures intent where Facebook doesn’t, but Facebook can open awareness to a huge new audience that...
read morePPC Best Money-Saving Tips
Our 13 Best Money-Saving PPC Tips… Ever! Dan Shewan | WordStream For advertisers large and small, PPC and digital marketing often comes down to making less money go farther. Even the most experienced advertisers constantly look for ways to optimize their campaigns and...
read moreBlending SEO with Digital Marketing
How SEO Fits Into Digital Marketing Strategies By Tina Courtney | SiteProNews “SEO is a foundational element of digital marketing. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Organizations should focus on how all of their marketing elements integrate, resulting in an...
read moreGoogle Search Ranking Factors
Lecture 2.1: Determining the Factors that Impact Google Search Rankings In Chapter 2, you read about a variety of methods to improve search engine ranking of web pages. The following article details the results of a study of the factors that actually help web pages...
read moreSEO and SEM Trends for 2019
10 Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to Know by Danny Goodwin l Search Engine Journal Here are 10 important trends you need to know according to 47 of today’s top SEO professionals. 1. Understand Your Audience & User Intent Does your audience prefer text? Images?...
read morePaid Search vs Organic Search (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. DMN3 byThu Nguyen Paid or organic search marketing? Using one or both will determine how consumers find your site, because where your business is listed on a search engine results...
read moreAn Overview of Google AdWords / Google Ads
A Google AdWords Refresher The following article provides a great overview of how Google Ads works. It was published in 2018 before Google changed Adwords to Google Ads but its content is still really relevant to campaign planning and management. How Google AdWords...
read moreGoogle Analytics
Describe what Google Analytics is and how it works Explain how to use Google Analytics tools to measure and track SEO Debunk myths about Google Analytics Provide an overview of Google Search Console Explain how Google Ads works Detail how to use Google Ads to measure...
read moreEffective Text Ads for Google Ads
Mobile Search Engine Advertising – Statistics and Trends [Infographic] Source: Khalid Saleh Did you know mobile devices now account for 53% of paid-search clicks and estimated US mobile search ad spending and is estimated to reach $28.25 Billion by 2019? Eighty-eight...
read morePaid Search aka PPC or Google AdWords
It's important to make clear that paid search is not a replacement for anything, but should instead be used to compliment other strategies. It takes a lot of time and effort, a lot of resources, and a lot of management, and it's something you really need to invest in....
read moreLink Building: Timeline Planning, Analysis and Myths
How Long Does Link Building Take to Influence Rankings? Source: Kristina Kledzik | Moz Here’s what to plan for when kicking off a link building campaign: 1–4 months: Find a link building agency and start them at the beginning of a month, OR 1 month: Find an in-house...
read moreOff Page SEO: a focus on backlinks
What is Off Page SEO? Source: Alex Chris | Reliablesoft.net SEO refers to techniques that can be used to improve the position of a web site in the search engine results page (SERPs). SEO has two major components, On Page and Off Page SEO. On Page SEO On Page SEO...
read morePersuasive Rich Content and RankBrain – Descriptions and Strategies
Persuasive Rich Content; RankBrain; Rich Results Content Strategies I found the information around Rich Results most interesting. It’s rather amazing how I have failed to notice how impactful the rich snippets are when they include a photo or a video or the complete...
read moreQuality Content to Improve SEO
Using Content Marketing to Improve SEO Quality content marketing should be at the center of every online marketing strategy. It answers users questions and provides them with the information they are looking for. By doing this well, you will create a dedicated...
read moreSEO and Content Marketing
Focus on Content Marketing Source: Search Engine Journal, Julia McCoy / July 20, 2016 You should be optimizing your content for Google if you want Google to find your content. But, it’s not just about keywords–or SEO as a single concept–anymore. For all marketers,...
read moreWhy and How to use Structured Data
What is Structured Data Source: Amazee Metrics I Christina Meyer Structured data (microdata or schema.org) adds additional information (markups) to your website. Search engines can understand these markups and possibly show them as rich snippets in the search engine...
read moreHTML Meta Tags for SEO
Most important meta tags for improving your site SEO
read moreKeywords and Keyword Phrases
Week 3 Lecture and Reading Notes. Over the next two weeks, we will put this 6 step keyword strategy into practice: Define search goals Identify niche markets Find niche keywords Find long tail keywords Identify and rank keyword phrases with Google Keyword Planner...
read moreWebsite Indexing
Search engine optimization is not only about keywords, links, and content. The technical part of SEO can make the difference for your entire digital marketing campaign. How and Why to Get Google to Index a Website 2.5 Lecture Highlights and notes Why? Because you want...
read moreThe importance of SEO and SEM
Week 1 Highlights and Notes: Course Instructor: ALENA FEENEY Course Lecture 1.3 Why SEO is Important SEO is good for business visibility and branding keep in mind people often do multiple keyword searches before clicking through to a website from Google. You want your...
read moreSearch Engine Marketing – Google Ranking Factors 2019 Article Summary
SEM class assignment 1
Article Summary of: The Ultimate Guide to Google Ranking Factors in 2019, Written by Sam Kusinitz @sdkusin