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I have been reading and listening to webinars and other information on Google Analytics and using it with Google AdWords accounts.  What I have learned is it can be a good source of information if used properly.

I have Google Analytics basic reporting set up for my clients’ websites marketing with AdWords.  I must say it really helps.  I also learned about one filter for lower case URI.  Now I just need to figure out how to make my index page show up only as one page.  I will keep searching until I figure out how to do that.  If anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

One of the useful tools I learned about is the AdWords keyword position.  This is under traffic sources if you are using AdWords.  What this tells me is which position a specific keywords gets the most clicks.  Looking at keywords actually held some surprises for me.  One keyword got the most clicks in 7th position and very few in first, second and third.  Good information to know as I was able to adjust my bids to work on getting them into the position where they worked the best.  Very interesting and useful stuff to learn.

One of the areas in Google Analytics that I really find helpful is the bounce rate information.  Some of my pages have a bounce rate of under 30% which is very good.  I remember one month I checked the overall bounce rate of one of the websites and it was at 0.05% and I thought that something was wrong.  It actually was a very good month for the information that was contained on this website.  It has moved up some but is still a fairly low bounce rate.

I am using the bounce rate information about specific pages to work on improving the page.  And Google has a tool to help me do that also but that is for another post.

As a non-programmer with only HTML knowledge, my biggest challenge with Google Analytics was converting some of our websites over to the latest code.  I was having trouble figuring out how to set up the goals and the funnels so they worked like they did with the older code.  One of our great programmers was able to give me some time and technical help with that aspect so all is good.

Now on to long tail keywords, conversions, ROI, spreadsheets and statistical information as I get back into studying “Web Analytics, An Hour A Day,” by Avinash Kaushik.

About the Author:

Kathy Gaster - Internet Marketer -  OnYourMark, LLC in Sussex, Wisconsin
http://www.onyourmark.com

This past Tuesday I traveled to the Chicago area to attend a monthly meeting of the Chicago Glazer Kennedy Inner Circle.  Perry Marshall, author of “The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords” and Scott Tucker, a mortgage broker,  talked about blending online and offline marketing to achieve the best of both worlds to a full house.

After the presentation Scott and Perry answered audience questions and then Perry did an in depth AdWords study of a chapter member’s AdWords campaign for anyone that wanted to stay.  Perry explained the mistakes made in choosing keywords to bid on in this campaign.  He said they were very common mistakes especially for the first time advertiser.

Perry talked about picking a niche and becoming the best at that one item, like lemon scented soap bars and once you get really good at that, add another item.  He explained about broad match, exact match and phrase match keywords and how to use them effectively.  He also showed one of his AdWords campaigns and how progress was made through testing ad copy and keyword phrases for optimal results.

A lot of marketing information was covered during the evening, which was supposed to end at 9:30 but was still going when I left at 11:30.  I had a two hour drive so just couldn’t stay even though it was hard to leave before it was over.

I have read The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords and would recommend it to those who are interested in Pay Per Click advertising.  The other book I recommend is Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing Handbook by Boris Mordkovish and Eugene Mordkovich.

Spending time every month to check your website’s positions in major search engines using your search keywords is a good idea.  And once you see where your business website comes up in Google, Yahoo!, MSN and other search engines what do you do with that information.

What keywords are working for you and bringing you up on the first page in search?  It’s nice to see your website in one of the top 8 positions on page one! That means you have rich keyword content on the page, a good page title and description and good links.  It also means your code is pretty good with your “alt” tags on your images filled in and good outlining.

Now your goal is to stay in that good search position and get your other pages up there also.  That is where search engine maintenance for an hour a month comes in.

For our clients this hour is spent first checking to see where the webpage comes up with the client’s keywords.  If the client has slipped down in the page ranking then it is time to “tweak” the tags, the titles and see where the page text can be “tweaked” to boost keyword density without losing readability for the visitors to the site.  After all the website is there to provide information and services to human visitors first and appeal to the search engine robots and spiders second.

If the website has been up for a number of years it might be time to take a look at the outline code and make sure heading tags are coded correctly helping your reader scan through the page for the information they are looking for and guiding the SE robots to your main points also.

The other elements of the website are also good to look at also.  Check and make sure that each image has an alternative tag to make your site accessible for people with disabilities (Section 508 compliant).  Add titles to your images also using appropriate keywords.

Regular monthly search engine maintenance helps to keep your website fresh and updated.  Even just looking at the website can remind you to change the marquee because the September trade show is done and it is on to a new month and a new trade show!

What if you don’t have time to spend or the knowledge of code to do this?  Well, then you hire an Internet Marketing professional to do it for you.

Google’s put a positive spin when announcing its quality score change.

I remember my mother telling me when I was younger to “believe half of what you see and none of what you hear” and “to take things with a grain of salt.”

Today, I find her words to ring true as I try to navigate through all the information about the right way to optimize a website for the search engines. Search engine optimization information can be downright confusing and contradictory at times.

I had a small business a number of years ago. I manufactured a product line and sold it to both the wholesale and retail trade. I had developed a number of techniques in my product development and because I sold finished product I would share general information that could also be found from other sources but not share the more advanced techniques that I had developed myself.

I think the same holds true in most industries, including Search Engine Optimization. If an author is in the business of providing search engine marketing services would they write about all the techniques they use to optimize a website? If they did wouldn

The following tips are from an e-mail OnYourMark Marketing received from the Google AdWords Team.

- Don’t reply to or click on links in emails that ask for personal, financial, or account information.

- Check the message headers. The From: address and the Return-path should reference the same source.

- Instead of clicking the links in emails, go to the websites directly by typing the web address into your browser, cut and paste or use bookmarks.

- If on a secure page, look for “https” at the begging of the URL and the padlock icon in the browser.

- Keep your computer’s antivirus, spyware, browser, and security patches up to date and regularly run system scans.

- Review your accounts regularly and check for unauthorized activity.

- Use a browser that has a phishing filter (Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Opera).

To read more on these tips please visit Google’s Blog on Phishing
or contact your Register Success Team.

A current “phishing” email scam is targeting advertisers using the Google AdWords program.

The emails ask AdWords advertisers to click a link to verify account information or credit card numbers. The emails look very official and may appear to come from support@google.com and adwords-noreply@google.com.

Clicking the link in the email will take you to a page that resembles Google, but it is really a fake page on another server designed to trick you into sharing account information or credit card numbers.

If Register Success is managing your Google AdWords program, all authentic communications from Google AdWords are sent to us on our clients’ behalf. If a credit card number or account data needs to be changed, Register Success/OnYourMark, LLC will notify you. If you receive any emails that appear to be from Google AdWords or ask for data from your Google AdWords account, please Contact Us. We are happy to help!

Read more at www.seroundtable.com

How important is a domain name? Domain names are very important. Your domain name is your address on the Internet. And, like your street address or fire number your .com address can be a valuable piece of property. In November of last year I heard about poker.com reportedly selling for around $27 million. Your domain name might not be that valuable on the auction block but to you and your business it is very important.

OnYourMark, LLC recommends domain name registration for ten years, or domain name renewals as close to ten years as possible for many reasons.

The longer your domain name is registered for enhances your search engine results. Google and the other search engines look at domain name registration length to determine if your web site is legitimate. It appears that spam content websites tend to register their domain name for a year or two. A longer registration time tells the search engines you intend to keep your web presence on the Internet, that you have invested in your site’s future. See our October 2007 PromoSupport for more information on this.

You save money. Domain names are often cheaper per year the more years you register at a time. And just like a lot of commodities domain name prices are not likely to go down.

Avoid the scam emails and US mail spams for domain name renewals. Read OnYourMark.com March 14, 2008 Client Alert on Domain Name Registration and Keyword Spam.

Here are some additional resources for information about domain names.
http://www.seomoz.org/article/google-historical-data-patent
http://www.news.com/2100-1024-986204.html

theBubbler.com, Wisconsin’s Information Source, has undergone a major redesign. New features like customizeable member profiles and a photo gallery have been added.

Favorite features like the Wisconsin Link Directory and Free Classifieds are easier to use. Check it out today!

Jennifer Laycock at Search Engine Guide offers tips for PDF optimization in Did You Know You Could Optimize Your PDF Files for Search?