As I mentioned, I'm trying to boost the traffic for a friend's business website (mamash.co.uk), on a zero budget. Firstly, I have used free search engine submission sites and secondly, I have managed to secure a year's free advertising on urbandtraffic.co.uk, in exchange for giving a discount for their members. It's the perfect website to run the ad on as it's the exact target audience, so I'm very pleased. They will also be sending out a mail shot with a Mamash feature too. See the ad at urbantraffic.co.uk.
Mamash's traffic boost is slightly on hold at the moment, as I got the freelance web design job, so it's all systems go on that.
On another note, I came across a useful site for checking your competitors traffic, called alexa.com. You can also find out which sites they are linked to as well. This is very useful in finding out where you should advertise.
Right where were we? Oh yes, google analytics. When I said I glanced over a site criticizing google analytics, I did just that "glance". It was actually written in 2005 and is no longer relevant, so apologies all round. The over all opinion is that it rocks.
As for my own stats, after one day of being fully installed, I have had a grand total of 5 unique visitors - get me! The good news is that I only have a 20% "bounce rate" (a bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that exit the site instantly).
I have also installed analytics on mamash.co.uk. At the moment they have a lovely looking website, a nice product but not much traffic. I'm hoping to try and change that - on a budget of er absolutely nothing. It's my friend's site - so I'm doing this for free as a little side project.
I have also discovered that there isn't much point in me going into the ins and outs of how GA works, as it's all fairly intuitive and just takes some poking/prodding around. If you are keen for some bed time reading then you can read Google Analytics
by Mary E. Tyler, which will give you all the basics.
Today, I have been digging around in open source CMS systems. I came across Wordpress which is simple, flexible and seems relatively easy to use. Why is this relevant to digital marketing, I hear you cry? 1. CMS systems are revolutionising, the way the web works for businesses 2. Wordpress has some great plugins relevant to digital marketing.
Plugins available from the Wordpress website include those relevant to; Google Analytics, Google Ad sense (another important marketing tool), SEO optimisation and social sites. Check out the plugins here wordpress.org/extend/plugins/. I will take this opportunity to admit that I haven't actually tried and tested these so any feedback on how well they work, would be well received.
I'd like to finish this post with an announcement, that have succeeded with some email marketing, with a 100% success rate! Ok, so I sent one email to one company, offering my services as a freelance website designer. It will also give me the chance to experiement with SEO. I have a meeting with them on Thursday, so fingers crossed I may get some much needed work - wish me luck!
As for my own stats, after one day of being fully installed, I have had a grand total of 5 unique visitors - get me! The good news is that I only have a 20% "bounce rate" (a bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that exit the site instantly).
I have also installed analytics on mamash.co.uk. At the moment they have a lovely looking website, a nice product but not much traffic. I'm hoping to try and change that - on a budget of er absolutely nothing. It's my friend's site - so I'm doing this for free as a little side project.
I have also discovered that there isn't much point in me going into the ins and outs of how GA works, as it's all fairly intuitive and just takes some poking/prodding around. If you are keen for some bed time reading then you can read Google Analytics
by Mary E. Tyler, which will give you all the basics.Today, I have been digging around in open source CMS systems. I came across Wordpress which is simple, flexible and seems relatively easy to use. Why is this relevant to digital marketing, I hear you cry? 1. CMS systems are revolutionising, the way the web works for businesses 2. Wordpress has some great plugins relevant to digital marketing.
Plugins available from the Wordpress website include those relevant to; Google Analytics, Google Ad sense (another important marketing tool), SEO optimisation and social sites. Check out the plugins here wordpress.org/extend/plugins/. I will take this opportunity to admit that I haven't actually tried and tested these so any feedback on how well they work, would be well received.
I'd like to finish this post with an announcement, that have succeeded with some email marketing, with a 100% success rate! Ok, so I sent one email to one company, offering my services as a freelance website designer. It will also give me the chance to experiement with SEO. I have a meeting with them on Thursday, so fingers crossed I may get some much needed work - wish me luck!
Wow, I've just started using google analytics (and yes I know I'm a little behind the times here). Ok, so I've only used it on this site at the moment and since I only created it a few hours ago the traffic is, lets say, minimal.
It's been a while since used analytic software and it's come on leaps and bounds. One of the most innovative tools is a page overlay, which tells you exactly where your visitors have been clicking. Genius and so useful for accessing your website's usability.
I will be trying it out in more detail on a bigger, real life, e-commerce website next week, who sell canvas art (mamash.co.uk).
I did glance across an article criticising google analytics earlier, so I shall endevour to find out more. As it is the clock is ticking and I really should be in bed. Perhaps I'm getting a little over excited about this blogging business.
It's been a while since used analytic software and it's come on leaps and bounds. One of the most innovative tools is a page overlay, which tells you exactly where your visitors have been clicking. Genius and so useful for accessing your website's usability.
I will be trying it out in more detail on a bigger, real life, e-commerce website next week, who sell canvas art (mamash.co.uk).
I did glance across an article criticising google analytics earlier, so I shall endevour to find out more. As it is the clock is ticking and I really should be in bed. Perhaps I'm getting a little over excited about this blogging business.
Ok, I should introduce myself. I'm a Media Technology graduate with a background in multimedia. I now want to launch myself into a digital marketing career. I don't wish to attend university again and courses I have found in digital marketing tend to be very expensive. The only choice is to teach myself.
Oh, I should mention that I have stumbled upon this digital marketing path a couple of times in my career but some how got distracted by various viewing points and stumbled back off.
A change in career will not be easy but I think it's far more satisfying get to the top of a big mountain than to the end of a flat straight.
I'm going to use this blog, to keep a log of the discoveries, I find along the way. It's mostly for me to be honest, but if someone else finds it interesting, all the better.
Anyway, I have started with "Digital Marketing for Dummies
". It is, as the title suggests basic, but I'm only on chapter 4 at the moment so perhaps if I skip a few pages, I'll get to the good stuff. In a way, it's quite good to know that I already have some of the knowledge I need. That said, I think I may well flog it on ebay when I've finished!
Oh, I should mention that I have stumbled upon this digital marketing path a couple of times in my career but some how got distracted by various viewing points and stumbled back off.
A change in career will not be easy but I think it's far more satisfying get to the top of a big mountain than to the end of a flat straight.
I'm going to use this blog, to keep a log of the discoveries, I find along the way. It's mostly for me to be honest, but if someone else finds it interesting, all the better.
Anyway, I have started with "Digital Marketing for Dummies
". It is, as the title suggests basic, but I'm only on chapter 4 at the moment so perhaps if I skip a few pages, I'll get to the good stuff. In a way, it's quite good to know that I already have some of the knowledge I need. That said, I think I may well flog it on ebay when I've finished!