Mini-MBA™: Search Marketing and Analytics

Module 1: Understand Your Client’s Online Business

Our lab-based approach helps you learn marketing with a real business that you develop a search marketing plan for—just as a search marketing consultant builds a plan for a client. The initial session focuses on the primary business goals of your client. By identifying the unique goals for your client and how they will apply beyond the first session, you will be in a better position to assess and change your client’s marketing to align with your client’s business objectives

In this module, you will learn how to:

•   Understand your client’s business goals
•   Decide the purpose of your client’s Web site
•   Develop your client’s best topics for a content plan

Module 2: Understand Your Client’s Web Sites for SEO

This session will walk through the basics of how both Web sites and organic search work, so that you can identify any problems that might affect your client’s search engine optimization (SEO) results. By better understanding the technical issues that underlie development, you will be better prepared to troubleshoot and assess your client’s situation.

In this module, you will learn:

•   How Web sites work
•   How organic search works
•   The basic steps of SEO

Module 3: Design and Architecture

After developing an initial understanding of the underlying engine that drives your website, this session will focus on how a site is built and developed. Learn how an effective information architecture program is implemented in new and existing websites.
You will learn how both search engines and visitors love a well-architected site that meets their needs.

In this module, you will learn:

• How to design a clear information architecture
• Information Architecture testing and assessment
• Designing with the goal in mind
• Available tools to assist with usability

This module walks you through the basics of testing and/or developing a clear navigation and information architecture. Tools covered in this module include: Google Analytics, personas, card sorting, wireframing and sitemaps, and click tracking.

Module 4: Building Your Content

To create content that attracts the customers you want to your website, you need to identify the right keywords, analyze and learn from your competition and understand the value of links with the right sources. You also have to learn how to optimize this content in the right places across your website. In this module, you develop your content strategy and build out this content plan on your site. .

In this module, you learn how to:

•   Use Google Analytics to see how people search and find your website
•   Develop a keyword “seed” list
•   Understand KOB (Keyword Opportunity Barriers)
•   Analyze and gather competitive intelligence
•   Identify relevant links
•   Design your website to optimize the right content on the right pages

This module highlights several more tools, Google Insights, Compete, and spreadsheets, Linkdex, and Alexa.

Module 5: Beginning to Optimize for Conversions

Spending money on search is useless if no one buys anything. In this module, you’ll move on to optimizing for conversions by starting the cycle of testing changes, learning what works, and then deciding what to try next.

In this module, you will learn how to:

• Set up your conversions in Google Analytics
• Identify micro-conversions
• Create pages and navigation designed to convert

This module looks at the most important tools in the entire course–Google Analytics–in more detail.

Module 6: Starting Your Paid Search Program

Now that you’ve done some optimization for organic search and for conversions, it’s time to add paid search. You’ll go through the entire process from keyword selection, bidding, and optimizing paid search ads.

In this module, you will learn how to:

• Choose your paid search keywords
• Create paid search accounts
• Organize your paid search account
• Write compelling ads

This module exposes you to another important tool, Google AdWords, and adds to your knowledge of spreadsheets and Google Analytics.

Module 7: Getting Attention for Your Site

There are many ways to drive traffic to a website. In this module, we first review the options that are available. Then, we work with you to determine the right ones for your website and how you measure results and success. You learn the value of social media in driving traffic to your site and we help you plan your resources and time to sustain your success.

In this module, you learn how to:

•   Identify the right online marketing tactics for your business
•   Understand the value of social media for search and website traffic – Blogs, Facebook,  Twitter, YouTube and more
•   Measure traffic referrals
•   Creating segmentation
•   Understand the value in “tagging”
•   Developing the optimum online marketing plan for your business

This module teaches you about online marketing (email, ebooks, video and social network) and its relevance to search as well as how to use web analytics to create your measurement plan.

Module 8: Tying Everything Together

To help you with your Capstone project, this hands-on workshop module helps you get your final plan together. We work with you to answer questions, create a plan that has actionable insights and a deep understanding of how search and web analytics can be used to maximize business success

In this module, you develop a:

•   Business Pro-Forma with ROI
•   Search and Online Marketing Budget
•   Component for your search and online marketing plan

This module takes you deeper into Google Analytics and spreadsheets.

Module 9: Presenting Our Search Marketing Plans

Digital marketing is a competitive business that is judged solely by results. In our last module, we’ll review the plans that each team has come up and offer advice as to how they can be improved. Then, we’ll present each plan to the client for reaction. Seeing what your fellow students came up with usually gives a fresh set of ideas to try in your own business.

In this module, you will learn how to:

•   Answer the questions that clients care about
•   Simplify your plan to be more understandable
•   Present your plan to the client for approval