BUS 572 Week 2 Blog: Generating Keywords and Webpage Layout

During the past week, the most important topics I learned in BUS 572 are A/B split testing, multivariate testing, and the basic layout of an effective webpage. A/B split testing is defined as testing two variables for statistically significant influence. Multivariate testing is defined as testing many variables to determine statistically significant influences on outcomes. I was an undergraduate psychology major, so I was very familiar with the use of A/B split testing and multivariate testing in psychology studies. Learning about these concepts from an online marketing perspective was interesting and refreshing. While these concepts still have similar meaning in both the psychology and online marketing worlds, it was fascinating to see these concepts applied to items such as email, pay per click advertisements, and online sales. What do readers think--have you seen these terms used in other fields of study?

The second most important concept I learned during the last week is the different characteristics and layout of a website. I have heard terms such as "landing page", "exit page", and "click-through rate" before, but I did not know what these meant. The explanation of these different elements of a website helped me understand the elements of an effective website. I do some website design for my job, so understanding these terms will help me at work. Furthermore, The Thrifty Wargamer's website is set up according to these guidelines. Their website is very easy to navigate and easy to place orders, therefore contributing to a positive customer experience.

The most important skill I learned over the past week is how to generate keywords using Google AdWord's keyword identifier and the basic layout of an effective webpage. Our team assignment two focused on creating ad groups and generating keywords for those ad groups. One of the first items that impressed me the most is the fact that Google offers all of these tools. I have been a casual Google user before the start of this class, primarily using Gmail, Google search, and Google Maps. I did not know that Google offered these other dynamic tools such as Ad Words, keyword generators, AdSense, etc. Using the keyword identifier tool was a really interesting and fun experience. The first ad group we created for our client, The Thrifty Wargamer, was Miniature Wargaming. Keywords generated from Google's tool included WWII miniature wargaming, wargame miniatures, and zombie miniature wargames. We then identified some negative keywords for this ad group and then generated keywords and negative keywords for our next two ad groups, Tabletop and War Games. The Thrifty Wargamer focuses on selling WWII, zombie, and foundry game pieces, so we definitely want to make sure these are included in our keywords. Furthermore, we contacted The Thrifty Wargamer to see if they had any suggestions for keywords. Ironically, The Thrifty Wargamer suggested many of the same keywords that we identified. My group and I were excited about this because we seem to be on the same level as our client.

                         Example product sold by The Thrifty Wargamer. Photo courtesy of The Thrifty Wargamer


Overall, I have learned a lot and developed some important skills during the past two weeks. I learned about A/B split testing, multivariate testing, and how to generate keywords in Google AdWords. My team and I also continued working with our client. We are looking forward to generating some ads in the coming weeks for our client.