BUILDING OUR BUSINESS

 WEEK 12 REFLECTION  -- March 24, 2021 This has been a good week of "out of comfort zone" time for me.  As I have mentioned before, this course has been a good stretch for me to take some risks and try something new.  I learned that I could trust myself a little more.  When I realized that I wasn't make huge errors and was actually learning from the experience, I started to relax a little.  I still feel quite a bit of anxiety with that Google Ads clock ticking -- but I think I will be OK.  I have learned that it is more valuable for me to have a set of relevant ad words rather than 25+.   Specifically, I have learned that capitalizing on the popularity of Devil's Den State park and other local attractions is valuable for me. This section of our marketing course has good to learn new ways to use Google. It really is amazing what you can learn from Adwords and the Google Analytics.  I did learn that the bracket of people who search my site were women in the 35-55 age ra

  WEEK 11 REFLECTION: Search Engine Optimization I am realizing that Site Optimization and Search Engine Optimization are two different things. I search Google and found an article called "Search Engine Optimization vs. Website Optimization" and it was really helpful.   "Search engine optimization , commonly called  SEO,  is a process in which changes are made to your website and “back links” are created to your  remodeling company website  from other websites that help increase your search engine ranking for certain search terms. Often times this can mean increased traffic to your website from other sites and to  “landing pages ” on your website specifically designed and written to capture traffic for specific keywords. However, ranking high in Google and increased traffic to your  remodeling company’s website  does not necessarily mean increased sales. The ranking and traffic increase are only truly valuable if the search terms you are using are ones that will attract

  WEEK 10: ROI AND OPTIMIZING AD PERFORMANCE WOW!  This was a learning week.  I finally figured out how to add the code for the google analytics and learned to work Google Ads.  I ended up starting a new campaign and got that running and felt good about it.  We will see with the data shows for how it is going.  I can see how a Google Ads campaign can help a business.  For me, right now, I think I am getting plenty of business with what I am doing and I see my website functioning as more of a resource for returning guests and for information for coming guests.  I may change my mind as the months go forward if I am not keeping my cabins full.  I think that having a presence on AirBnB and VRBO is important  and those sources keep us very busy.  I am starting to have return customers that contact me directly and I have now started referring guests to the website for information.  I know that I need to continue to improve my website as I go.  I hope in the future, I will be able to figure o

 REFLECTION #8 -- WEEK 09 This week was really interesting yet frustrating at the same time.  As a mother of 12 children, I have had to learn to get things done quickly and move on.  When I don't have the tools or information to complete a required task, it is frustrating.  This is how I felt this week.  I have always had confidence in myself to be able to learn and understand things -- I am a pretty smart gal.  :)  I don't know if I totally missed something on this assignment or not, but I am understanding more about keywords and how to navigate in the Adwords site.  I really hit a roadblock with the tracking code for Google Analytics and even went to my personal "IT expert", my 25 year old son, and he was also stumped.  So, this assignment added to the string of 3 late assignments this week.  Oh well.  That is what happens sometimes and that is how we learn and we go forward and keep doing our best.  I can say that I have decided that taking more university level co

REFLECTION #7 -- WEEK 08 -- ADS ---FEBRUARY 24, 2021 This week was challenging for me because I am learning something new and wasn't able to figure it all out in one attempt.  I like to know what I am doing and like to be able to get things done quickly.  These assignments with Google Ads have been teaching me patience AND to allow myself to learn "line upon line."  I am having to remind myself to have faith in the curriculum and trust that the knowledge I need will come bit by bit and lesson by lesson.  I have also had to learn to work on assignments for a period of time and then walk away and let it sit and then work on it again later.  This has helped my brain to process the new information and then figure things out.  This is a good practice and reminder for me -  a mom who has been in my comfort zone and in control of routine for quite a few years. :) I am proud of myself for figuring these things out.  It actually is really good for my self-esteem to know about a ne

 This week was more stressful for me.  I like to understand things very quickly but the content of our material is getting into things that are so new to me and my brain that I am really having to think and figure things out.  I am hoping that we are continuing on a step by step process over the next few weeks and that I will understand it all in the end.  Right now I feel like I am trying to eat a big elephant in one bite.  I am quite intimidated by the whole "google ads" account and am worried I will do it wrong.  I am working to keep my faith up and follow the directions and hope that I will understand what I need to do.   I am really grateful for Brother Scott's videos each week and am glad he tells us to contact him with questions.  I think I will need to be doing that quite soon and through the next couple of weeks.  I will keep telling myself "I can do this." and keep going forward.  I don't give up easily, so I will count on that part of me that will