2 key concepts I have been introduced to in Session 1 of
BUS 572 are Pay Per Click advertisements and Cost Per Acquisition analysis.
Pay per click (PPC) advertisement is a concept in which
advertisers pay for each time there hyperlink is selected. The price is set by a bidding system. As seen below, the advertiser who bids the
most per click will receive a more favorable spot on the web page. This means that with more traffic comes
more cost. The hope is that more clicks
will result in more revenue, but this is not always the case. PPC must be used strategically so that the
entire advertising budget is not squandered on those not interest in buying
your specific product or service.
 |
| Example of Pay (or Cost) per Click in a Bidding system (Source: Stokes, 2011) |
One way advertisers can make sure
they are using PPC advertising effectively is to analyze results using information
from cost per acquisition. Cost per
acquisition (CPA) refers to how many clicks resulted in customer’s spending
money on your products and services. As
the chart illustrates below, more clicks does not always equate to higher
earnings. In fact, it may often result
in high CPA if keywords are not used to target the correct customers.
 |
| Example of a Cost per Acquisition Analysis (Source: Stokes, 2011) |
 | |||
| Marketing Plan Development (Source: Stokes, 2011) |
One skill set I have acquired from this
session’s readings is the learning how to develop a marketing plan. In Chapter 19.3 of our textbook, a step by
step overview of marketing plan development is discussed. Looking ahead in BUS 572, it seems as though
learning this 7 step process will be crucial in regards to my success in the
class. I plan to apply this process to
real-world situations in the Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC), in order to
achieve a desired result.
My learning journey in BUS 572 is
just beginning, but I find myself excited for what is to come. Although, having a real-world client the GOMC
will prove to more challenging, it will most likely end up being very
rewarding. In session 2, I look forward to achieving a greater understanding of
Google’s Ad Words and applying that understanding for a better campaign result.
