Heather does WHAT?!?

I can not remember in my 17 years of school not struggling the first week after Thanksgiving.  This semester is no different and things that I think should be easy to at least follow step by step instructions have not been easy (looking at Project 5) and Google Ads data doesn't show much of a difference in pausing keywords and adding new ones, I don't know if there would be a bigger change with a bigger budget, more time, or more traffic in general but I was hoping to see more of a change than I have.  Some of the information like meta tags and naming all of my images seem overwhelming since my website is for photography.  Since I am continuing my website after the class is over I am grateful for the break coming up so I can work on completing rough edges on my website since I also don't go back to work until after Christmas.  I am grateful that I knew ahead of time that this week would likely be a struggle and I've allowed myself extra time for breaks when things get f

I knew that search engine optimization is important, and I have a course lined up to take separate from BYU-I that focuses specifically on SEO for photographers.   This week’s introduction is a good foundation.   I struggled getting the functionality of my shopping page to work and then have continued to struggle with conversions, I think because I haven’t had any sales to test to see if it works.   Changing keywords, titles, image alt text etc is a lot of information but easier to take page by page and I’m not working with third party programs that just point to the other saying it’s on their end.     While this week is a lot of information and especially a lot of work to get everything optimized, I am relieved that especially on Thanksgiving week I had a week of work instead of understanding new information.   This week I am grateful for new knowledge.

I won't lie, this week has been a struggle.  I couldn't get the snippet code on a single page instead of the entire site, I was trying to clean up my Google Ads because it was the digital version of when I stuff everything into a closet.  I had made several different ads/campaigns/ad groups etc when we first started that it was just a hot mess at it's best.  In deleting the extra ads I also deleted the ads I wanted to keep.  I was frustrated.  Cleaning up my Google Ads account was very helpful and I started thing about it as a whole, not separate parts (keyword planner, ads, etc).  I started this week just walking through steps not really knowing why or what it was doing and by the end of the week parts of it has started to make sense, enough for me to be able to work through things, not just follow a list of steps and not know what to do when something goes wrong.  Line upon line.

I can’t truthfully say I’m not worried about my ability to apply this week’s information.   I will probably go over it again on Monday.   The class has extended beyond the base of my knowledge and having surgery this week really threw my routine out of whack.   I ended up watching the videos and doing the reading as I was working through the assignments and it makes a little more sense then.   I am not sure if I should be grateful for worried that nothing is due to be turned in for Project 3 this week.   Considering relevance and quality score, I do like how it gives a little bit of a road map to where to make improvements.   My business model is in-person service-based and I am worried about a lack of people searching at all within my service area.   Going through the different parts of a quality score reminds me of an audit, not just telling you good or bad but what areas to focus on for improvement. ~Heather

As I was reading through this week's reading I remember a time that I was standing in Deseret Book looking for something, anything to speak peace to my heart.  I had just made an agonizing decision that certainly created giant mountains I needed to climb.  I couldn't find anything discussing divorce within an LDS marriage.  Nothing.  I felt absolutely crushed.  When I opened my mind a little I found and have since cherished Finding Happiness, Peace, and Joy .  I have cried my way through that book more times than I can count anymore.  My keyword of divorce was too narrow and I couldn't find what I needed.  When I broadened my keyword to include peace I found exactly what I needed--well, the Spirit found it and I just followed.  Had I found a book discussing divorce I would have never learned the bigger skill set I gained through Finding Happiness, Peace, and Joy . I hope that I am able to find the right combination of keywords to guide potential clients to me.

I’ve often been told to think like a client and picture what my ideal client does on a day to day basis. Places they shop etc. I’ve never taken it to include the way they search for things. Thinking about how to structure and choose keywords has extended from a google ad to tweaking a few things about how my business is structured away from the web design. I hope this change in perspective will make everything flow more cohesive, at least in theory. The negative keywords also have me thinking about what do I not want to do as much? For enough money I’d absolutely do a product shoot but it doesn’t feed my passion or drive. There just isn’t much emotion in items as much as there is in relationships and people. I knew I had plenty to learn in this class and I didn’t fully know what to expect, but I am enjoying how the concepts are building on one another as applying it specifically to me, my business and my life.