For my second reading reflection, I read Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah.
1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
The general theme of this book is that search engines like Google drastically changed how people obtain products and services. When they need to learn how to do something or make a purchase, they instantly turn to Google. As a result, businesses do not need large marketing budgets to reach their target audiences. Instead, companies that have great online content can utilize search engines to strengthen their relationships with their potential and existing customers.
The general theme of this book is that search engines like Google drastically changed how people obtain products and services. When they need to learn how to do something or make a purchase, they instantly turn to Google. As a result, businesses do not need large marketing budgets to reach their target audiences. Instead, companies that have great online content can utilize search engines to strengthen their relationships with their potential and existing customers.
2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
A few weeks ago, Prof. Pryor did a brief exercise on how SEO works and why it is crucial to consider the keywords you use when conducting searches on Google. Inbound Marketing similarly analyzed this theme by exploring "how Google's brain works." In other words, the book explains how Google's software obtains results about a specific search term and then filters them, so higher-quality results are displayed first. The book also states how to pick the perfect keywords, which connected with my knowledge from ENT 3003 because Dr. Pryor explained how choosing the right keywords leads to improving SEO rankings.
A few weeks ago, Prof. Pryor did a brief exercise on how SEO works and why it is crucial to consider the keywords you use when conducting searches on Google. Inbound Marketing similarly analyzed this theme by exploring "how Google's brain works." In other words, the book explains how Google's software obtains results about a specific search term and then filters them, so higher-quality results are displayed first. The book also states how to pick the perfect keywords, which connected with my knowledge from ENT 3003 because Dr. Pryor explained how choosing the right keywords leads to improving SEO rankings.
3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
If I had to design an exercise for this class based on the book, I would create an exercise on improving SEO rankings. During this exercise, I would have students brainstorm keywords about their business idea and conduct various searches with the keywords they chose to see how the results they obtain from Google changes. This exercise would help teach Inbound Marketing's concept emphasizing the importance of picking keywords relevant to your business.
4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?
When reading this book, my "aha" moment was during chapter 5, "Get Found in the Blogosphere." Specifically, a point in this chapter that I thought was profound is the importance of creating "remarkable content." I learned in my previous classes that blogs are a useful tool for sharing industry knowledge. But, when I read this book, I was surprised to learn that blogs help search engine results because other bloggers are more likely to link to a "remarkable" article than products on a website. This leads to more traffic on that site, which makes Google consider that website authoritative. As a public relations major, I already knew that blogs are useful from this perspective and thought the book would elaborate upon this information. (who should have a blog, how to set it up, etc.) I never knew the technological perspective of how blogs are linked with improving SEO, and I was interested to learn more about this.
When reading this book, my "aha" moment was during chapter 5, "Get Found in the Blogosphere." Specifically, a point in this chapter that I thought was profound is the importance of creating "remarkable content." I learned in my previous classes that blogs are a useful tool for sharing industry knowledge. But, when I read this book, I was surprised to learn that blogs help search engine results because other bloggers are more likely to link to a "remarkable" article than products on a website. This leads to more traffic on that site, which makes Google consider that website authoritative. As a public relations major, I already knew that blogs are useful from this perspective and thought the book would elaborate upon this information. (who should have a blog, how to set it up, etc.) I never knew the technological perspective of how blogs are linked with improving SEO, and I was interested to learn more about this.
Adriana,
ReplyDeleteI think you summarized the information well. This is the next book I plan to read for class. I don't know much about how SEO works, but I did know that keywords are important as well as links to other websites. From reading other articles, I also learned that content is king. So linking your website or blog to other sites helps rankings. Good job.
Hi Adriana!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the summarization of the book you choose! I was not fully aware of the power that search engines can have on a company. I agree that the content of this book is extremely relevant to our lectures on SEC rankings. This is definitely a topic I'm interested in continuing to learn about. Once again, great job on this assignment!
Hey Adriana,
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds so interesting. I didn't choose to read this book, but it sounds like it would be very informative for a new entrepreneur and the use of their online marketing. I don't know too much about SEO, but when it comes to Google and search engines, it sounds like SEO would be very important. Before this class, I never "blogged" or knew much about blogging so your "aha" moment was new to me as well! Great job.
Hi Adriana,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post on the book "Inbound Marketing" by Brian Halligan. The internet marketplace is growing exponentially year-after-year, and developing a well rounded and up to date SEO is key for popping up on the top of the search results. Before this class, I had never blogged before so I understand gaining marketing experience in all areas is important, especially when establishing a start-up. Great post!
Hello Adriana,
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was very well done and I can tell you enjoyed reading the book. I write for the Florida Alligator and we use SEO for our stories, so when people look up our stories, they only have to search for the main words and it is easier to pop up. Overall, great job on your post!