Ivy Tech (Spring 2009) Syllabus

Search engine marketing (SEM) is the art and science of ranking websites higher on Google, MSN, and Yahoo.

Why is this important for businesses and for your future employability?

• “Google” is now a verb in the American lexicon - synonymous with searching for information on the Internet.
• More than 6.7 billion searches are performed monthly on Google, MSN, and Yahoo.
• Search is now tied with email as the most popular online activity with 91% of all Internet users using search regularly.

The need for prominent search engine visibility has reached critical mass. It’s no longer acceptable for a business not to have a website. And, in a global market where Internet usage has increased 208% since 2000, it’s becoming increasingly unacceptable for businesses not to be more cognizant of how their potential customers can find them via search.

And besides, the concept of search engine marketing is compelling and makes so much sense - customers are searching for what you sell, what you need to do is make sure you come up in their search!

In this workshop you will learn about SEM - what it is, where is came from, how to do it, and where it is headed. The workshop will combine an overview of SEM with practical exercises where students will actually conduct keyword research, create a keyword structure, write ad texts, and critique existing websites to enhance their messaging and performance.

At the end of this workshop, you will:

1. Understand how people conduct searches depending on whether they’re researching or buying and how their behavior changes depending the search engine they use.
2. Understand how to properly set up and organize a pay per click account on Google AdWords.
3. Understand the critical factors in how websites are ranked on Google, MSN, and Yahoo.
4. Understand how to generate qualified traffic and why this is more important than “high rankings” or “hits”.
5. Understand how to design a user-friendly site and track results.

There are no required texts for this course. All materials are available on the web and are should be read before each class session.

Students will be graded on their in-class participation, as well as projects that will be completed during the course: keyword research, keyword account structure, ad texts written, and critique existing websites.

[+] Session 1 - Introduction to SEM

[+] Session 2 - Pay Per Click: Setting Goals, Keyword Research, Account Structure, Bidding Strategy

[+] Session 3 - Pay Per Click: Writing PPC Ad Texts, Landing Pages, Distribution & Geo Targeting

[+] Session 4 - Search Engine Optimization

[+] Session 5 - Website Usability/Navigation, Analytics