Day 1 Assignment, SEO Bootcamp - What Happened?

[PillowThrowDecor]

 Here are my answers so you can understand how quick and easy it is to post your info so we can all learn from it.

1)Traffic Sources in the left navigation bar and click on Traffic sources. Note what your percentages are and record them.
Direct 14%
Referring 43%
Search 43%

2) Referring sites -  what are your top 10? Record them.
137 facebook.com
105 thedecoratingdiva.com
71 twitter.com
41 ow.ly
19 marketmommies.com
12 okmagazine.com
7 ca.yahoo.com
6 kaboodle.com
6 mcklinky.com
5 images.google.com


3) Click the link labeled Search Engines. Note who the top 5 are and how many views came from each
  
Google   299         
yahoo 124             
bing 37             
search 9             
aol 7             


4)  How many Keywords? 276  and make a list of the top ten keywords.
layla grace marsh
(not set)
layla grace
icraft
layla grace blog
icraftgifts.com
shanna marsh
throw pillows canada
www.ditchthewicks.com
black & white stripe pillow shams

Make a list of keywords that you thought would bring views but didn’t? Are there many keywords that are related. For me related key words are “black and white” and surprisingly “Canada”

5) I changed my GA to include traffic to my blog and unfortunately I have only 30 days report to read.My views and sales have slowed as compared to the beginning fo the month probably because I did a lot of tweeting in the beginning of the month.

Cheers
Christine

Optional assignments
1)   Done

2)Need to do this over the weekend Watch the Google Analytics How-To Videos at   http://analytics.blogspot.com/2008/05/google-analytics-how-to-videos.html

[PillowThrowDecor]

Sorry for those of you that checked Bootcamp this morning and nothing showed. I created some technical difficulties... I must I must I must start posts with Day 1, Day 2, Day 3...

Gawwwd can you tell I have to write everythinggggggg down?!!!

[caralyn forstar]

Makes me feel better about my own "technical difficuties" smiles, Caralyn

[Sirocco]

Here is what I discovered from google analytics:

1)Go to Traffic Sources in the left navigation bar and click on Traffic Sources. Note what your percentages are and record them.
Direct 8%
Referring 20%
Search 72%

2) Referring sites -  what are your top 10? Record them.
16 google (organic)
3 jewelrygeeks (referral)
2 direct
1 bing (organic)
1 ca.yahoo.com
1 google/cpc
1 us.mc1135.mail.yahoo.com/referral


3) Click the link labeled Search Engines. Note who the top 5 are and how many views came from each 
google   17     
bing 1           



4)  How many Keywords? 19  and make a list of the top ten keywords.
(not set)
bead bracelet for men
big men jewelry
indian native bracelet for men sale
leather crafting bloomington mn
male bead bracelet
mens nataive american necklace
mens native american bracelet
mens native american bracelets
mens native american bracelts


Make a list of keywords that you thought would bring views but didn’t? Are there many keywords that are related.
I don't understand the question about related words but, "american indian" brought no views.

Paul
https://icraftgifts.com/sirocco
http://twitter.com/DanSirocco
http://siroccostradingpost.blogspot.com/

[Zeba]

Hi,

Here is my discovery for the period of March 2, 2010 to April 1, 2010

1)Traffic Sources in the left navigation bar and click on Traffic sources. Note what your percentages are and record them.
Direct 30.68%
Referring 26.4%
Search 43.18%

2) Referring sites -  what are your top 10? Record them.
7 facebook.com
7 twitter
1 ca.yahoo.com
1 images.google.com
1 kaboodle.com
1 rubberstamping.about.com
1 sn138w.snt138.mail.live.com
1 stylehive.com
1 worldwideworkathome.com


3) Click the link labeled Search Engines. Note who the top 5 are and how many views came from each
  
Google 24        
yahoo 12            
bing 2          

4)  How many Keywords? 26 and make a list of the top ten keywords.
icraft
icraftgifts.com
(not set)
icraft
beaded crochet bracelet
beaded crochet bracelets
birdsnest pendant
clip on earrings sold online for teens
clothe quilted charm jewlery
crystal geod pendant wire wrapped
druzy cluster necklace

Make a list of keywords that you thought would bring views but didn’t? fashion jewelry; silver earrings, handcrafted jewelry; Y-necklace

Are there many keywords that are related.  I don't understand the question.  

5) I signed up Jan 13th and I guess I listed more items during Januray than other months.  Can not explain the increase in traffic in March.  Maybe it is because of Mother's Day.

Jan                - 112 visits, 51% from direct, 29% referring sites; 18% search engines
Feb               - 76 visits, 38% direct; 27% referring sites, 34% search engines
March            - 91 visits, 38% direct; 25% referring sites, 41% search engines


Sholeh

[PetiteTuques]

My GA for March 2 to April 1


1)Traffic Sources in the left navigation bar and click on Traffic sources. Note what your percentages are and record them.
Direct 38.10%
Referring 52.38%
Search 9.52%

2) Referring sites -  what are your top 10? Record them.
16 facebook.com
6 freewebs.com
3 petitetuques.webs.com
2 ca.mg202.mail.yahoo.com
2 forums.support.webs.com
1 ca.yahoo.com
1 co108w.col108.mail.live.com
1 dianecipollo.com
1 foundhandmade.com


3) Click the link labeled Search Engines. Note who the top 5 are and how many views came from each
 
Google 3       
yahoo 2           
bing 1         

4)  How many Keywords? 5 and make a list of the top ten keywords.
icraft
icraft citefuzz
icraftgifts.com
what is a tuque
where to get a tuque with earphones

Make a list of keywords that you thought would bring views but didn’t? hats, tuques, quebec, canada

I don;t get a lot of traffic, and I'm surprised that people are searching for citefuzz, but end up with me.. Are they disappointed?

I've only joined since November, and no one from my own town really knows that I exist! So I think when my neighbors find me, I'll have more traffic.

[Callidora]

Since I turned Analytics only yesterday I don't have much to report.  But I set one up for my icraft shop and one for my etsy.  I'm going to list my etsy analyics here, because icraft only had 2 yesterday.

1) Click Traffic Sources in the left navigation bar and click on Traffic sources. Note what your percentages are and record them.


    * 36.00%
      Direct Traffic

    * 32.00%
      Referring Sites

    * 24.00%
      Search Engines



2) Referring sites -  what are your top 10? Record them.
    
1. (direct) / (none)   9    36.00%
2. google / organic   6    24.00%
3. bronto / email      2    8.00%
4. artisimportant.com / referral   1    4.00%
5. bettula.com / referral   1    4.00%
6. craftster.org / referral   1    4.00%
7. etsywedding.blogspot.com / referral    1    4.00%
8. facebook.com / referral   1    4.00%
9. regretsy.com / referral   1    4.00%
10. twitter.com / referral   1      4.00%

3) Click the link labeled Search Engines. Note who the top 5 are and how many views came from each
Google   6
 
     
4) On the left navigation bar click on Keywords. How many were used to find you?
1.    chalk oilcloth
2.cute plus size swimsuits
3. dresses xxl
4. ghostbusters movie quality costume
5. isadora dress
6. men's embroidered vest
   
What I find interesting about this is that most of these keywords don't apply to my shop at all!  "dresses xxl" and "ghostbusters movie dress" are the only the ones related to my store.  So, I'm not sure how these other keywords sent people to my shop.
 

5) Now click on traffic sources again  so we can see all visits. Then In the upper right hand corner,  go to the calendar / dates and change it back to Jan 1, don’t forget to highlight the  all the days on the calendar and then click the “apply” button below it. Very briefly tell us  about any  significant changes during this time? Were you listing more or less during those up down periods?

I changed the calendar and the number of visits changed from 25 to 47, but I don't really know what the difference in stats means.  The graph is flat from January until this week, when it spikes.  I'm assuming that's because I just turned it on.

[Brilliant Beads]

All traffic sources sent a total of 116 visits
•   28.45% Direct Traffic
•   33.62% Referring Sites 
   1.  stumbleupon.com
   2.  ca.mc882.mail.yahoo.com
   3.  gillianbeads.blogspot.com
   4.  kaboodle.com
   5.  twitter.com
   6.  apps.facebook.com
   7.  dashery.blogspot.com
   8.  faceofcontentment.tripod.com
   9.  hottemperedglass.com
   10.  search3.comcast.com

      •    37.93% Search Engines

   1. Google 34 visits
   2. Yahoo 6 visits
   3. Bing 4 visits

•   Keywords
   
   1. blowfish Kelowna bc
   2. icraft
   3. handmade sales sites Canada
   4. icraftgifts.com
   5. (not set)
   6. beadkeepers.com
   7. Canadian sterling silver wire
   8. crafts store Toronto
   9. cross pendants beads Canada
   10. crystal brilliant beads

•   Keywords I use in listings

   1. jewellery
   2. jewelry
   3. artisan
   4. handmade
   5. Canada
   6. glass
   7. beads
   8. sterling silver
   9. lampwork
   10. crystal

My traffic from Jan. 1 was really up and down...but consistently so.  I'll have to look and see if I list on certain days only, like Tuesday mornings when I'm off work.

The keyword thing baffles me....blowfish Kelowna BC is my number one (what the heck?)

This was a useful exercise...thanks Christine!

[PillowThrowDecor]

Wow there is some really weird stuff coming up for some of you to do with keyword searches... blowfish and stuff like that???

"Not set" I don't know what that means.

I will be compiling a list of the weird and wonderful and maybe we can ask admin or I will do some google research to find out what it is all about.

When I mentioned "related words" what I meant was I have many searches done on black and white pillows, black and white shams, black and white stripes, black and white Canada.  I find that interesting.  I think anything I list with black and white will get lots of views.... that will be all about our next homework assignment ... finding those HOT words that will work for YOU!!!

Good work gang.. keep it up.  those of you that don't have any stats to study yet not to worry... more good stuff coming and at least you will know what to look for once you have some data collected.  Cheers Christine

[Beajoux]

Here are my GA results, which I can now understand a little better!

1) Traffic Sources

Direct Traffic: 21.70%
Referring Sites: 41.04%
Search Engines: 37.26%

2) Referring sites

1. twitter.com 48
2. linkedin.com 11
3. facebook.com 7
4. artisanbeaders.blogspot.com 5
5. en.wikipedia.org 3
6. etsy.com 2
7. justnicks.blogspot.com 2
8. ainse.tumblr.com 1
9. canartisan.blogspot.com 1
10. co102w.col102.mail.live.com 1    

3) Search Engines
 
Google 68     
yahoo 9           
bing 1             
search 1

4)  How many Keywords? 50

1. beaded jewellery
2. handmade beaded jewellery
3. hand made funky watches, ontario
4. icraft
5. beaded handmade jewellery
6. beajoux
7. icraftgifts.com
8. new age jewelry toronto
9. sterling jewelry wire langley bc
10. "beaded jewellery"

Keywords that I thought would bring views but didn’t were rings and wirewrapping. Related key words are “handmade”, "beaded" and “jewelry/jewellery”.

5) My views are fairly consistent over the last few months (i.e., low), but I haven't been listing or updating nearly enough. I hope to change that with this bootcamp.

Ainsley

www.twitter.com/Ainse
www.ainse.ca

[GalleriaLinda]

Traffic percentages (for this last week)
    * 16.46% - Direct Traffic
    * 32.93% - Referring Sites
    * 50.61% - Search Engines

Top 10 Referring Sites (for this last week)
1. gallerialinda.com
2. twitter.com
3. hootsuite.com
4. facebook.com
5. kaboodle.com
6. gallerialindashowcase.blogspot.com
7. thedecoratingdiva.com (I left comments there)
8. bl133w.blu133.mail.live.com (I have no idea what this is)
9. etsybitch.blogspot.com (I have no idea why - I have never commented there)
10. foundhandmade.com (I left comments there)

Top 5 (4 for me only) Search Engines (for this last week)
1. google 129
2. yahoo 28
3. bing 8
4. msn 1

Keywords 166
1. vintaj 19 (One piece was featured on the Vintaj web site)
2. icraft 8
3. icraftgifts.com 5
4. (not set) 4
5. handmade marketplace 3
6. moon rocks for sale 3 (I have a necklace with "moon rocks" in the name)
7. czech tube 2
8. handmade gifts 2
9. handmade jewelry 2
10. handmade necklaces - memory wire 2

Keywords I thought would bring in views but didn't
1. Contemporary Beaded Jewelry
2. Contemporary Beaded Necklaces - 1
3. Beaded Jewelry

Changes Ups & Downs Since Jan 1
~Wednesdays and Fridays peaked
~Jan thru Feb were higher views
~Mid-March to present is really down
Note: Due to job and family, unfortunately, I have been unable to list since the first of the year and have renewed only infrequently. Not much twittering either.

[Sirocco]

I forgot to post my answer to question 5 so here it is. I only get 0-1 visit per day. However, there was more activity from February 16th to March 1. Then I was getting 2-4 visits per day. And there is a spike of 6 visits on March 17. Since I am getting so few visits, I am not sure any of this is very significant.

Paul

https://icraftgifts.com/sirocco
http://twitter.com/DanSirocco
http://siroccostradingpost.blogspot.com/

[dCipollo Designs]

Just set up Google Analysis yesterday. So the results are not impressive yet.

One referral from my own website and one Google/generic referral.

One keyword so far - icraft

[BoutiqueKarma]

I only was able to get my Google Analytics account up and running yesterday afternoon, so hopefully my results later today might be a little more impressive.

So far only two sites have referred over:
twitter
and ow.ly

no keywords, nothing interesting.

I'll update later if anything changes and maybe create some new listings later to see if that changes or gets things moving.

Tara

[Weezi]

Ok for my Icraft account:

1. Traffic Sources:

7.04% Direct Traffic
15.49% Referring Sites
77.46% Search Engines
     

2. Referring Sites:

FaceBook
Google Images
thedecoratingdiva.com
Twitter
theweezistore.blogspot.com
guide.opendns.com

3. Search Engine
Google
Yahoo
Bing
AOL
Live

4.KeyWords 55
icraftgifts.com
hand made funky watches, ontario
"tote" and "upholstery fabric"
 suede jacket
big pink bag for books and laptop
black and white gingham aprons
cell phone covers knit crochet
cell phone with big buttons

5. KeyWords I thought would be used...
vintage
retro
upcycpled
recycled
tote bag
apron
ruffle
shoulder bag
made in Canada

My views were up and down. No major patterns here.

Overall I am pleasantly surprised with the results. I like knowing where in the world people are coming from and how long they are staying. I like knowing about the search engines as well.

The keywords are strange to me and I obviously have to work on that more. Words that I thought were obvious to use are not apparently.


I have 4 sites on Google Analytics and I find that using them all together is very helpful as well.

I like this too bc the info is always changing and relevant.
For example I recently had an article in the local paper about me.GA was so interesting and helpful to know where people were coming from , if they read the article and how one little blurp made such an increase in hits.

I really like GA....maybe a bit too much

[iCraft Admin]

The interesting thing about Keywords is that people don't use single keywords, when they search for things. They also don't use generic Keywords, like "handmade" or "crafts" either.

What you'll find more often is that people use very descriptive phrases, like in Weezi's example:

big pink bag for books and laptop
black and white gingham aprons
cell phone covers knit crochet
cell phone with big buttons

...  and that's what you should try to incorporate in your product descriptions, if you have products matching those phrases.

[BeauMonde]

Hi all - here are my GA numbers covering Jan 1/10-Mar 31/10:

1) Traffic Sources:

    * 27.72%
      Direct Traffic

    * 34.13%
      Referring Sites

    * 38.14%
      Search Engines

2) Referring sites:
google 195    
direct 173
facebook.com 96
twitter.com 30
yahoo 29        
stumbleupon.com 18
apps.facebook.com 16
foundhandmade.com 15
bing    6
google / cpc 6


3) Search Engines:
google - 201
yahoo - 29
bing - 6
search - 2


4) Keywords:  175
lucite flower beads
icraft
punk hat
(not set)
christen largent
fine silver earrings icraft
hand made funky watches, ontario
swarovski hair pins
anne boleyn necklace
icraftgifts.com

[Vintage Inspired Jewelry]

Not sure I really am signed up for google? I thought this bootcamp was for 2 weeks. I will be gone the last 2 weeks in April. Also where on your site do you put that you are out of town and won't ship til a certain date? Thanks

[Northern Girl Jewelry]

Here's what I found in my GA for the period from March 4 to April 3rd (standard one month period):

1)Traffic Sources
Direct 20%
Referring 44%
Search 36%

2) Referring sites -  what are your top 10? Record them.
62 facebook.com
19 hotmail.com
6 twitter.com
1 ambercraft.net
1 ca.yahoo.com
1 dogpile.com
1 foundhandmade.com
1 images.google.it
1 images.google.pl
1 ow.ly


3) Search Engines  
Google   72        
yahoo 10            
          


4)  How many Keywords? 51  
icraft
icraftgifts.com
copper wire square jewelry
handmade sales sites canada
turquoise jewelry ottawa
ear cuff
lampwork wire rings for sale
sterling silver hammered necklace
aqua marine jewelry ottawa
artisan jewelry for sale


Make a list of keywords that you thought would bring views but didn’t
nope

Are there many keywords that are related?  ottawa, canada, silver, copper, wire, jewelry and jewellery

5) when I change to include Jan 1st to now, I have approx same % for traffic sources, but I have many more key words.  

I once read that it's important to be aware of all your keywords, not just your top 3-5 because most people use several words for a search, so your top 3 words might not really reflect how people find you. For example, my top keyword was icraft, but if I add up all the different combinations in which people used silver, I have more searches that include silver than icraft.  And Ottawa was by far included in the most amound of combinations that people used to find my shop.  

[iCraft Admin]

You can change your Profile copy on this page https://icraftgifts.com/member_profile.php to include a message about you being away.
You can also update Your Exhibit Announcement field, present on the same page. See this blog post for more details https://icraftgifts.com/blog/your-icraft-exhibit-announcement-feature-165.php

[Northern Girl Jewelry]

I saw that a few people were puzzled by some of the keywords used to find their shops.  I have a few that are totally unrelated to my shop too, including the names of some other shops here on icraft.  On etsy, the concessus seems to be that the keyword that shows up on your list is the word that a person used in a search that first brought them to etsy.  Once they were on the etsy site, they may have visited more shops, but that first search is what shows up in the keyword list.  That would seem to be a reasonable explanation for this site as well.  Maybe admin could chime in on that?

Some of my more interesting keywords are "flap winter hats for women" and "kate gosselin" which are completely unrelated to my shop.  

[iCraft Admin]

Yes, the keywords you see are the keywords that brought people to the site in the first place. Not all of them would be directly related to you.

[PillowThrowDecor]

Hey Vintage!

Yes Bootcamp is for two weeks only this time round. So you are ok for the last two weeks

I will send you a private message regarding your Google Stats.  I'll help you with them so we can get you up and running.

i will email you some instructions shortly.

Cheers, Christine

Not sure I really am signed up for google? I thought this bootcamp was for 2 weeks. I will be gone the last 2 weeks in April. Also where on your site do you put that you are out of town and won't ship til a certain date? Thanks

[PillowThrowDecor]

Wow good job everyone!

I have also wondered how I got some of these weird keywords in my list... now I know

Interesting comments that everyone has contributed. I think all of us have some really good keywords where we thought we would get good views but we didn't??? Doesn't seem logical does it??? I WILL EXPLAIN WHY IN THE NEXT ASSIGNMENT and you will all do a head-smack and say.... ohhhhhh now I get it!!!!  Isn't that exciting to know you are going to see the light very quickly

Clearly for some of you we will work on getting more traffic to your sites in the next few days so stand by! It is tough when you don't have many products listed you don't get many views... however the more product you have listed, exponentially you get more traffic.  Or if I can say it more simply... "you have to have stock on the shelves before people come into your store"    Go figure huh!

By the way does anyone else have comments about some of the statistics reported here.  There is lots of really interesting stuff that we can gleen.

Cheers
Christine

[Crystal Creations by Roberta Leake]

This is what I found out from GA.  Absolutely nothing..Everything was zero.

[wabibrookstudio]

I just started GA a couple of days ago, so  don't have much to report.

1) Click Traffic Sources in the left navigation bar and click on Traffic sources. Note what your percentages are and record them.
32.26% direct traffic
38.71% referring sites
28.57% search engines

2) Referring sites -  what are your top 10? Record them.
1. craftcult.com 2    
2. craftopolis.com 2    
3. riverwolfeartjewelry.com 2
4. twitter.com 2    
5. aspiringmetalsmiths.blogspot.com 1    
6. craftcount.com 1    
7. creationswithheart.blogspot.com 1    
8. etsytreasuryteam.blogspot.com 1    
9. etsywiki.com 1    
10. forum.purseblog.com 1

 3) Click the link labeled Search Engines. Note who the top 5 are and how many views came from each
Google - 6

On the left navigation bar click on Keywords. How many were used to find you?  Make a list of the top ten keywords. Make a list of keywords that you thought would bring views but didn’t? Are there many keywords that are related.
boho rock jewelry
eclectic bead and metal jewelry handmade
http://etsy.com/shop/heartfelt4kids
mother baby vintage cabochon
starfish toggle clasp
www.ciaobela.etsy.com

keywords that didn't bring views:
Just about all the keywords I used didn't bring any views, however I expect that these results are not yet very accurate.

Not sure what is meant by related keywords.

5) Now click on traffic sources again  so we can see all visits. Then In the upper right hand corner,  go to the calendar / dates and change it back to Jan 1, don’t forget to highlight the  all the days on the calendar and then click the “apply” button below it. Very briefly tell us  about any  significant changes during this time? Were you listing more or less during those up down periods?
I just started on GA 4 days ago, of course there is a big spike right at the end.  I'm looking forward to interpreting this data in a few weeks.

Thanks Christine, for assigning this exercise.  Just getting GA set up after months and months of trying is worth the price of admission!

Julie
    

[jdhdesigns]

I’ve only had Analytics  for two days so I don’t have top 10 lists quite yet but here is what I have so far…


1)Traffic Sources
Direct 45%
Referring 15%
Search 40%


2) Referring sites

2 twitter
1 amber craft.com


3) Search Engines
  
Google   5        
yahoo 3            


4)  How many Keywords? 5...

icraftgifts.com
icraft
"seven"" circles scarf"
(not set)
necktie conversions toronto


I don’t really understand how these are the keywords that link up to my stuff? I really thought that; item purpose or name (ex. Scarf, shawl, etc.), colour, materials, size, country, etc. would be more popular as searching words. I guess this is what it’s like when you first start tracking web stats. Totally unexpected but interesting to learn!


-jess

[Sarah Ranes]

I just installed Analytics a couple of days ago.

1. Traffic Sources
Direct 42.86
Referring 28.57
Search engine 28.57

2. Referring sites
rubberstamping.com
yahoo.com

3.  Search Engine
google

4. Keywords
beeswax solid perfume
i craft exhibit announcement

I don't have a whole lot to report because it has been installed for such a short time. 

[swaysilver]

I signed up yesterday for GA and it's coming up zeros.  There is a note about "new analytics code" from my other sites so I'm checking into that.

And how do I save my "signature"?

https://icraftgifts.com/swaysilver
www.swaysilver.ca
http://twitter.com/swaysilver

[PillowThrowDecor]

It takes at least 24 hours for google to show tracking. Whenever you look at your google stats it is not "real time"... today's report will be yesterday's activity.

We don't have a function to save our signature in icraft.  Save your signature in you email program say... outlook or outlook express. I think it is in the options menu.

If you have a problem setting it up get back to me with the email program you have and I will give instructions.

Good stuff everybody!!!