The blog only used Google Analytics from 04.02.2011, changing from Blogger’s analytics. This was due to inexperience. Upon realising Google’s Analytics were superior, this was rectified; however, results in this evaluation include the MMU I.P address as these were excluded too late. For the full report click here.
In this period, we have attracted 275 unique visitors and 191 returning visitors, full report available. These visitors have been generated largely by referring sites (71.03%), 'traffic source report', of which mojawyspa.co.uk. generates 70 visits, this Polish community forum is however not relevant for our target audience. Twitter generated 50 visits, whereas Facebook contributed 15 visitors. Our Twitter page generated more visitors as our followers are all relevant to The Quays.
Salford Quays is only of interest to people within Manchester, 71.03% of visits were from this area, satisfying our target market. The average time spent on the site in general is 00:02:44, whereas the average time spent by visitors from Manchester is 00:03:39. click to view full report.
Search Term Rankings (as of 01/04/2011)
The three specific search terms were based on both blog content and The Quays’ target market searching for information relating to Salford Quays. In relation to ‘things to do in Salford’ and ‘things to do in Salford and Manchester’, we feel although these search terms were relevant, in terms of ranking they are not as effective as there is significant competition, which has resulted in the blog having a low ranking position.
In relation to the search term ‘Salford and Manchester tonight’, although this has resulted in the blog being located on the first page of Google’s natural listings, we feel this search term will not be as popular as the other search terms when searching for information relating to Salford Quays.
Eii: Promotional Initiatives
The blog was promoted through several channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Gumtree and mojawyspa.co.uk. The account at mojawyspa.co.uk acquired the most visits, however we were blocked from this site due to “spamming”. The Facebook page was disappointing as it only brought 15 visitors; this was likely because the audience wasn’t targeted so the people in question were of random selection increasing the chance of disinterest in our blog. Alternatively, the Twitter account, which acquired 340 followers, was regarded a success with potential to grow, acclaiming 50 visits. This was apparent due to the beneficial process of targeting our audience due to our followers all having an interest in The Quays.
Eiii: Post - Campaign Reflection
Things we would do differently:
Using the ‘blogspot’ domain not including the keywords; decreased the chances of obtaining a high ranking with Google. We believe using a professional domain including keywords, would have increased the chances of achieving a higher Google ranking as Google would have perceived this website as more credible. Additionally, we would have set up Google Analytics when the blog was created and exclude the agency’s IP addresses instantly. These changes would have allowed a more accurate representation of the blog’s data. Although a significant amount of content was submitted to the blog, it wasn’t consistent, resulting in peaks and slumps in visitor numbers.
Colleen O'Brien - 08989733
Joseph Dunne - 08070122
Vicky Tailby - 08989713
Martin Singleton - 08216610
Bartlomiej Partyka - 08289932
