Bizresearch - Search Engine Marketing Blog — Search N Spa, Search Engine Optimization, Blogging, SEO

After Graduation, International Living

April 15th, 2008

After Graduation, International Living

By Megan Quatman

OSU MKTG 754 Student

Guest Blog Post

I really cannot wait to graduate. Like most students I know here at the Ohio State University and most college students around the nation, I am counting down the days until I can stop using a majority of my time learning things I may never use. I want to start being hands on and applying what I learn in the real world.

This is the main reason that I am starting my first internship this quarter with Bravo Development, Inc. They own the Brio, Bravo, and Bon Vie restaurants and I will be working in their marketing department. Yet, honestly I really would not want to work there long after graduation.

My main reason for this is because they are not an international company. While they are doing about twelve store openings this year, they are all located in the US. I have no desire to live my entire life in the US. Actually, I would quite despise it.

My love for overseas traveling started when I went to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic in 2004. I had been taking Spanish classes for four years at this point, so it was just really exciting and encouraging for me to actually be able to use my Spanish in this country. Everyone seemed to turn to me for communication, and although I could understand more than everyone there, that was not saying much. I was then determined to learn the language. Therefore, I returned to a Spanish speaking country the next year. This time I traveled to Riviera Maya, Mexico for a week as well.

Then in 2006, I was ready to take my traveling to another level. I took a Portuguese class with my Scholars Program and then during spring break, I traveled to three cities in Brazil-Salvador, Recife, and Rio de Janiero. This is me with a child at his school in Salvador.
School in Salvador, Brazil
These three countries opened up my eyes to the world outside the US. I saw such a need for support in these areas, whether it be financial, physical or spiritual.

Still, one of the most defining moments in deciding to live overseas happened at a Passion Christian Conference. I learned about God’s heart for all nations and how He desires us to go and make disciples of the world. I followed his call all the way to Buenos Aires, Argentina that same year. On June 21, 2007 I arrived in this city and stayed until November of the same year. This is me in July infront of a waterfall at Iguazu Falls in the northern province of Argentina.

Although this experience proved difficult, I desire to live and work overseas for an extended period of time. This summer I am going to Irbid, Jordan and am excited to see what God has in store for me over there. The picture shows Petra, a popular and beautiful location in Jordan.
Petra in Jordan

So I have named several scattered countries that I have an interest in, but not one for sure that I see myself working in. If you are confused at this point, then good. Obviously I am too. While the “why” is so certain- that I am going to follow Jesus wherever He takes me- the “where” and the “what” are still being formed.

I think the “what” could have a marketing focus, though. If not directly related to business, I plan to try to market my credibility to others so that they can see that Jesus should be credible too.

While I cannot wait to get out there and really start living, I actually love OSU’s campus and my job here as a campus tour guide and on staff at my church. So for now, as I’m preparing for whatever God has in store, I want to be ready.

Posted in Blogging, Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. No Comments »

My Favorite Pet: Chalupa the Chihuahua

April 3rd, 2008

My Favorite Pet: Chalupa the Chihuahua

By Jason Velliquette

OSU MKTG 754 Student

Guest Blog Post

I really am sorry to have to do this, but I’m afraid that my little girl is going to put the rest of your pets to shame. You see, I am the very proud owner of a baby girl Chihuahua. I can remember the first day we met, it was a….

No, wait. Let me back up. You see I grew up around animals my entire life. My mother was a part-time dog groomer and a volunteer at the Cincinnati zoo. We had all sorts of creatures around our house when I was growing up. Dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, you name it. Anyway, I even had a pet six-foot, red-tail boa constrictor when I was a sophomore in college. I decided to get rid of him though after he escaped his aquarium one night and decided to snuggle up against my legs for warmth. Needless to say though, I have an extensive history with animals.

Okay, so back on track now: growing up my favorite pet was an Alaskan malamute named Keira. She had to be at least 175lbs; her father was even part wolf. She stood almost six feet tall on her hind legs. That being said, I had always believed that I would always love big dogs and thus little dogs just wouldn’t cut it. So when my (now ex-) girlfriend brought this little girl home:

I immediately thought to myself, “Oh, there is no way I’m gonna put up with this little-kick-me dog!” But as it turned out, this little sweetheart and I had a lot in common; as you can see, she too is a huge Buckeye fan!

The best part about this little rascal is that we didn’t have to pay $3000 for her at Petsmart or PetBreeder or PetProducer or whatever these puppy-mills call themselves. She was a wonderful orphan that we adopted from the Franklin County Animal Shelter for only $80. And I have to be honest; my life just wouldn’t be the same without her. She has been the greatest, most protective, and loyal animal I have ever raised. She might be a tiny, little, rat-dog-look-alike, but she has a bigger heart than any full-grown wolverine, that’s for sure.Am I rambling on? Yeah, I might be; I’m a proud parent. But if I haven’t convinced you yet that she IS in fact the cutest dog in the world, then allow me to present my final piece of evidence:

I rest my case.And yes, in case you were wondering, I do in fact receive an employee discount when we go thru the Taco Bell drive-thru! Why do you think we named her “Chalupa”?

Posted in Blogging, Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. No Comments »

“I never realized you made me so happy, oh Mandy”

By Brittany Amato

OSU MKTG 754Student

Guest Blog Post

My favorite pet is my only pet, a 12 year-old Silky Terrier named Mandy. We got her when I was 11 years old and she was my first real pet (I say this because I do not think fish and parakeets make very good pets, but that is a whole different story). I remember the day we got her, we had to drive up to Michigan to get her from a breeder. Friends of the family had gotten their Silky from that same breeder and we had fallen in love with their dog so much we decided to get one of our very own. When we got to the breeder she introduced us to Mandy’s mom and little sister Daisy who was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand! Then we got to finally meet her and boy she was adorable. On the ride home we discovered that if you blew on her nose she would give you kisses; she still does that today. Mandy is a huge OSU fan! �

I think Silky Terriers make the best pet because they are lovable, udderly adorable, relatively easy to take care of and compared to others dogs they do not shed much. In particular I think my dog is the best pet because of these reasons and many more that make her personality shine. She is an old dog but still knows many tricks. She can do the normal sit, stay, shake hands…but she can also play dead dog and wipe her feet when she comes in from outside. How many dogs do you know that wipe their feet after they go outside? She still has a lot of spunk for an old dog, she still goes crazy over a new toy and dances around to get a treat. She has learned to trick us into giving her treats too, making her a very clever dog. I love my dog very much; and as my family has always said, she is the greatest toy we ever bought!�

Posted in Blogging, Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. No Comments »

Eastbay.com Comes Through

By Ed Knoll

OSU MKTG 754 Student

Guest Blog

I recently purchased athletic shoes from Eastbay.com. The purchase went as smooth as I have ever experienced when buying online. Not knowing exactly what I wanted, I started at Eastbay.com because I receive their catalogs monthly and have had good experiences in the past. Their website is set up in a way that allows you to do anything from a general search to an extremely advanced search. Again, not knowing what I wanted I searched a trusted brand in Nike and I was sent to this page: http://www.eastbay.com/catalog/supercat_shoes/

Here I was given a handful of links that would narrow down the large selection of shoes even further. A couple of the options were compelling and I decided to click on the new Nike Color Story link to see what it was all about. I was then taken to: http://www.eastbay.com/promo/default/promoId–5001858/cm–54406/

The page gave me a variety of color schemes that I could choose from. This made the search that much easier because being a pretty traditional guy, I do not want to waste my time looking at all the crazy, vibrant new shoes that Nike comes out with. Choosing the colors that more adhere to my style I found the perfect shoe for me. This simple process cut the time it usually takes me to find a new pair of shoes exponentially. Instead of surfing the net and searching countless sites, I went to Eastbay.com and found my show within ten minutes.

Checking out presented no obstacles either. Many websites will have you fill out pages and pages of information in order to get your order on its way. Eastbay just had a two page billing procedure that took me less than a minute and a half to fill out. To top it all off, the shoes were at my doorstep in no time, without any problems. I was so impressed with the service that I felt obligated to fill out a service assessment. So, without any problems throughout the entire process, I would say Eastbay.com has given me no reason to not continue shopping with them.

Posted in Blogging, Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. No Comments »

Secrets of Cats Revealed

April 1st, 2008

by Bruce Ellingsen

OSU MKTG 754 Student

Guest Blog Post

Princess Francesca Isabella The dirty secret is that your customers are more like cats than dogs.

This is the idea behind the book “Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing” by Bryan & Jeffrey Eisenberg.

Customers and prospects today are more demanding, more fickle, have less time to listen to your pitch, multitask, are very independent, utilize more channels to gather information, and are more stratified into niches with their own unique tastes and interests.

To reach and connect to them today requires a multi-channel strategy both online and offline based on a deep understanding of their individual characteristics and deep keyword research into how they search for what you have to offer.

The pitch has to connect immediately and you have to make it very easy to buy now or they will move onto the next thing and leave you in the dust.

The gorgeous lady on the left is Princess Francesca Isabella our pet cat. I think what would please her if she was my prospect when I write copy for my advertising clients. We have a pet Rat Terrier named Bonnie who is very easy to please. Our demanding fickle cat is a better goad to writing good copy than a compliant, accepting, loving dog. Try this approach in your marketing efforts and see if your sales don’t soar!

Posted in Blogging, Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. No Comments »

Max: The dog often mistaken for a pony

By Andrew White

OSU MKTG 754 Student

Guest Blog Post

Superbowl Sunday. On this Holy American day, most families park themselves in front of the big screen to watch the big game and/or catch the (usually) funny commercials. My family, however, ventured to the Oregon Humane Society to pick out a puppy.

We settled on Max, a shy, “gentle giant” Great Dane/Black Lab mix who, for the first three weeks, refused to venture out of our laundry room. However, with a little coaxing, he would soon become the most lovable creature I’ve met.

Max was huge. As an adult, he weighed 130 pounds and when standing on all fours, his height was nearly up to my hips. He towered over other dogs and occasionally even stepped on smaller animals accidentally. However, his burly, intimidating appearance was all for show - one scratch behind his ears or on his belly proved it.

When children are first introduced to Max, their instinct is to treat him like a pony and attempt to saddle up on his back. In fact, my family had a running joke that if we bought a saddle and strapped it to his back, we could charge little kids for rides. In all honesty though, Max was calm and gentle with all children - even when they tugged on his ears and pulled his tail.

Sadly, Max passed away several years ago. We have since added two new dogs to our family - Sammy, a Golden Retriever, and Snickers, a Chocolate Lab, whose combined weights are equivalent to Max’s. Although Sammy and Snickers currently reside with my parents in Centerville, OH, I still look forward to seeing them when I make weekend trips home.

Posted in Blogging, Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. No Comments »

OSU Search Marketing & Analytics (Principles of Electronic Marketing) Student Blog Posts on Bizresearch.com

March 31st, 2008

by Laura Thieme

Hello everyone! The Ohio State Search Marketing & Analytics (Principles of Electronic Marketing) 754 course began last week. 34 students remain as of right now - although over 40 registered. I had 32 students on the first day of class last week, and it was such a joy to begin teaching again. The most enjoyable project thus far is reading the blog posts of the students about anyone of five topics they chose to write about last week. I included a couple of touchy subjects, including voting in this year’s election, climate change and global warming, as well as more benign subjects of your favorite pet, your favorite hobby and what you plan to do upon graduation.

Here are some blog post tips for the students as well as anyone reading this blog post:

1) Write relevant, catchy (when possible) blog titles - search engines read these, some blog software creates keyword embedded URLs from your page titles (this one does not, but www.laurathieme.com does - see the blog post itself, or category pages, etc.)

2) Write blog posts somewhat like an opinonated essay, but offer paragraphs, transitional sentences, and useful information to the reader

3) Link out to relevant websites, deep links to specific pages, categories or topics on other sites - don’t be afraid to lose your reader - if your topic is well-written and useful - you typically won’t lose your reader

4) Link to pictures, embed pics, when possible - use a Flickr (www.flickr.com) account when possible - we have one - www.flickr.com/photos/bizresearch

5) Don’t oversize your pictures - 300 pics is big - perhaps a smaller photo using the Flickr index image if possible - I’ve started doing this recently

6) If you’re writing for a corporate blog, not your own, limit the personally identifiable information that might make someone just a little squeamish - and uncomfortable - or think immediately - TMI - don’t expect that ONE to be published by an administrator

7) If you think I’m talking about you mentioning your dog, your opinions, you’re wrong - it’s the reference to something else, trust me

Keep them short - don’t ramble - although I’ve done this upon occasion - but when I write for other journals and search engine websites, I have a word limit and I’m always edited. So, keep that in mind when writing for an outside corporate blog.

9) Add valuable information - cross-reference - I can’t say this enough - and yes, I’ve already said this once….

10) Typos, typos - are a reflection upon you that someone can easily judge - it means you’re not paying attention and thus, I might not want you working for me in marketing if you can’t spell…….

I’ll continue to publish OSU Search Marketing & Web Analytics 754 (Principles of Electronic Marketing) blog posts throughout the quarter on various topics. This week they have to write about a pleasant or not so pleasant product or service experience. There is an amazing power as a blogger - utilize it!

Posted in Blogging, Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. No Comments »

Fantasy Football

By Patrick Meenan

OSU MKTG 754 Student

Guest Blog Post

In what league are bragging rights more important than winning $180? The WooCrew fantasy football league. That’s right, my friends and I have been playing fantasy football each year since my freshman year in high school and it has turned into my favorite hobby. Each year it seems as if the stakes get higher and higher, and yet it has nothing to do with money. There is more smack talking in my fantasy football league than in the NFL. Being a super competitive person, I love every second of the smack talking, especially because my team is “usually” one of the best. Finding new ways to let your friends know they lost could be a hobby of mine all in itself.

However, there is a lot more to fantasy football than just the smack talking. I love the preparation for each season. It usually starts around mid-July when fantasy football magazines start to come out. These rank each player for their position as well as overall. I take time to read these magazines, and then make my own rankings. Once the preparation is complete, it is time to move onto the draft.

My friends and I go always have our draft on the back porch of my friend Rob’s house. I look forward to this as much as I do Christmas. We all dress up in our unique outfits (see the pic below), and bring in our preparation materials. There is always a good amount of bickering, but overall it is a great time to hang with my friends.

Once the season starts, I check the fantasy football website at least two times a day. I look up all the info on my players so I know which players to start each week. I watch nearly every NFL game I can, with my laptop resting on my lap to know my team’s score.

Sure it maybe a little creepy that I feel like I have these NFL players on “my” team, but fantasy football is a very exciting hobby. I enjoy the preparation, decision making, and smack talking. But, probably the best part of this hobby is that though most of my friends have been scattered around to different colleges across the nation, the WooCrew fantasy football league has kept us all in touch with each other.

Posted in Blogging, Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. No Comments »

Moe Szyslak, cartoon bartender and man’s best friend?

March 26th, 2008

My Favorite Pet

By Ross Webb

OSU MKTG 754 Student

Guest Blog Post

My favorite pet would be my dog, Moe Szslak, who is a 110 pound purebred German Shepherd owned by my father and I. I got Moe when I was in the eighth grade following the passing of my previous German Shepherd, Molly. Moe was a puppy attempting to fill in some big shoes as far as dogs go, Molly was a great dog.

I still remember going to the farm near Marysville to pick him out. When my father and I entered the small barn where the puppies were with their mother feeding. Of the seven or eight puppies none of the dogs even glanced up from their feeding, except for Moe. He came running over, jumped on my leg, and I had a dog. The seller mentioned to us that it was his favorite puppy and the pick of the litter as well.

He has certainly lived up to the hype and filled the shoes of the Shepherds that preceded him. Moe is a big dog, some have described him as scary, but has a very friendly personality to those he does not perceive as a threat to his family. As he enters his eighth year on this earth he has to his credit, fought off a group of 3 intruders attempting to come into our house, chewed up my motorcycle helmet, is a world champion digger (see photo below for visual proof on his nose), and has just been a good friend.

I have had three Shepherds in my life and Moe is certainly the best. He is a cherished part of our family, and although I currently live in Columbus, OH and he lives in Antwerp, OH, he is still one of my best friends and I always look forward to seeing him when home.

Posted in Blogging, Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. No Comments »

What’s your vote….it might count this year!!!!

By Sam Heinold

OSUMKT754 Student

Guest Blog Post

The race for the White House in 2008 might be better and closer then it was just eight (seems like longer) years ago. The GOP seems to have things in order by finally giving John McCain the nomination, but it is the Democrats that we all need to keep our eyes on. It would appear that the Democrats have a two horse race headed into convention season and for the first time since the 1960s the candidate will more then likely be decided at those conventions.

One of the first things that I look into before I cast my vote is who the candidates are and what they say or do in regards to particular issues that interest me. I find it kind of funny and interesting that this election it seems, thus far, that the candidates for the Democrats are spending more time fighting about the he said, she said kinds of thing instead of focusing on some of the bigger issues in the election.

I have just spent two paragraphs talking about the candidates and the issues without mentioning all of them by name. I should probably let you in on what candidates and issues I tend to focus on come election time. For the Republicans we have Senator John McCain from Arizona. The Democrats have rookie Senators Hillary Clinton from New York (I thought she was from Arkansas) and Barak Obama from the land of Lincoln (Illinois). As far as issues go I tend to focus more on the healthcare policies and this election I have found myself zeroing in on the immigration issues. Now I know that the economy is a huge issue but honestly I have taken a fair share of econ courses and the executive office (White House) can do little more then make suggestions to the Fed and go out and talk about what we as a country have to do.

Now that we know the candidates and some of the issues that I am personally interested in, I want to give some insight on how I think the election is going to turn out. Come November I think that the one man standing will be John McCain but under the slimmest of margins (count them right Florida). The election for McCain is going to hinge on who he picks as a Vice President. The candidate has to have some pretty conservative views to please those not so moderate Republicans.

So when it is all said and done I think the Republicans are going to stay at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. But I still encourage you to go and vote and make your voice heard. That is the great thing about government, everyone gets a say. I know I will be voting, being my first time and all!!!!!!

Posted in Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. No Comments »

« Previous Entries

RSS Feed