Week 12 Blog; Social Media for SEO & Social Networking 

This week’s focus on Social Media for SEO and Social Networking helped me see more clearly how interconnected these two areas are in building a strong online presence. One of my biggest takeaways is how much social activity can influence search visibility—not directly through rankings, but through the signals it creates: engagement, backlinks, branded searches, and overall authority. The readings on social optimization strategies reinforced how important it is to publish content that earns interaction rather than simply posting for the sake of posting.

I also appreciated learning how platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and even TikTok can serve as discovery channels that drive users back to a website. Social networking isn’t just about broadcasting; it’s about building relationships, responding to comments, and creating trust. The class discussions helped me think about how I can apply these ideas to my own site by focusing on value-driven posts, consistent branding, and strengthening community engagement.

Overall, this week reminded me that successful online businesses don’t treat social media as an afterthought—it's a strategic tool that amplifies SEO and strengthens credibility when used intentionally and consistently.

Week 11 Blog; Landing Page Optimization & Basic SEO 

This week has helped me see more clearly how small adjustments to a website can completely change the effectiveness of an online business. One of the biggest takeaways for me was how crucial a landing page is—not just visually, but strategically. A landing page isn’t just a place users arrive; it’s where they decide whether to stay, whether to click, and ultimately whether they convert. Studying layout, call-to-action placement, and user behavior made me pay attention to how quickly people make decisions. Every element either guides them forward or lets them slip away.

I also learned the importance of simplicity. A landing page doesn’t need to say everything—it needs to say the right things. Clear headlines, trust-building content, and obvious next steps are what turn interest into action. When a landing page connects well with its ad, the message feels consistent and people move naturally toward conversion.

Alongside that, reviewing basic SEO broadened my understanding of how people find a site to begin with. Using keywords naturally, improving load speed, and labeling images with alt text all contribute to visibility. SEO feels like laying a foundation—quiet and unseen, but essential. It reminded me that just as good fruits grow from strong roots, successful online results come from thoughtful preparation behind the scenes.

Overall, this week strengthened my desire to build websites that serve—not overwhelm—visitors. As I work to grow my online business, I hope to invite the Lord’s guidance in shaping content that helps people, provides value, and reflects integrity. With small improvements made consistently, I believe success becomes much more achievable, step by step.

Week 7 Blog; Google Ads & Keywords:

This week I learned how important Google Ads and keywords are in reaching the right audience for a business. Understanding how keywords work helps a business connect with customers who are already searching for the services it offers. For my landscape maintenance business, I realized that choosing the right keywords—such as “lawn mowing near me,” “yard cleanup,” and “affordable landscape maintenance”—can make a huge difference in how many potential clients see my ads. I also learned about the importance of balancing broad and specific keywords to avoid wasting money on clicks that don’t lead to sales. 

Another key takeaway was how ad relevance and quality score impact the success of a campaign. It’s not just about paying for ads; it’s about creating meaningful, targeted ads that solve a customer’s problem. This week helped me understand how online advertising can help a local service business grow and compete more effectively. Overall, I feel more confident in using digital tools to promote and expand a landscape maintenance business. 

Week 5 Blog:

This week, I gained a deeper understanding of how good website design and thoughtful planning play a critical role in creating a successful online business. Through the readings, videos, and discussions, I realized that a well-designed site isn’t just about making things look nice—it’s about building trust, guiding customers, and making the buying process as smooth as possible.

I learned the importance of clear navigation, consistent branding, and an easy-to-find shopping cart to help users move through the site without frustration. Fast load times and mobile responsiveness also stood out to me as key factors that can influence whether someone stays on a page or leaves.

Another big takeaway was how design supports business goals. Every element—buttons, menus, images, product descriptions—should help guide the customer toward taking action. Good design makes the site feel professional and reliable, which encourages purchases.

I also reflected on how running a successful e-commerce business means constantly improving the user experience. This includes tracking customer behavior, understanding pain points, and updating the site to meet their needs. Overall, this week helped me see how strategy and design work hand-in-hand to build strong online businesses. 

Week 4 Blog: 

This week we got to learn about site builders and also different kinds of hosts that we can have for our websites. During the first part of the week, we got to explore different kinds of site builders such as Weebly, Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, and Shopify. I was able to watch brief videos going through each one seeing what they all look like and what they offer and my favorite was the Squarespace site builder because for one, its a website builder so I don’t need to worry about the coding and it includes things such as SEO features for visibility sites, 24/7 customer support, basic website metrics, and mobile optimized websites. Another thing we got to do this week was explore host options for our company. The top favorite host that it seemed like most students picked was Bluehost because it is more cost efficient, it offers reliable performance, strong support, free SSL, and seamless integration with WordPress and Google Analytics. One last thing I was able to finish this week was my first project. With that, I was able to first do a brainstorm of 20 different business ideas and rank them all and then choose the top 5 to work with. With those top 5, I was then able to figure out some inputs with how many clicks each one gets, and the monthly impressions along with the potential cost. It was nice to be able to start creating a set up to see potentially how things would look if I were to consider starting up a business for any of those 5 ideas.