Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Getting the Most Out of Google Analytics

I recently attended a webinar about Google Analytics that was aimed at post-secondary institutions who would use Analytics to gather data on how effective their website is. Not all the information was relevant to a small, non-profit organization, but I did learn a few gems:

  • It’s important to define the goals of your website. Then the data you gather will have meaning.
  • All data gathered by Analytics is anonymous and not shared with any other organization.
  • The Pageview data tells you how many pages on that website were viewed.
  • A visit or a session is 30 minutes long or until the person leaves, whichever is shorter.
  • Each visitor is uniquely identified so that the data isn’t muddled by some very frequent visitors.
  • Bounce means that the visitor only viewed one page for a brief amount of time. Your bounce rate is bad if it’s over 50%. To improve it, you should check the keywords for your site, and the pages where people land who are bouncing.
  • The URL builder allows you to track what media sent people to your website. It tags your website’s URL which you could distribute, for example, by email. Then you can track the success of a particular promotional campaign.

Thanks to EDge, the Student Recruitment Solutions Company, for running this free webinar.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Education Evening Recap: Get a job! Or, at least learn how to get one

The Southwestern Ontario Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication hosted an Education Evening on February 9 at the University of Waterloo, which was designed to help job seekers learn about finding–and keeping–a job. The evening’s five speakers, Margie Yundt, Kate O’Donnell, Susan Malcolm, Cheryl MacDonald, and Janice McVey, used their considerable and varied professional expertise to address a diverse range of topics, all related to employment within the technical communications sector.

Kate O’Donnell, an independent contractor since 1993, spoke about her expertise in this area. She answered questions about how technical writers might consider marketing both themselves and their businesses, and was able to use her insider’s perspective to address both the advantages and disadvantages associated with contract work. Janice McVey, a managing partner for the Dean group, explained the role that recruitment specialists and agencies like the Dean Group could (and do!) play in helping independent contractors market themselves, as well as the more traditional role of recruitment agencies as matchmakers in helping companies and qualified individuals to find each other. To hear what Kate and Janice have to say for themselves, go to YouTube.

Margie Yundt, a Manager at Research in Motion who has considerable experience with interviewing and hiring, spoke about hiring practices at specific companies. Get a sample of Margie’s advice.

Cheryl MacDonald, Research Manager at The Economical Insurance Group, and Susan Malcolm, Career Consultant at the Wilfred Laurier Career Development Center, addressed resume construction, and pointed participants to websites they have found particularly useful for job-seekers.

All speakers touched on interview strategies, portfolio building, the importance of a well-crafted resume and overall interview preparedness.

As a service to the community, the SW Ontario Chapter of the STC hosted this evening for free. The extensive publicity resulted in a high attendance by non-STC members. The informal progression style of the meeting allowed all of the participants to have in-depth conversations with the speakers and ask individual questions. Participants left the evening having gained a better understanding of the technical writing job market and self-marketing strategies to improve chances of landing (or keeping!) that job.

Many thanks to Rhonda Lee for providing the YouTube videos.


By Katherine Heyland

Monday, March 1, 2010

Alberta STC Chapter Looking for an Instructional Designer

The Alberta Chapter of STC is looking for a qualified presenter/seminar leader for our annual ‘New Heights’ seminar to be held in April or May of 2010 in Calgary, Alberta. This is an opportunity for a person who is experienced in Instructional Design and has perhaps already created and presented on this topic (possibly covering how to design CBT or online training) in a single-day training format. New Heights is STC Alberta's premier educational event of the year. We bring in a noted speaker for an intensive day-long workshop and provide attendees with materials, lunch and snacks, and a first-class educational experience. The seminar is held on a working day, normally a Friday. The timeline is admittedly short! If you respond to this request, we will ask you to complete our Expression of Interest form that sets out our expectations and which, properly completed, should speed up the selection process. Please respond to our New Heights Manager, Mellissa Ruryk at newheights@stc-ab.org.

Thanks,

Jessie
**********************************************

Jessie Channey President

president@stc-alberta.org

STC Alberta www.stc-alberta.org