Google Adwords Challenge DOJO

What better way to kick off a semester full of intensity and excitement than a little healthy competition? Tuesday night, January 17, MA hosted the first information meeting for the Google Online Marketing Challenge. Not sure what that means? We’ll fill you in: Google invites students across the world to develop, and put their online marketing skills to the test in the form of an Ad words campaign. Ad Words is a paid tool for companies to maximize their search relevance online, a vital need for today’s business world. Groups of 3-6 people organize themselves, choose a company or non-profit and get to work. Teams fill their time learning about the program, earning their AdWords certification and most importantly, developing a killer Ad Words strategy to turn searches into sales.

“So what’s in it for me?” A lot! In today’s digital age, it doesn’t matter if you’re going into a career directly related to the internet or not; you are expected to be computer savvy. A hard skill in the digital marketing field will give you a leg up in any job scouting. It’s a skill that not only looks great on a resume, but is also totally useful in your future career. Ultimately, locating your target audience is how you will make sales, and a click to your company’s site is your foot in the door!

But it’s no competition without prizes, of course.

Google promises the global winners and their professor a seven-night stay in San Fransisco, spending one day at the Google Headquarters! The team will meet with employees working in the Adwords and Marketing teams, in addition to receiving digital device prizes and more. But do not dismay, you don’t have to be the best Ad Words campaigner in the world to win some Google goodies. There will also be regional winners who are invited to a two-night stay at a regional Google office and recipients of digital prizes. There are prizes for national winners, as well as extraordinary non-profit sponsoring teams. Find all the details here.

Lucky for us, we’re not alone in this quest. BYU’s Jeff Larson, our sponsor and internet marketing idol, is here to give us his input on how to get started and launch an awesome AdWords campaign. MA was fortunate enough to have him present at the Tuesday night DOJO to share his wisdom on what types of businesses students should be targeting and how to choose the best strategy. You weren’t there to partake of Larson’s knowledge? No worries, we have DOJOs regularly and leaders present who are ready to help you tackle these projects! There are tools added within your AdWords profile and free keyword research tools around the internet; here’s a site to help you get going.

We are so excited to see what our MA community brings to the table in this competition! Whether or not anyone walks away with a trophy in their hands, everyone will walk away with experience and valuable skills! Catch you at the next DOJO, Cougars.