June 16, 2009

Search Engine Optimization – or SEO – is a complex science, designed to increase the visibility of a website in the search engines’ natural results through the modification of certain key elements and site attributes. Hotel Traffic Builders’ successful SEO campaigns for hotel and travel websites fully acknowledges and addresses the hundreds of different factors that the search engines use to determine the relevancy of a site to any given term – fro-m its posted content and architectural structure, to the age of its primary URL and affiliation with other high-ranking sites.

Recognizing that copy is just one of many tools that should be engaged in a comprehensive SEO strategy, below Hotel Traffic Builders describes the strategies it uses to increase client hotel website’s natural search engine rankings. The following list of Hotel Traffic Builders tips provides an excellent starting point in the process of increasing any resort site’s visibility through effective SEO copywriting.

1. Begin with comprehensive research of search demand for relevant keyword phrases. Never simply assume that the terms that online consumers might use to find your product will be inherently obvious. Conduct thorough research to determine the exact keyword combinations that should be incorporated into your website copy. Use an online tool such as Trellian Keyword Discovery or Word tracker to analyze the precise keyword phrases that customers enter into the search engines to look for your specific web pages. This research will serve as the focal point of your SEO copywriting campaign – as the foundational piece around which your overall strategy should be built. Analyze the demand for as many relevant keywords as possible, to determine the most effective terms to be used to drive Search Engine Traffic to your property’s Hotel website. HTB completes this process on a page by page basis for entire web site as the search terms will vary greatly by web page.

2. Study the statistically weighted demand for keyword combinations in your property’s geographic area. You will soon see that not all keywords are of equal importance! SEO works best when it incorporates keywords that are geographically targeted, for two reasons:

•  To secure prominent placement for terms specific to an area, your website needs only to compete against other sites within that defined region – rather than every-single hotel in the world with a functional website – making it possible to rank higher and become more visible on a consistent basis; and

•  Because geo-targeted keywords are driven by customers interested in your specific local, they are also much more likely to result in successful conversion than less qualified queries. Research relevant terms within all geographic areas that apply to you as these will include the immediate and surrounding areas. Incorporate terms fro-m these various geographic areas into your site copy to maximize exposure.

3. Identify niche terms that generate significant demand. You might be extremely tempted to target only the most popular keywords that appear within your local market that are relevant to your product offering (e.g., “Bahamas hotel,” “Bahamas travel”). But keep in mind that these terms will also be the most difficult to secure and maintain with consistently prominent placement – especially in major Destination Markets. A much more effective strategy is to balance the most heavily searched phrases with targeted niche terms (e.g., “Bahamas luxury hotel,” “Harbour Island boutique hotel,”) – which have a much greater chance of both ranking and converting. Look for targeted niche phrases actively searched by consumers, as a way of driving more qualified customers to your Hotel Website.

4. Choose four to five targeted keywords for each page of your hotel website. A limit of four or five terms is generally accepted industry-wide, as the maximum number that can be targeted through formal Hotel Search Engine Optimization on any given page. Why? In order for a page to be properly optimized for a term, that phrase must appear in certain key places within the visible copy and meta data. Attempts to inse- rt any more than four or five terms per page will divert the search engines’ ability to recognize the most relevant phrases, and greatly diminish SEO results.

5. Use “themes” to optimize each individual page of your Hotel Website. An exceptionally valuable technique that should be utilized as much as possible during the process of keyword sele-ction is “theme focused” – i.e., the grouping of terms that share a common word or phrase on one page. For instance, you may choose to center the keywords placed on the Home Page around the word “hotel” (e.g., “Rome Italy boutique hotel,” “South Beach ocean front hotel”), while the terms sele-cted for the Spa Page incorporate the word “spa” (e.g., “Miami day spa,” “Boca Raton spa treatments”). When the keywords chosen for a page all include a common element, it provides valuable support to the site’s natural rankings by: (1) allowing the search engines to recognize the individual keywords on the page much more readily, (2) prompting the search engines to consider the entire page relevant to the common theme, and (3) often permitting the site to appear for other terms within that theme that have not been specifically targeted. If the shared theme is also included in the title of the page, the positive effect on the site’s rankings is even greater, because the search engines are more likely to recognize relevancy.

6. Develop the meta tags for each page around the sele-cted keywords. Three fields comprise the meta data of a page: The title tag, meta description, and meta keywords. All three fields should be written to incorporate the targeted terms identified for each page.

7. Incorporate the keywords sele-cted for each page into the headings and paragraph text. Mention of a targeted keyword within the visible copy of a page is one factor that the search engines consider when determining relevant results for that phrase. Placement within headings is weighted even more heavily than paragraph text, so be sure to incorporate the keywords in both areas.

8. Use a mixture of both singular and plural forms of targeted keyword phrases. Most search engines display slightly different results for the singular and plural form of a keyword, when entered as search queries. Be sure to incorporate both into the text of your site, to ensure that your hotel website appears for each form.

9. Intra-link pages within your hotel website, and include targeted keywords in the link text. The search engines evaluate the text included in links with far greater influence than standard text. While a hyperlink fro-m a page within the same site does not carry quite as much SEO value as an inbound link fro-m an external URL, it does carry a certain percentage of the weight – and plays an especially important role in Hotel Website Search Engine Optimization when the text of the link includes a targeted keyword. The practice of incorporating links to other pages within your site also provides a secondary benefit, by presenting travelers with the opportunity to explore pages of greatest interest to them – for a more interactive experience.

10. Write copy that appeals to both the search engines and online travelers. During the meticulous process of adding keywords and incorporating various SEO techniques into your website copy, do not lose sight of the end user: Online travelers, for whom all of the standard Internet marketing best practices should be actively engaged. To be truly successful, SEO copy must artfully balance the needs of the search engines and Internet customers, using the text that surrounds the targeted keywords to achieve the desired marketing message, and communicate your best selling points. Format the copy on your site with a well-organized mixture of headings, paragraphs, bullets, and links – to allow online customers skimming the pages of your site to process all content quickly and efficiently. Close every page with a strong call to action, as a means of driving customers toward your ultimate objective(s) – whether that goal is immediate purchase or submission of a request for information.

June 9, 2009

Recent research statistics show that 20 to 25% of the average hotel’s reservations originate from some interaction by the guest through the Internet.

This interaction is either as a part of the sele-ction process or a direct online reservation. This percentage is based on actual bookings and it does not consider the telephone bookings that are generated from Internet searches and references. In the months ahead, hoteliers will realize more than half of all their reservations are a direct result of Internet searches and information.

Will these reservations come through a hotel’s proprietary website, the brand website or a 3rd party website? The answer is yes! Yes, online reservations will be made through all of these channels from travelers, travel planners and secure extranets that are connected to various Internet channels. How you market your hotel on each of these channels and probably some new ones, such as the meta search engines is crucial to your business. Successful hotel marketing requires a solution for each.

Gone are the days when hotel marketing was a bold listing in a directory, a color brochure and a connection to the GDS. The amazing shift in sales channels and buying patterns over the past five years has turned the hospitality industry upside down. I would use the term “paradigm shift”, but that is way too trendy.

Now is the time to re-evaluate marketing strategies! Hotel sales are up, room rates are up and the percentage of guest booking through the Internet is escalating at a record pace. The battle of the heavy weights for the guest bookings is on between the brands and the 3rd party merchant sites. The hotelier has to decide what level of inventory and rates will generate the best return from the brand’s Internet and GDS bookings compared to giving away half of their rate to a 3rd party merchant because they do drive sales volume. Mr. Hotelier, remember when the concern was whether to pay a 15% commission to the travel agencies?

There is no doubt that the sales channel for today and even more for tomorrow is the Internet. Hospitality marketing has changed significantly and it will continue to change as the Internet and search engines change. It doesn’t matter anymore whether your hotel is a five star deluxe in Manhattan or a two star at interstate exit 25 or whether you are a mountain resort or an urban conference center. Your website content, search engine position and link affiliations are part of the sele-ction and reservation process by your future guests.

The strategic business decision facing most hoteliers today is whether to take on the personnel and related overhead that is required to manage an effective Internet marketing program, to rely on their brand or to outsource and manage the relationship with a professional Internet marketing agency. There are clearly a growing number of new online marketing tools that can help enable an in-house Internet marketing effort. And, the number of marketing agency choices is overwhelming.

For an effective in-house Internet marketing program, you will need a marketing staff, the demands far out weigh what one marketing manager can do. One person is needed to focus their efforts on managing your traditional marketing programs. Another person, possibly a webmaster, is needed to keep your website current, fresh and appealing. Add an eCommerce manager to manage your daily organic and paid search campaigns as well as interacting with the Webmaster and directing email promotions and broadcasts. And finally, someone has to analyze the Internet data to determine and define the changes and updates that are required so senior management can make an informed decision. Then there is always the risk of a key marketing person leaving the company. This immediately creates an urgent need for replacement by someone who is proficient with the same Internet programs used by their predecessor or you will have a transition delay in your marketing until the new Internet services are implemented, not to mention termination of existing licenses and contracts. Today’s web-based tools and on-line services are great, but they all require a certain technical aptitude, along with time and talent for creative design, system monitoring and interpreting results. Doing your own Internet marketing in-house definitely gives you control. On the other hand, your delays, mistakes or distractions will cost you significantly over time.

One alternative to an in-house eCommerce Department is to rely on your brand to market your property through a page or two for your hotel on their site. We all know the risk factor here. The brand’s marketing priorities focus on selling the brand and not your specific property or market. The strategy with most brands does not take into consideration such property specifics as location, local events and attractions, groups, supplemental services (dynamic packaging) or other factors that are unique to the property.

The brands are clearly improving in their Internet marketing efforts, but their values do not change. Their priority is to generate sales volume across all hotels based on the value perception of the brand, brand specific promotions, brand frequent stay programs and other brand specific programs. The brand is an essential element in any successful marketing plan much like and equal to the benefits from the 3rd party sales channels. But, it can be a mistake to assume the brand is your Internet marketing solution. Another alternative is to outsource your Internet marketing to an Internet Services Agency. But only when there are clearly defined expectation between you and the agency and a measurable set of benchmarks included in the service agreement.

You need to keep in mind, that the basic requirements for a good Internet marketing service are quit different from those that are generally available from traditional advertising agencies. The primary requirement, in addition to a definitive agreement, should be that their core competency is rooted in the hospitality or travel industry. Only those of us in the hospitality industry understand the challenges presented by the variable demands of owners, management companies and the day to day property level business operations. A service as critical as your Internet marketing demands that your supplier(s) clearly understand the unique demands from your guests and the value of each sales channel, including non-Internet channels.

The fundamental nature of the Internet, unlike traditional image or value marketing, is rooted in its ability to enable comparison by the shopper as well as its ability to search for customer/shopper/prospect relational criteria. This is why the importance of the Internet search engines and their peripheral services are so important. The search engines capitalize on the pure nature of the Internet’s ability to empower the customer/shopper to sele-ct a hotel based on key marketing factors (keyword or phrases) other than the brand name and to compare their findings.

The marketing factors include location, personal preferences, price, special promotional offers, property specific dynamic packaging and other property specific services and amenities. To implement a successful search engine marketing program either organic or paid requires elements that are not provided by most brands, marketing services that require constant updates of rich optimized website content, page updates, relevant links and more as the search engines change their algorithms on a daily basis. To create and maintain an effective Internet marketing program requires man-power with experience, an aptitude for automated systems and time or redundancy. The true bottom line for every hotel’s Internet marketing program is measured by its conversion rate. This is the ratio of sales to website traffic and it has a direct impact your true benchmark of success . . . REVPAR and ROI results! In conclusion, Internet marketing is strategic to your overall marketing efforts. Whether you manage Hotel Internet Marketing in-house with online tools, depend on your brand or you outsource, if you are not getting a minimum return of five to one on your invested time and cost, it is time to re-evaluate your strategy. You need a clear strategy with defined measurable expectations as well as some flexibility in your plan to accommodate unexpected changes resulting from new Internet services and opportunities.