Frank Soukup III Frank Soukup III Director of Marketing, Cote Family Companies
Overview Understand what it is What it does How does it affect you How to use it for your advantage How to use blogs & social media Now using them all together
Travel Facts The Internet was used by approximately 90 million American adults to plan travel during thepast year 76 percent of online travelers plan leisure trips 76 percent of online travelers plan leisure trips online
Travel Facts Most see the Internet as a essential tool for planning many/most aspects of a trip where to stay overnight planning travel routes potential places to visit attractions to visit as well as learning about what to do.
The Primary Tools for Travel Planning online travelagencyagency websites search engines company websites destination websites Airline tickets, overnight lodging accommodations and car rentals are the dominant travel products and services purchased online by travel planners. (Source: Travelers Use of the Internet)
Overall 1. The Internet is the most widely used information source to plan leisure trips is the Internet 2. online travel agencies (internet based) 3. branded suppliers (internet based) 4. and all other websites (internet based) 5. Guide books were the fifth most popular source, being used by 15 percent of all leisure travelers. One in four of adult leisure travelers also obtain information from friends, relatives, neighbors, and/or co workers. (But still used the internet to search for additional information)
Internet is Used Throughout the Purchase Funnel
Search Remains the Number One Planning Source For Leisure Travel
Most Used Search Engines? Google 80.38% Bing 9.26% Yahoo 7.05% AOL 1.80% Ask 1.51% Don t forget over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month ebizmba, 2/1/2013
So If We Know The traveler is using the web as a tool for travel and local information, Your website is where you want them to visit, That search is the number one tool they use, That Google is the number one search engine,
So How Does Your Website Rank?
The Google Algorithms Each year, Google changes its search algorithm up to 500 600 times. While most of these changes are minor, every few months Google rolls out a major algorithmic update that affect search results in significant ways. For search marketers, knowing the dates of these Google updates can help explain changes in rankings and organic website traffic
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) MozMetrics Domain Authority best prediction about how a website will perform in search engine rankings Page Authority predicts the likelihood of a single page to rank well, regardless of its content MozRank link popularity score. It reflects the importance of any given web page on the Internet. Pages earn MozRank by the number and quality of other pages that t link to them. MozTrust measures link trust. Receiving links from sources which have inherent trust
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Link Related Topics External Links External links pass Link Juice (ranking power) differently than internal links because the search engines consider them as third party votes Internal Links an internal link is one that points to another page on the same website AnchorText the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. In modern browsers, it is often blue and underlined
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) On Site Related Topics Title Tag define the title of a document and are required for allhtml/xhtml documents Meta Description provide concise explanations of the contents of web pages, are commonly used by search engines on search result pages On Page Factors Good content must supply a demand and must be linkable. Unique keywords and diverse landing pages
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) URL Related Topics Domains URLs Canonicalization Rdi Redirection
Google Analytics Search engine optimization (SEO) The best way to achieve higher organic listings monitoring i traffic Social media referrals Mobile Pages Keywords
Google Analytics By knowing this information, how can you use it to your advantage? Marketing Campaigns Pay per click (PPC) Unique URLs Conversion Codes Concentration of possible customers demographic Content marketing analysis Which pages most popular Jumpers Referral links
So How Do You Rank? Take a look at your website Ask for customer input Look to SIMPLE ideas to make BIG differences Use tools like www.moonsy.com Understand more at www.seomoz.org Study your customers using analytics
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) different methods you can use to make your Web site more visible on search engines to drive more traffic SEM blends organic (i.e., free) SEO with PPC advertising to increase exposure for your Web Wbsite. This would include Adwords Blogs Social media Review sites Referral sites
So How Do They Find You?
So How Do They Find You?
Now, that we have our selling tool (website) ready to go, how do we improve our SEM by using content management?
Why Blog? Foundation for All Your Social Media Activities Build Your Brand As An Expert Exercise Your Creativity Growing Stream of Organic Search Traffic Consistency is the Key Proven Business Model
Using Blogs Successfully Set it up Focus it Tag it Write often Link in, Link out Shamelessly, self promote. It s the point.
Set It Up Free for most parts A blog allows you to build a fuller picture of who you are. Most people will meet you through other places but if they like what they read on Twitter, then they ll follow you back to your blog and find out more about who you are. You better have a lot of content to give them.
Focus It Bean expert, provide useful info i.e. If you re a spa, why are certain treatments beneficial Concentrate on specifics Drive traffic based on search information
Tag It Tags are really nothing more than keywords used to describe a piece of data Tag photos and text Use blogging tools for tagging article Photo tag tools for images before uploading www.itagsoftware.com www.adobe.com www.pictomio.com
Write Often Google search loves new content Allows full explanation of specific content Gives the perfect platform for detail Allows perfect outside link opportunity Endorses personability or inside look
Link In, Link Out Link in website visitors to blog for more info Link in social media to articles Link kin as a landing page for content Link out articles to specific sources Link out photos to facebook or websites Link out to all social media sites
Shamelessly, Self Promote It is the goal! Sell your products or services individually Detail oriented Grab one keyword, and focus on that one only It is one of the largest key components to successful SEM!
Share It!
Travel with Social Media 52% of Facebook users stated that seeing friends vacation pictures inspired them to book a trip to that particular place. 2011 poll Skyscanner.com Travelers are 80% more likely to book a trip from a friend liking a page than they are from responding to a traditional advertisement Friend2Friend Seven out of 10 travel brands professed how social media has not only generated a remarkable amount of direct bookings from social media sites, but has also significantly improved engagement gg with customers. EyeforTravel, 2012 Social Media & Mobile Travel 22%, of travel companies generate revenue from social media efforts and 27% are planning to make strides in social over the next 5 years. The report further indicates that by 2016, social media will be in the forefront as a primary way to generate travel bookings and revenue for half of the travel industry. Forbes: How Facebook is Shaping your 2012 Travel Decisions
Share It Use sites like www.bit.ly to shorten links and make them trackable Create separate messages for facebook, twitter, etc. and link back to specific content creates in bound links Word of mouth affect Check in, brag, show off to your friends Inexpensive, if used properly Great form of SEO & Content Management
Why Do Any of It?
So Everyone Can Find You?
The Past Customer We Already Reach E blasts Blog Social media followers Reviews Digital comment cards Your database! (the true marketer s goal) Sowhat aboutthenewthe customer?
Five Stages of Travel More than 87% of travelers expect to take the same or more number of personal or business trips versus years past. Here are some insights within each stage: Dreaming: 68% of business travelers watch travel related online videos. Among them, 68% are thinking about a trip. Planning: The average traveler visits ii ~22 travel related sites during 95 9.5 research sessions prior to booking. 85% of leisure travelers consider the internet their main source of travel planning. (ZMOT) Booking: 37% of leisure travelers report that the internet prompted them to book, up from 28% two years ago. 53% of travelers plan to increase comparison shopping this year. Experiencing: 70% of business travelers check into their flights/hotel with their mobile device. Almost 1 in 4 hotel queries come from a mobile phone. Over 50% of travelers use mobile phone or device for travel relatedrelated information. Sharing: About 1 in 3 business travelers have posted reviews online of places they ve been. 2012 Google
Actual In Travel Stats 62% of personal travelers use search engines as the number one source for travel information. 51% of business travelers use mobile devices to get travel information, more than double the rate of two years ago. 46% of personal travelers are watching travelrelated videos, versus 36% two years ago. Google/OTX, l/ The Traveler s Road to Decision 2011
Google s Project Glass
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