Search Marketing for Hoteliers

Search Marketingfor

HoteliersOctober 26, 2011

Let’s Get Acquainted

• Ed Tankersley• Principal of Eight

Trails• Smarter websites and

online marketing• 20+ years advertising and marketing• Interactive director• Creative director• Writer

Let’s Get Acquainted

• Ed Tankersley• Google AdWords Qualified

Individual

What is SEM?

Connect with potentialcustomers while they’re

actively searching foryour service!

Natural search (SEO)vs paid search (PPC)

SEO vs PPC

• SEO helps you with your organic search rankings

• PPC is a way to pay for position on the search results pages (and other websites, too)

• PPC is not affected by what you do with SEO

• SEO is not affected by what you do with PPC

What is SEO?

• AKA Search Engine Optimization, Search Optimization

• Improvements to your website – and related to your website – that improve your site’s ranking in search engines

Why Does SEO Matter?

When someone does a search, they have communicated that they are interested, motivated,

and engaged


60%of consumers use the Internet as their first-line tool to search

for local businesses

Source: comScore 2007 Search Report


60%of those searchers

go on to make a purchase

Source: comScore 2007 Search Report

Top 10 Rank is Critical

Source: http://www.seoresearcher.com/distribution-of-clicks-on-googles-serps-and-eye-tracking-analysis.htm

SEO:Optimizing Your Site

What is Google’s Purpose?

To deliver useful, relevant results to their searchers

What determines your rank?

• It’s all about relevant results for searchers

• On-site factors, such as• Visible page content• Site structure• Page load time

• Off-site factors, especially• In-bound links

Optimizing is a 5-Step Process

1. Keyword research2. Site updates3. Submit to search engines and

directories4. Build links5. Measure and adjust

Step 1: Keyword Research

Keyword – A word or series of words that a searcher types into the search box

Step 1: Keyword Research

• Generate a seed list• Ask your customers• Ask your front-line employees• Look at analytics or server logs

• Use tools to expand your list• Evaluate and rank your keywords by• High search volume• High relevance• Low competition

Sample Seed List

1. Hotel2. Inn3. Family Hotel4. Luxury Hotel5. Pet Friendly Hotel6. Hotel Deals7. Flagstaff Hotel8. Northern Arizona Hotel9. Hotel Reviews10.Hotel Ratings

Evaluate Search Volume

• Get search volume estimates• Google Keyword Tool• adwords.google.com/select/

KeywordToolExternal

• Wordtracker• freekeywords.wordtracker.com

• Keyword Discovery• www.keyworddiscovery.com/

search.html

Evaluate Relevance

Are the people who search for that keyword likely to be

buyers?

Evaluate Relevance

• The more precise the search, the closer they are to buying:• Hotels• Flagstaff hotels• Flagstaff hotel reviews• Pet friendly flagstaff hotel• Pet friendly flagstaff hotel

downtown

Evaluate Competition

• You can’t be number 1 for everything

• Use long tail keywords

Select Your Keywords

• Start with a manageable number – 10-20 – these are your Target Keywords

• Match the Target Keywords to relevant pages of your site

• One keyword per page

Step 2: Optimize Your Site

• Focus on content• Fix the major problems• Get help with the tougher things

Content – Visible

• Text• Domain name• Page title• URL• Headings – H1, H2, H3• Internal links

Content – Hidden

• Description• Image alt tags• Keywords

Structure

• Separation of content and presentation

• Important stuff first• Text-based navigation

Don’t build your site in Flash!

Other On-Site Factors

• Content is kept current• Site map• Custom error page• Robots.txt

Off-Site Factors

• Inbound links• Domain authority• Quality of anchor text

Bad

Better

Step 3: Submit Your Site

• Search Engines• Google• Bing

• Directories• Yahoo• Open Directory (dmoz.org)• JoeAnt• Business.com

Step 4: Link Building

• Blogs• Forums• Press Releases• Don’t buy links• Don’t bother with link

exchanges• Most social media sites use

“nofollow” tags so they don’t help your site get better ranking

Step 5: Measure

• Google Analytics• Referrers• Search terms

• Authority Labs• Position monitoring

Adjust

• Getting to the top takes time• SEO never stops• Give it a few months to see

results • Adjust and refine regularly

based on what you measure

Is SEO Free?

• keyword research• content generation• site updates• tracking• link-building• also consider visitor intent –

typically higher with a well-executed PPC ad

Resources

• EightTrails.com• SEOmoz.com• SEObook.com• SearchEngineLand.com

What is AdWords?

• AdWords is Google’s paid search advertising program

• Paid search is also known as pay-per-click or PPC

• PPC is one component of SEM

AdWords Essentials

• Benefits of AdWords• Reach• Targeting• Flexibility• Measurability

AdWords Essentials

• AdWords is an auction• The higher you bid, the higher

your ads appear (generally)

AdWords Essentials

• You pay only when someone clicks on your ad

• Hence, pay-per-click• There is no minimum budget

requirement• Spend as much or as little as

works for you

AdWords Essentials

• Your bid price for a given position is determined by competition AND your Quality Score

• With a good Quality Score, you could rank higher than a competitor for a lower bid price

AdWords Essentials

• Your Quality Score is determined by• The relevance of your ad• The relevance of your landing

page• Your clickthrough rate• Other mysterious factors

AdWords Essentials

• AdWords comprises:• Search Network• Google search• Search partners (AOL, Earthlink)

• Display Network• Hundreds of thousands of websites

The Lowdown on Keywords

Keyword Research

• Generate a seed list• Ask your customers• Ask your front-line employees• Look at analytics or server logs

• Use tools to expand your list• Evaluate and rank your keywords by• High search volume• High relevance• Low competition

Select Your Keywords

• Arrange keywords into closely related groups• Location• Room amenities• Promotions• Nearby attractions

Hands-OnCreate a Keyword List

• Write a seed list across the top• Write similar keywords below

each seed word to create groups


• Use negative keywords to tell AdWords what searches are not relevant to your business


• Put your most popular keywords in their own group

• Put lots of keywords in your campaign

• Add new keywords regularly

Your Secret Advantage –

Irresistible Ads

Your Secret Advantage – Irresistible Ads

The purpose of your ad is to get people to click on your ad!


People don’t need a drill… …they need a hole.

Sell your benefits!


< Benefits

< Features

Explore Your Benefits

• Create a list of features• Extend those to benefits• Add emotional promise if you

can


• Include a call to action and make it specific

• Bad: Click here.• Better: Learn about our hotel.• Best: Book online. Buy now.

Reserve your spot. Get yours today.


• Include a call to action and make it specific


• Put your price in your ad


Spy on your competitors, then

differentiate


• Write two ads and let them battle

What Can You Test?

• Headlines• Offers• Features• Benefits• Appeal/Promise• URLs• Capitalization


• Use your top keyword in your ad headline

Optimize Your Ad Groups for

Success

Organize Your Ad Groups for Success

• Create tightly focused ad groups• One feature or promotion per ad

group, for example

Bonus Tipsfor Insiders Only

Ad Extensions Supercharge Your PPC Ads

Create a separate campaign for your branded keywords

• Company name• Website• Variations

• Keeps these top performers from skewing your other metrics

Ad Scheduling

• Test Ad Scheduling to run your ads during those hours when you want to answer the phone

Be Patient

• Don’t make changes too frequently

• Allow enough time to observe relevant trends

Be a Hoarder

• Don’t delete ads• Pause and replace• Review old underperforming

ads for new ideas

Bookmark These

• EightTrails.com• adwords.google.com• google.com/adwords/

learningcenter – advanced tutorials

• adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal – keyword tool

Questions? Effusive Praise?

• Ed Tankersley • EightTrails.com• [email protected]• 602-361-2001

mailto:[email protected]