Hotel Marketing Blog
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Posted on Sep 1st 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Setting up a business profile for your hotel on social media is ridiculously quick and simple. Getting noticed by the right audience and expanding your reach until you're consistently driving a steady stream of social traffic to your website is not always...
Posted on Aug 25th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
With the explosion of content marketing in recent years, the competition to get your hotel noticed by your guests online is fiercer than ever. Unfortunately, there's no quick fix to SEO. But with a little patience, dedication and commitment to these best...
Posted on Aug 18th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Repeat guests are your most valuable asset. They are cheaper to market to, provide a reliable source of revenue and are likely to provide plenty of word of mouth recommendations. So how do you turn more of the travellers checking into your property for th...
Posted on Aug 10th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Despite the evolution of the search landscape in recent years, using white hat tactics to build high quality links remains an important touchstone of good SEO. It's simple: however great your content and on-page SEO techniques, you need relevant, authorit...
Posted on Aug 4th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Maintaining an active presence on YouTube is a great way to show off all that your hotel has to offer, widen your reach, promote your website and ultimately, drive bookings. In today's blog, we'll look at three simple but effective tactics for converting...
Posted on Jul 28th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Have you taken a look at your old blog content recently? If you've been running the blog for several years, it's probably overdue a bit of a clean up. Why bother? Because both Google and your guests strongly favour fresh, highly relevant content. What's m...
Posted on Jul 19th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Thanks to the lighting pace of online marketing, new digital strategies come and go almost on a weekly basis. It's perhaps surprising then, that one of the oldest channels in the marketer's handbook has not only stood the test of time but actually steadil...
Posted on Jul 12th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
In an online market dominated by online travel agents with steep commission rates, every hotel wants to increase the number of bookings made directly through their property's website. Here are 5 ways to wrestle control away from the OTA's and maximise rev...
Posted on Jul 6th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
There are few digital marketers out there that would dispute that both search engine optimisation and social media are essential components of any effective online strategy. After all, SEO is the original tactic for helping the right audience find your ho...
Posted on Jun 23rd 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Facebook provides an incredible platform to showcase your blog and drive traffic back to your website. In fact, promoting your blog posts on social is every bit as important as writing the posts themselves if you want to get your content discovered by the...
Posted on Jun 14th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Whatever new social platform your guests are adopting, email remains a powerful and reliable way to engage your audience from first contact right through to booking and (hopefully) return trip. Thanks to analytics data and your own knowledge of your guest...
Posted on Jun 7th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
In the past year or so, Facebook has been very busy revamping established features and rolling out some pretty exciting new ones. Have you been keeping up? Whether you have or you haven't, you're probably wondering how you can adapt your hotel's social ca...
Posted on Jun 1st 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Engaging, SEO boosting, and powerfully promotional, blogging is a tool hotel marketers ignore at their own peril. But it's one a lot of hoteliers are still in the dark about, or see as an optional 'extra' that they'll get round to now and then when they h...
Posted on May 25th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Most of us already receive more emails on a daily basis than we can comfortably handle a fair chunk of which are marketing messages which are easier just to ignore, am I right? Does that mean that sending email campaigns to your guests is a waste of your...
Posted on May 18th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Social media has been discussed at length for around a decade now. But despite the hold Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram have over most of our social lives, there still exists some pretty big myths when it comes to using social media for business. Let's t...
Posted on May 10th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Representing the percentage of visitors who land on your website only to leave before checking out any other page, bounce rate is one of the few metrics you really don't want to increase. A high bounce rate often indicates that a page offers a poor user e...
Posted on May 4th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Increasing the amount of time guests spend watching your hotel's YouTube videos not only ensures that more of your content gets viewed, it helps it get discovered by an even wider audience. Following a 2012 algorithm update, watch time or "audience retent...
Posted on Apr 26th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Responsible for delivering holiday planning travellers directly to your website, SEO is one of the most important components of your hotel's online strategy. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most difficult areas to master, with hundreds of Google algor...
Posted on Apr 20th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Whatever else changes in the online marketing world, reviews will continue to form an integral part of the hotel shopping process for your guests. More than half of travellers around the world won't even consider booking a hotel before reading what previo...
Posted on Apr 12th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Since sending out any email - let alone an important bulk marketing mail out - is an irreversible process, you have just one shot to get it right. In today's post, we'll look at some of the most common mistakes which could be jeopardising your open and cl...
Posted on Apr 5th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
It's something we all know by now: if you want to get found by your guests, you've got to make it to page one of Google search results. But getting there isn't easy. If you want to secure a spot on the first page of the SERPs, simply publishing great cont...
Posted on Mar 29th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Social media has been a core component of every brand's online strategy for years now, but as the world of networks and apps continues to evolve, competition for your audience's attention is fierce. In a bid to get noticed, many marketers are striving to...
Posted on Mar 22nd 2017 by Bryan Marsh
For most hotels, online travel agents are a necessary evil. Like it or not, they're the first port of call for most travellers researching their breaks online, and if your property is not listed you're going to miss out on a huge amount of exposure. But w...
Posted on Mar 15th 2017 by Admin
If you really want to capture your audience's attention online, you need to add video to your marketing mix. Few other forms of content have the power to excite and inspire your guests so effectively, with Google data revealing that up to 42% of online tr...
Posted on Mar 7th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Smartphones have all but destroyed landlines, and they've struck a serious blow to desktop too, with mobile searches overtaking those made on a laptop or PC for the first time in 2015. There's no longer any argument that the future of content marketing is...
Posted on Mar 1st 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Striving for new ways to retarget your guests on Facebook? The social media platform has recently made some changes to its Custom Audiences tool to help you get even more refined with your Facebook advertising. Thanks to the update, you can now choose to...
Posted on Feb 22nd 2017 by Bryan Marsh
With the huge emphasis that has been placed on content production in recent years, competition for travel consumers' attention online has never been fiercer. A high quality and strategic SEO campaign is therefore essential if you want to be the best answe...
Posted on Feb 15th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
Whatever exciting new social networks, apps and digital strategies emerge for reaching your guests in the coming months, email marketing is going nowhere in 2017. It remains one of the most powerful and cost effective ways to reach your guests wherever th...
Posted on Feb 8th 2017 by Admin
The competition for your guests' attention online is fiercer than ever, and one thing's for sure; if other local hotels are doing a better job reaching them than you are, your booking rates are going to suffer. So, how do you know if your competition is s...
Posted on Feb 3rd 2017 by Bryan Marsh
It's a debate that rages on and on, and not least when it comes to online travel marketing: is search engine optimisation still relevant, or is it a dying practice? Well I can confirm, SEO is alive and well in fact, organic search consistently generates t...
Posted on Jan 27th 2017 by Bryan Marsh
If you've been using content marketing to promote your hotel online for a while, chances are you've already created a sizeable number of blog posts. But are they actually generating traffic? No matter how interesting, helpful and engaging your content, if...
Posted on Nov 19th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Mastering mobile can make the difference between skyrocketing booking rates and stagnation this holiday season. In today's blog, we'll look at 4 key ways you can make the most of mobile marketing to reach more of your guests this Christmas. A Responsive W...
Posted on Nov 16th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Content Marketing is a crucial tool for driving audience engagement, promoting your hotel and boosting your property's position in the search engine results pages. There's a huge amount of advice out there about how brands can deliver better content onlin...
Posted on Oct 20th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Choosing the right words to rank for can make or break the success of your hotel's PPC campaigns. By taking time to conduct research into the market's demand for certain keywords and phrases, you can identify the words to target to reach more of your gues...
Posted on Oct 19th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
It's approaching the end of October, which means Christmas will soon be snapping at our heels. As marketers, that means it's time to at least start to spare a thought towards this year's holiday campaigns. Social media offers a fantastic opportunity to re...
Posted on Oct 13th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Social media marketing is about promoting your brand and getting word out there about your hotel, but it's also about nurturing your audience. With the right care and management, your social audience will grow bigger and stronger and start to do some of y...
Posted on Oct 11th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Maintaining a high click-through rate is essential if you want your hotel's marketing campaign to do what is actually designed to: drive website traffic and generate bookings. If you've been running your hotel's email marketing campaign for a while, no do...
Posted on Oct 5th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Blogging is a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition, establish yourself as an authority in the eyes of Google, climb the search rankings and engage your guests. Unfortunately, it's also really easy to get wrong. With millions of new pie...
Posted on Oct 4th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Large chain hotels have been using carefully designed loyalty programs for decades, and the OTAs have followed suit with their own discounts and promos designed to retain more guests. Yet, for small hotels and resorts with just one location, such schemes...
Posted on Sep 30th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
There are few better ways to show off the unique vibe of your hotel than a professionally shot video. Surpassing static image and text in terms of emotional connection, video has the unique ability to get travellers imagining their breaks and itching to b...
Posted on Sep 28th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
If you want to market effectively, you've got to know who you're marketing to. Google Analytics provides a mine of data to help you paint a clearer picture of your audience and inform and improve your social media efforts. It's free to use and easy to get...
Posted on Sep 23rd 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Do you know how long it takes the average reader to decide whether your hotel's content is worth the effort? Roughly 15 seconds. But what exactly runs through your audience's mind in this tiny timeframe? In a world overflowing with blog articles and socia...
Posted on Sep 20th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Now that almost every brand under the sun has its own blog, businesses have to work harder than ever to ensure their content gets read and even more importantly, that it actually converts. Although competition for your guests' attention online is fierce,...
Posted on Sep 17th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Since around 77% of travel consumers will check the feedback of other travellers before booking a hotel online, reviews have the powerful ability to pull in your guests in big numbers or drive them straight to the competition. Social media, blogs, forums...
Posted on Sep 14th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Whether it's down to the cost of international travel, safety concerns amidst terrorist threats or changing visa regulations, holidays closer to home are more popular than ever. The rise of the so-called "staycation" is great news for your hotel; not leas...
Posted on Sep 12th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Are you using videos as part of your hotel's social media marketing mix? If not, you really should be, since visual content routinely drives more engagement than text posts across each of the major social media platforms. Once you're regularly includi...
Posted on Sep 8th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Whether your target guests are young or retired, married or single, smartphones are their constant companions. The soaring popularity of smartphones across all demographics resulted in mobile searches overtaking those made on desktop for the first time la...
Posted on Aug 25th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Whatever the demographic makeup of your guests, it's safe to say that many of them live out a large portion of their lives on social media posting holiday selfies, catching up with friends, but also interacting with travel brands, reading reviews and rese...
Posted on Aug 23rd 2016 by Bryan Marsh
One of the fundamental rules of marketing is this: you need to understand your audience, inside out. Without this knowledge, how can you expect to create effective strategies to reach your audience and craft messaging that resonates and turns casual trave...
Posted on Aug 6th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
With so many other hotels and resorts vying for your guests' attention, one of the biggest challenges of any property's online marketing campaign is how to drive a steady stream of traffic to their website. And of course, not just any traffic, but high qu...
Posted on Aug 3rd 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Tech-savvy, socially aware and hyper-connected, millennials can be a difficult nut to crack. However, since they represent such a lucrative market, it's essential to get on the right side of this new generation of travellers planning their breaks online....
Posted on Aug 1st 2016 by Bryan Marsh
If you keep an eye on your website's analytic data, you'll have probably noticed your organic traffic fluctuates from time to time. While delving into Google Analytics and Search Console will often provide immediate explanations for a decline in traffic a...
Posted on Jul 26th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
If you know where to look, social platforms offer a wealth of analytic data which can help you modify your marketing efforts for improved reach, engagement and visibility. Here are 4 ways to use Facebook metrics to boost your hotel's marketing campaigns o...
Posted on Jul 21st 2016 by Bryan Marsh
If you want to maximise your hotel's online bookings, one of the most important elements to get right is your website photography. Industry research has revealed that travel shoppers are up to 150% more likely to engage with a website which features a min...
Posted on Jul 16th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Building a sizeable contact database is the first step of any email marketing campaign and it's perhaps the task that gets talked about the most. If you actually want to drive results though, you've got to pay as much attention to building a trustworthy r...
Posted on Jul 13th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Social media is in a constant state of flux, so what's next? There are obvious answers: new apps, new networks, a continuing move towards The Internet of Things and the increasing prevalence of Virtual Reality. But while the technology is important, it's...
Posted on Jul 11th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Today's travellers expect to be more than just another name on your hotel's contact list; they want a personalised marketing experience tailored to their individual needs and preferences. In simple terms, the more relevant the content you can deliver to y...
Posted on Jul 7th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
When starting out on social media, most hoteliers approach content creation from their property's perspective, focusing on creating posts that show off all their great facilities, offers and discounts. It's not surprising, since the whole goal of social m...
Posted on Jul 4th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
93% of all online experiences begin with a query typed into a search engine. SEO is all about helping Google and the other search engines understand how your website is likely to be a relevant and helpful source of information for these queries. Appearing...
Posted on Jun 28th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Do you want to expand your hotel's social reach? Then you need to drive more shares. Generating lots of shares is key to building your brand, driving engagement and making sure your content gets discovered by the widest possible audience. By fine-tuning t...
Posted on Jun 24th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
SEO is constantly evolving. New Google algorithms, insights and best practices emerge on a regular basis and it's essential to keep on top of these changes if you want to beat your competition and get found in the search results by your guests. Here are 4...
Posted on Jun 22nd 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Hoteliers spend millions of dollars each year on digital marketing campaigns designed to drive more online bookings. But even with this investment, 81% of travel planners will leave a website before finalising their booking, according to recent research f...
Posted on Jun 17th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
What's the first thing people look at when they arrive on your hotel's Facebook page? You got it it's your Facebook cover photo. Since it's probably the most noticeable part of your page, it's essential that your cover photo is eye-catching, engaging and...
Posted on Jun 15th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Content marketing can be time consuming, but it doesn't have to be a chore. From email marketing tips to boosting your blog and optimising your website content, these 5 simple hacks will help save time, boost your productivity and drive results. 1. Optimi...
Posted on Jun 10th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
The TripAdvisor Popularity Ranking ranks hotels and other businesses based on the number, quality and freshness of their reviews. The more 'popular' a hotel is based on these factors, the better its ranking position whenever travellers search for properti...
Posted on Jun 8th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
The ultimate aim of every hotel's online marketing campaign should be to drive direct bookings made through their property website. True, the OTAs have a pretty strong grip on travel consumers, but that doesn't mean you should lie down and accept their do...
Posted on Jun 2nd 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Running a blog can be time-consuming, but it remains one of the best ways to attract a steady stream of traffic to your website, win points with Google and strengthen your relationship with your audience. Most hotels start blogging with the best intention...
Posted on Jun 1st 2016 by Bryan Marsh
As every hotelier concerned with their online reputation knows, there is no site more powerful- and potentially damaging- than TripAdvisor. Now more than 16 years old, the platform has become the number one source of firsthand hotel, resort and attraction...
Posted on May 31st 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Adding videos to your hotel's social media mix is a great way to generate likes and shares, expand your reach and drive traffic back to your website. Creating this kind of content needn't cost you thousands of dollars for high end production. In fact, som...
Posted on May 27th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Driving a steady flow of relevant traffic to your hotel website is integral to the success of your entire digital marketing campaign. If you don't have online travellers landing on your website, it's impossible to convert them into bookings and loyal, lon...
Posted on May 25th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
If you want to stand out from your competitors and ensure your marketing messages resonate with the right people at the right time, it's essential to get personal. In today's blog, we'll look at how using your guests' psychographic and demographic data to...
Posted on May 18th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
In the last few years, content marketing has become an increasingly important tactic for businesses trying to stay ahead in the competitive online world. Content creation and SEO go hand in hand, but unfortunately the two tactics are not always integrated...
Posted on May 13th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
With 87% of Millennials admitting their phone never leaves their side day or night and 68% of smartphone users checking their phone within 15 minutes of waking up, ensuring your content can be engaged with from a small screen has become an essential compo...
Posted on May 11th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Are you struggling to juggle all your hotel's social media tasks? Incorporating a few simple changes into your routine can boost productivity, freeing up valuable time to spend on your other marketing efforts. In today's blog, we'll look at 5 ways to stre...
Posted on May 6th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Google Analytics offers a wealth of data on the people who are landing on your website and how they're engaging with your content once they land there. But knowing which metrics to focus on and pulling all this data together into an actionable marketing p...
Posted on May 5th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
If there's one thing hoteliers are keen to get right when planning a new website, it's the booking engine. After all, this is the final nudge " the point at which guests select their room type and length of stay, enter their credit card details and...
Posted on Apr 27th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Whatever you may have heard, email is still an integral component of any businesses online marketing arsenal. Regularly emailing your guests great offers, exclusive packages and enticing local info is one of the best ways to keep your audience engaged and...
Posted on Apr 26th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Encouraging reviews and managing online reputation is an integral part of any hotel's internet marketing campaign. Before parting with their money, your guests are seeking out the views and experiences of other travellers and using this information to dec...
Posted on Apr 21st 2016 by Bryan Marsh
If you haven't made sure your hotel's website is easy to use on mobile devices yet, you're going to miss out on a whole lot of conversions. That goes without saying. What's perhaps more surprising, is that simply building a mobile version of your...
Posted on Apr 20th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Did you know your hotel's social media activities can serve as a valuable boost to your SEO? In today's blog, we'll look at 3 ways social can support your website's visibility in the search results. 1. Own the SERPs For Your Hotel's Business Name If you w...
Posted on Apr 15th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Ever wonder who's really accessing your website? Google Analytics gives you access to a wealth of demographic data that can give you some valuable insights on the guests behind all those anonymous clicks. In today's blog, you'll discover how to tap into t...
Posted on Apr 13th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Although much of the focus has shifted to social media marketing in recent years, when it comes to reaching out to your guests with highly targeted messaging, email is pretty hard to beat. Used effectively, it's a powerful way to drive guest loyalty, impr...
Posted on Apr 8th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Your website is your hotel's biggest and best selling tool, or at least it should be. If you want to beat the OTA's, showcase your property and drive more direct bookings than ever before, it's important not to lose your guests just when you get them wher...
Posted on Apr 6th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Everyone has a bad habit (or two) that they just can't quite break, whether it's biting our fingernails, checking Facebook every 5 minutes or hitting the snooze button too often in the morning. The same is true when it comes to social media marketing. Exc...
Posted on Apr 1st 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Running a Facebook contest can be a great way to promote your brand, learn about your guests and increase your reach on social media. If you're thinking of holding a contest for your resort's Facebook audience, this easy to follow checklist of 10 tips is...
Posted on Mar 14th 2016 by eTourism Support Team
Gain more control on when you want your Corporation Coupons be available through a new feature included in eTourism's latest update. There may be instances when you would like to block certain dates from using coupons and instead of manually disabling the...
Posted on Mar 2nd 2016 by Bryan Marsh
If you've been following travel industry blogs for awhile, there's a good chance you've heard of the so-called 'billboard effect.' In case you haven't, the idea is that OTAs such as Expedia can be used as a kind of marketing billboard for hotels that rath...
Posted on Mar 1st 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Email marketing allows you to deliver targeted messaging to countless guests all over the world at a low cost, and at a time that suits both you and them. But if you want to compete against some of the biggest companies in the world for attention in your...
Posted on Feb 29th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Almost 90% of businesses say that video is now part of their social media mix, but succeeding at this relatively new form of online marketing comes with its own set of challenges. Paying attention to these 3 key areas will help you create videos that enga...
Posted on Feb 25th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Online Travel Agencies can get your property's name in front of a huge market of travellers, drive last minute bookings and fill rooms that might otherwise go empty. But this increased exposure comes at a cost, and most independent hoteliers are strugglin...
Posted on Feb 18th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Blogging is one of the most reliable ways to drive a steady flow of organic traffic to your hotel's website. If you regularly publish relevant, high quality blog articles, it will increase your rankings in the SERPs, especially if you take time to optimis...
Posted on Feb 17th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
With the number of social media users now at 1.82 billion worldwide, it goes without saying that maintaining an active presence on the most popular networks is an essential component of your hotel's marketing plan. But how can you communicate your message...
Posted on Feb 10th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
As you're probably aware, SEO is far from dead. In fact, it's still absolutely crucial if you want to get your property discovered by your guests and drive lots of bookings online. But SEO has changed, and the tricks and cheats once touted as the quick wa...
Posted on Feb 3rd 2016 by Bryan Marsh
If you regularly check in on your Google Analytics data to see how your resort's website is performing (as you should), you're probably keeping an eye on your Bounce Rate. This much talked about quality metric represents the percentage of visitors who lan...
Posted on Jan 27th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
Whatever other marketing tactics come and go in the coming 12 months, SEO is here to stay. Recent stats show that an average of 12 billion online searches are made every month, and that's just in the US. With so many people using Google and other search e...
Posted on Jan 21st 2016 by Bryan Marsh
We could all use a little motivation at the beginning of the year, and especially, perhaps, when it comes to your hotel's content marketing campaign. That's because maybe above every other kind of online marketing tactic, content production could never be...
Posted on Jan 13th 2016 by Bryan Marsh
So, the tinsel is down, your cards have been recycled and the tree has been packed away for another year. Christmas is well and truly over. In fact, it's almost two weeks into 2016 already. But that doesn't mean it's too late to start thinking about your...
Posted on Dec 15th 2015 by Bryan Marsh
Are your hotel's videos falling flat on YouTube? Optimising your content to take advantage of the site's algorithm will ensure your videos get seen by more of your guests. In today's blog, we'll look at 5 ways you can rank higher in YouTube search. 1. Dis...
Posted on Dec 10th 2015 by Bryan Marsh
Most hotels have accepted by now that creating glowing reviews of their own business is not a wise idea. But what if your property is one of the many businesses unlucky enough to fall victim to malicious fake reviews? Whether they are posted by your compe...
Posted on Dec 3rd 2015 by Bryan Marsh
Email is an essential component of any hotel's online marketing campaign, but crafting great email content takes time, effort and money. With a little bit of planning and creativity, however, driving results with your email output needn't eat into your re...