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Posted on Feb 10th 2015 by Bryan Marsh
In the past couple of years, Google has put a big emphasis on the link between "quality content" and ranking highly in the search results. But what exactly does quality content look like? Put together using Google's guidelines and our own experience, here...
Posted on Feb 10th 2015 by Bryan Marsh
Valentine's Day happens this weekend, and according to some experts, the emotionally-charged occasion is second only to Christmas when it comes to consumer spending. If you haven't yet started planning how to capitalise on this year's event, it's not too...
Posted on Feb 3rd 2015 by Bryan Marsh
Email marketing is one of the best ways to connect with your guests, drive traffic to your website and generate bookings. It also offers the best ROI of all the digital channels, making a creative, ongoing email campaign a necessity for any business that...
Posted on Feb 3rd 2015 by Bryan Marsh
While likes and comments on your Facebook page are good for your engagement rates and visibility, if you really want to increase your reach on the world's most used social network, its shares you need to chase. The platform's algorithm gives more weightin...
Posted on Jan 27th 2015 by Bryan Marsh
In the last week, Google has been sending out emails to sites which are not currently mobile-friendly, warning webmasters that their content will not rank highly for smartphone users. The email notifications, which have been sent out on a mass scale via W...
Posted on Jan 27th 2015 by Bryan Marsh
Google has changed search dramatically in the last couple of years, transforming it from a system that could be 'tricked' with poor quality, keyword-stuffed content, into a personalized search engine that draws on semantics to deliver the most relevant re...
Posted on Jan 20th 2015 by Bryan Marsh
If you're anything like us, you've probably grown pretty bored of all the promotional emails that ended up in your inbox over the recent Christmas break. It's highly likely that some of your guests feel the same, which is why this is a great time to bring...
Posted on Jan 20th 2015 by Bryan Marsh
Marketers, much like almost everyone else, are under pressure to do more. Sign up to more social media platforms, publish more blog posts, create more email campaigns, drive more results. Often, doing more works. Emailing your guests on a more regular bas...
Posted on Jan 16th 2015 by Bryan Marsh
Creating an effective SEO campaign is an ongoing commitment " you should be continuingly revisiting your strategies to ensure your site ranks highly in the SERPs and gets clicked-on by your guests. Now that the New Year celebrations are over, why not take...
Posted on Jan 13th 2015 by Bryan Marsh
Now that we're nearly two weeks into 2015, take a moment to think about the marketing goals you hope to achieve in the year ahead. Have you identified what's already working for you and the areas you need to adjust to make this year's campaigns just as su...
Posted on Oct 29th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
It has happened to all of us. You've created the perfect email message for your guests. You've polished each sentence to address their needs and engage their interests. You've taken time to pick the most compelling subject line you can think of....
Posted on Oct 29th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Do your guests review your property on Facebook? The social platform's star rating system encourages users to share their positive and negative brand experiences with others by leaving a short review and a rating out of 5. If you choose to display them,...
Posted on Oct 22nd 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Is your content campaign generating the results you need, or does it seem to be falling flat? Creating content has become a central component of every business's online campaign. It's one of the most important ways to reach your guests, build authority wi...
Posted on Oct 22nd 2014 by Bryan Marsh
In a recent blog post we took a look at some of the most important on-page SEO elements and how often they need to be updated to keep your website ranking highly and bringing in lots of organic search traffic. It's now time to turn our attention to the of...
Posted on Oct 16th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Perfecting your SEO strategy is not a one-off task; it's an ongoing commitment. After all, Google is reported to make more than 500 algorithm tweaks annually, many of which have the potential to impact your website's ranking, the amount of organic traffic...
Posted on Oct 16th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Your guests might be stocking up on sweets for trick-or-treaters, but it's time for you to think slightly further ahead and start strategising your resort's Christmas email campaigns. Email continues to be one of the most effective ways to reach your audi...
Posted on Oct 8th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Do you track your resort's website metrics consistently? Perhaps you're unsure how to best put the data to use to maximise your marketing efforts? To understand which aspects of your content strategy are working, and which are falling flat, you need to lo...
Posted on Oct 7th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Running tests on your blog is essential if you want to discover the best strategies for driving more blog visits, and turn more of those visits into subscribers and bookings. Fortunately, you can run tests on practically every aspect of your blogging camp...
Posted on Sep 24th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
There's no denying it: you need a mobile-optimised site. With global mobile internet usage expected to hit 90% by 2017, failing to make your content easily accessible across all devices won't just cause a headache for your guests, it'll lose you masses of...
Posted on Sep 24th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Images and video have appeared in search results for some time now, but often, rich media of this type is very much an afterthought when it comes to search engine optimisation. Although optimising text content is integral to any successful SEO strategy, p...
Posted on Sep 22nd 2014 by Bryan Marsh
The Apple Watch was unveiled in a live event in California last week, alongside a preview of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Set to go on sale early next year, the highly anticipated product is Apple's first all-new design since the original iPad in 2010....
Posted on Sep 15th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Responding to your guests on social media is now an essential component of customer service and your online reputation hinges on getting it right. Are you delivering the best customer service possible for your guests on Facebook and other social platforms...
Posted on Sep 11th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Google Analytics is one of the best tools out there for getting to grips with your website metrics, but if you haven't set it up correctly, all you'll achieve is inaccurate data and incorrect conclusions about how your organic traffic converts. Here are 5...
Posted on Sep 10th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
In life, old habits die hard. And in blogging, they can be just as difficult to break. If your current campaign isn't generating the traffic and bookings you'd like it to, it's time to identify bad habits so you can break free of your blogging rut and sta...
Posted on Aug 12th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
At the end of July, Google introduced a major change to its local search algorithm, informally nicknamed 'Pigeon.' The update is designed to improve local search results by integrating them more closely with traditional search features and ranking signals...
Posted on Aug 6th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Successful SEO is about much more than keyword rankings. If you want your resort's website to survive algorithm changes, avoid Google penalties, and get noticed on a web saturated with content, here are 5 critical SEO mistakes you need to avoid....
Posted on Aug 5th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Who needs Google? Well, we all do. Ranking for important keywords is an undeniably powerful way to get your resort's name in front of your guests and drive streams of relevant traffic back to your website ready to make a booking. But with Google constantl...
Posted on Jun 25th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Email opens on mobile devices have soared from just 11% in 2011, to a steady 45% of all email opens in 2014. As email opens on mobile grow and grow, desktop and webmail opens are rapidly falling, leaving email marketers who want to reach their audience no...
Posted on Jun 24th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Are you doing everything you can to maximise your social media marketing efforts or merely covering the basics? By taking just 3 simple steps, you can build on your current social media routine, make your accounts work harder for you and bring in greater...
Posted on Jun 24th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Do you know which page gets viewed the most on the average website? Yep, you guessed it " it's the homepage. That's not surprising when you consider: It's probably the oldest page on your site (and has therefore gathered the most inbound links) and its UR...
Posted on Jun 18th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
From social media to blogging and email marketing, there are so many strategies available to improve your resort's online visibility that it's easy to overlook one of the oldest, yet most effective. After all, link building is dead, isn't it? The answer t...
Posted on Jun 18th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
There's no doubt about it: if you want to climb the search results, capture valuable relevant traffic and send it to your resort's website, you have a lot of work to put in. You need to design a strong SEO strategy, implement it successfully into your sit...
Posted on Jun 17th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
The abundance of analytics tools available online have made it easier than ever to measure the impact of content campaigns. But away from valuable metrics like click-through rates, bounce rates and traffic volume, there are other, less tangible benefits o...
Posted on Jun 11th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Email remains one of the very best ways to reach your guests online. But that's only if you're reaching people that actually want to hear from you. Low quality, outdated contact lists will seriously hamper your online marketing campaign, so if you can't r...
Posted on Jun 11th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Up until now you've probably been investing most of your resort's social media energy and resources into building your fan base on Facebook. Now, with Google+ getting bigger and more important by the day, it's time to do the same on Google's own social ne...
Posted on Jun 10th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Google+ does not yet command the colossal membership numbers enjoyed by Facebook and Twitter, but thanks to its close integration into many other Google products, the platform is perhaps more crucial to your SEO success than any of the other social networ...
Posted on Jun 4th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Optimal content length is something which has always been hotly debated among online marketers. Although there are no concrete rules regarding length, there are general guidelines you can use to inform your content creation efforts and ensure you strike t...
Posted on Jun 4th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Polling is a powerful but often overlooked tool than can help you gather feedback for your resort, build a community, create fresh content and even increase your website traffic. Best of all, it can easily be worked into your social media strategy simply...
Posted on Jun 3rd 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Running a successful online marketing campaign is pretty demanding. Most of us are juggling multiple social media accounts, scheduling new content, creating email campaigns, optimising for Google, constantly analysing datathe list goes on. With so much to...
Posted on May 29th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
With most people receiving around 81 emails a day, the average inbox is a pretty crowded place. Sending out highly targeted, carefully crafted messages that offer real value to your guests is essential if you want to compete against this clutter and hold...
Posted on May 29th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
The power social media and blogs have to raise brand awareness is no longer disputed, but what about their power to inspire action? What is the value of all those impressions if your guests aren't following through and making a booking? Working a compelli...
Posted on May 27th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Reviews have an immense impact on your online reputation and a knock-on effect on booking rates. According to recent research from TripAdvisor, as many as 93% of travellers around the world say their holiday decisions are impacted by the reviews they read...
Posted on May 21st 2014 by Bryan Marsh
As we discussed in a recent blog, Google+ looks certain to grow and grow as Google seeks to incorporate the social platform into all its most popular products. Now that Google+ is still relatively 'young', it's a good time to make sure you've mastered its...
Posted on May 20th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Some rules are made to be broken, and social media rules are no exception. That's not to say you should let chaos reign on your account, but if you're sticking to the following code of conduct too rigidly, you could actually be limiting your campaign's po...
Posted on May 19th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
With 29 million unique visitors on desktop every month, and 41 million on Smartphones, Google+ has doubled in size year over year. Despite these figures, it's still a relatively small social network in terms of membership, not least when compared with Fac...
Posted on May 14th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Even now that most of us have had a few years practice, keeping on top of Facebook marketing can be a challenge. Sometimes it helps to go back to basics and remind yourself of a few of the best practices that can be relied on to drive Likes, comments an...
Posted on May 14th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Engaging with your audience is all about knowing your audience. By using data drawn from Google Analytics, you can find out the key information you need to create strong guest personas for your social media audience, helping you formulate content that is...
Posted on May 13th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Nothing is more important to a successful email marketing campaign than a high open rate. After all, what good is crafting a powerful and personalised message you think your guests will really love, if it simply sits there, unopened once it drops into the...
Posted on May 7th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Your page stats show that people are viewing your blogs, but why aren't they clicking your calls to action? Why aren't they commenting? Most importantly, why aren't they booking? If your guests are failing to engage with your blogs, it's time to identify...
Posted on May 7th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Thanks to its integration with other Google products like YouTube and search results, Google+ provides more opportunities to interact with your audience and drive web traffic than any other social platform. But to drive this traffic, you must first get yo...
Posted on Apr 30th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Last year, Google caused (another) shake up in the marketing world by removing organic keyword data from Google Analytics, replacing it with the words 'Not Provided'. Since then, speculation has been rife that the search company plans to start blocking p...
Posted on Apr 29th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
In an ideal world, all your fans and followers on social media would head straight to your resort's website to find out more about your property, sign up to your mailing list and get ready to book. In reality, most of them need a gentle push. These 3 tips...
Posted on Apr 28th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
The world of Search Engine Optimisation can appear complex and sometimes baffling, so it's not surprising that even in 2014, some people still cling to ideas and practises that are no longer relevant, misjudged or simply obsolete. Listening to these SEO m...
Posted on Apr 16th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Content has become one of the most important ways to reach and build a relationship with your audience in recent years, but developing an effective content strategy isn't easy, even for multinational brands with huge marketing budgets. With Google constan...
Posted on Apr 16th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Social media is constantly evolving, and as we all strive to keep pace, it's inevitable that a few mistakes get made along the way. With this in mind, here are five big social media blunders you might be guilty of, and how to avoid making them again....
Posted on Apr 15th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
When marketers first wised up to the crucial link between content and better search rankings, everyone was trying to create as many new pages to fill their site and share on social media as they possibly could. Unsurprisingly, this lead to the publication...
Posted on Apr 9th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
It's less difficult, and less expensive, to generate a booking from an existing guest than it is to convert someone new, yet this simple fact often gets overlooked in the race to reach a wider audience online. Hotels can retain more guests and save money...
Posted on Apr 9th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Google's accommodation search and comparison service Hotel Finder is slowly but surely gaining momentum in the US, and will create another valuable opportunity for you to promote your resort online when it gets rolled out fully over here in the near futur...
Posted on Apr 7th 2014 by Lee Tester
The world of social media is constantly evolving, and most of us are just trying to keep pace with a steady stream of fresh content to engage our fans. But although focusing on the message is vital to audience engagement rates, it's also important to set...
Posted on Apr 2nd 2014 by Bryan Marsh
You know that positive guest reviews are essential to your property's success, and as we covered in a recent post, the public is becoming increasingly savvy when it comes to spotting hotels' false attempts to accumulate this all-important feedback online....
Posted on Apr 1st 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Photos are one of the most effective tools out there for increasing traffic and driving shares, and now that almost everyone has a Smartphone in their pocket, there's no need to do all the hard work setting up great shots yourself. Each time your guests c...
Posted on Mar 31st 2014 by Bryan Marsh
How much value do your guests place on the opinions of others online? Have they lost trust in review sites or do they still form a crucial component of the booking process? A new study from ITB Berlin and the Worms University of Applied Sciences has looke...
Posted on Mar 26th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Towards the end of 2012, Google began rolling out its one-stop accommodation planning tool Hotel Finder into standard search results worldwide. Two years on, let's take a closer look at how the service has evolved and its impact on the online travel secto...
Posted on Mar 26th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Almost every year, the same message can be heard resonating from marketing circles: SEO is officially "dead" or at least changed so fundamentally that it's completely unrecognizable from what it once was. The truth is, search engine optimisation is alive...
Posted on Mar 26th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Sending out an email newsletter is a great way to stay in regular contact with your guests, alert them to new offers, increase engagement and drive booking rates, but if you're not staying on top of the hard data, how can you be sure all your hard work is...
Posted on Mar 19th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
However well you've done your guest persona research, it's not always easy thinking up blog topic ideas that are highly relevant and exciting to your audience each week. Fortunately, within just a few simple steps, you can identify the kind of blog posts...
Posted on Mar 19th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Social media has broken down the barriers between hotels and their guests, allowing properties of all sizes to engage with their audience in a way that is less corporate, more human and more engaging. Whatever your platform(s) of choice, succeeding in the...
Posted on Mar 19th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Where once, someone might share a positive customer service experience over a chat and a coffee with a few friends, people are now taking to social media in their droves to share photos, write reviews and publish their personal experiences with an audienc...
Posted on Mar 13th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Noticed anything different about the Google search results lately? In the last few days the search company has begun rolling out a new design which changes the way organic search results and ads are displayed to desktop users....
Posted on Mar 12th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
You know you need to post to your property's social media accounts regularly to keep your audience engaged, but how often is enough? Is there such as thing as too often? And what's the best time of day to post for maximum results?...
Posted on Mar 12th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
As you know, your resort's blog is one of your most valuable assets when it comes to climbing the search rankings, driving traffic to your website, engaging your audience and increasing bookings. Naturally, you want your blog to perform even better, but w...
Posted on Mar 12th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Adding fresh, interesting and well written content to your property's website on a regular basis is your best chance of climbing the search results pages, engaging your target guests and reaching a wider audience online. Thanks to Google's 'Hummingbird' u...
Posted on Mar 6th 2014 by Lee Tester
eTourism is proud to announce that it is now a certifed Tripconnect Partner. This means that you can list your booking engine results within your Tripadvisor listing page. This is a cost per click program where you bid against other OTAs for the top posit...
Posted on Mar 5th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
With the online travel landscape only becoming more and more competitive, and an array of new marketing tactics appearing almost every week, how do you decide where to focus your efforts to get noticed by your guests in 2014? Here are 3 of the biggest tre...
Posted on Mar 5th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Images generate more engagement across social networks than any other kind of content, which means if you're not already posting pics that resonate with your guests on a regular basis, you're missing out on a ton of shares, likes and website traffic. So h...
Posted on Mar 5th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
As an online marketer, the people that actively engage with your message and spread it on to their wider social community are your biggest asset. Perhaps more than any other social platform, Google+ makes it easy to reach out to these brand evangelists an...
Posted on Feb 26th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Although somewhat overshadowed by social media in the past few years, email marketing is still a fantastic way to engage your guests and drive bookings - just as long as you're doing it right. The key is to ensure you're sending out professional, welcome...
Posted on Feb 26th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Your website is your vehicle to showcase your property. It's likely to form your guests' first impression of your business and has the power to drive more bookings than any other component of your online campaign....
Posted on Feb 26th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
You probably know by now that an effective, well maintained social media presence can boost your property's SEO efforts, but chances are you may not have thought about things from the other angle. In other words, have you stopped to think how you can also...
Posted on Feb 19th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Just a few years ago, search engine optimization and blogging were two very separate spheres of marketing -all that link building and keyword research seemed a world away from the more creatively driven nature of the blogosphere....
Posted on Feb 19th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
With the world of Search constantly changing, and countless new tactics popping up in the marketer's SEO rulebook every month, how do you choose where to prioritise your efforts for maximum results?...
Posted on Feb 19th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Recent research from ShareThis has confirmed a trend that will come as no surprise to most: when it comes to sharing content with friends and family on social media, more people are pushing aside their computers and reaching for their mobile phones instea...
Posted on Feb 12th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
It's happened to all of us. You land on a website ready to purchase. But very quickly, you become confused. How do I navigate the site? Where can I go to see reviews? What steps do I take next to purchase?...
Posted on Feb 12th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Google's innovative and controversial new product Google Glass will be made available to the public later this year. With the launch date imminent, it's time to start thinking about how such technology will impact the way consumers search for and interact...
Posted on Feb 5th 2014 by Lee Tester
We all know that optimising your website's content and design is a key component of any successful SEO strategy. But it's also possible to dominate the search rankings with off-site content that you control or at least influence, while at the same time im...
Posted on Feb 5th 2014 by Lee Tester
How much does your social media community really like you? Facebook's Insight platform for businesses can help you find out. The feature offers a range of data that can help you assess the likeability of your property's brand so you can plan ways to bette...
Posted on Feb 4th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
What do hotels and resorts need to do to get the best results on Facebook? New research from Inside Facebook offers a couple of interesting insights. The study looked at the Facebook campaigns of over 2000 holiday properties, encompassing a total of 114,...
Posted on Jan 29th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
If, following our recent blog post about Yahoo, Bing and SEO, you've decided to go ahead and dedicate a little more time to these 'alternative' search engines, this is the post for you. Worried about finding time to incorporate two more search engines int...
Posted on Jan 29th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
When you hear the words "search engine," what's the first name you think of? Chances are your answer is Google, and with good reason. The company has become synonymous with search, boasting a 67% share of the global market and an impressive 6 billion sear...
Posted on Jan 28th 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Speculation is rife that Expedia has been penalised by Google, losing an estimated 25% in its search visibility. It is thought that the search giant has come down hard on the major travel website thanks to evidence the company was using a paid links schem...
Posted on Jan 23rd 2014 by Bryan Marsh
A recent study by Google and Nielsen has revealed that almost three quarters of mobile users make enquiries using a search engine when using their devices to complete a purchase. It therefore goes without saying that if you haven't done so already, implem...
Posted on Jan 22nd 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Maintaining a blog isn't just about writing great content; it's about encouraging a dialogue with your audience. The comments section is the ideal place to encourage your guests to share their thoughts, ideas and opinions, but with so many spammers out th...
Posted on Jan 22nd 2014 by Bryan Marsh
Now that we're a few weeks into the New Year, have you stopped to think about where you'd like to take your property's marketing campaign in the coming 11 months? Taking time to reassess your efforts will keep you focused on everything you need to achieve...
Posted on Dec 18th 2013 by Administrator
SEO has changed radically in the last few years, but many businesses are still inadvertently limiting their ranking potential by relying on ineffective, outdated techniques that at best do nothing, and at worst, are actively penalised by Google. Here are...
Posted on Dec 18th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Back in September, Google unveiled Hummingbird, an algorithm adjustment which overhauled the way search results are ranked and sent waves across the marketing world. Around 90% of search inquiries are affected by the change, which moved the focus away fro...
Posted on Dec 17th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
The most successful businesses on Twitter do much more than simply spam their followers about how great they are. They use the platform to listen to their customers, check up on the competition and engage in helpful and meaningful conversations that demon...
Posted on Dec 11th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
When your guests are scouring the web for the perfect property for their next holiday, great hotel photography catches their eye and gets them daydreaming about their break. But what visuals are most likely to get travel shoppers pulling out their credit...
Posted on Dec 11th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Your resort's website is the best tool at your disposal for driving online bookings, and as you know, SEO plays a crucial role in making sure as many of your guests as possible actually land on it. Good SEO isn't just about driving high volumes of traffic...
Posted on Dec 10th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Have the rules and regulations surrounding Facebook contests caused you to shy away from trying them in the past? Not long ago the social network quietly updated its promotions policy, making it possible for businesses to run contests on their own timelin...
Posted on Dec 4th 2013 by Administrator
Pinterest has just introduced a brand new way for its users to pin the things that interest them in the form of 'Place Pins'. This new kind of pin has been designed primarily to cater for the increasing number of travellers that use the social platform, a...