Unusual Planes Montage

Web Creation
Creating a Web site that stands out from the competition

Author: John Montgomery
The Internet has become a critical marketing channel for the lodging industry in terms of providing information, selling rooms and, most importantly, making hotels visible and accessible on the Web.
For the lodging industry, having an independent Web site can be very valuable in driving online searches to your hotel. However, even if your Web site has been professionally designed and is a beautiful electronic brochure for your property, it may not be helping you increase reservations. Unless your Web site is optimized to work with search engines and directories, it’s not driving as much quality traffic to your online front door as it could be.

Initial Steps

When choosing an online strategy for your hotel, one of your first steps will be selecting a domain name. The following tips can prove to be helpful in building a strong Web presence.

• Brand Name/Franchise Name. Know your brand domain name policy before buying your doman. Avoid using the brand name/franchise name as part of the domain name if you violate the trademark guidelines.
• Simple Domain Name. As good practice, keep your domain simple. Your domain name does not need to be the actual name of your hotel.
• User-Friendly Domain Name. Have your front desk give out the domain to a few customers on the phone. This exercise will help you figure out if your domain is simple or too complicated for your customers to type.

Electronic Marketing Tools

To ensure that your Web site is search-engine friendly, it should have a high conversion rate and ultimately achieve your main goal to convert lookers into bookers.
There are five golden rules of any Web site design: it should be easy to read, easy to navigate, easy to find, consistent in design and easy to get results. Here are key steps you and your Web site development company should take to achieve your online marketing goals:

• Research your market.
• Include customer-focused, search engine optimized content showcasing your hotel´s unique selling points (for example, your hotel´s proximity to popular local attractions).
• Develop a Web site that’s search-engine friendly.
• Monitor results and return on investment.
• Fine-tune your Web site marketing and optimizing strategies based on results and search trends.

Everything from design to content should be based on your target audience and search engine criteria. Search engine marketing is not about enrolling your Web site on 5,000 search engines and paying a lot of money for pay-per-click campaigns; it’s about creating a Web site that is content-rich and easily found by search engines.

What Is Search Engine Marketing?

Search engine marketing is the art and science of increasing a Web site’s visibility in search engines and directories for a targeted list of keyword phrases. It’s about how easily your target audience can find you on the Web.
There are two categories of search engine marketing. A paid search guarantees you’ll be listed in the results of specific search phrases or keywords. An organic search requires no fee and returns results by indexing pages based on relevant content and keywords. Good organic search results should be a Web site’s primary goal. Paid search can be used to supplement organic search during promotional seasons or to help build brand awareness.