All we seem to be reading about at the moment is the Google Mobile "Armageddon", the premise that on the 21 April if you are not mobile-friendly your website will be surreptitiously wiped off the face of search.
But it’s not quite all that dramatic. Let’s look at what is actually involved and whether you should be panicking just yet.
WHAT’S SO BIG ABOUT MOBILE?
We've been telling our tourism clients this for some time now: you must invest in a mobile-friendly (ideally responsive) website to succeed online. It’s no longer a “nice-to-have” - it’s a must-have.
There are 1.08 billion smartphones in the world
50% of local search is done on a mobile device
Nearly half of consumers say they won’t return to a website if it doesn’t load well on mobile
We are often asked by clients whether additional domains would benefit their website and/or SEO.
For example, say you run a motel in Auckland and your website is "www.imaginarymotel.com" but you also wonder about registering "www.imaginarymotel.co.nz", or even "http://auckland.imaginarymotel.com".
Answer?
There are only ever 3 reasons to register additional domains.
1. To protect your brand. In other words, stop someone else like a competitor from getting to it first. Alternatively, your company name might be easily misspelled and you want to catch those users who mistype it. (Side note: If protecting your brand is your main concern, you should also register social media accounts under your company name ASAP, even if you don’t plan on posting anything just yet. Use
The majority of businesses we work with recognise the importance of search engine optimisation, the art of getting your website ranked higher with search engines such as Google. However, many are surprised when one of our first SEO recommendations is to improve their social media presence.
Here’s 5 reasons why it’s so important.
1. Improved Linking Strategy
Firstly let’s be clear, having lots of likes or followers on Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels won’t improve your SEO. Google has said themselves that they do not use this as a signal.
However, when your article or website is shared, it creates increased brand exposure. This attention may lead to others including you in their own online profiles, blogs and websites. Google places value on mentions...
Although the majority of top-end luxury travellers may make their bookings with an agent, it is their friends and family, search engine results, online videos and loyalty programs that inspire and influence their choices.
The results are just in from a report commissioned by Google to help them better understand the affluent US traveller and the role that online resources play in their choice of airline, cruise, lodging, car rental and holiday packages.
Trip Inspiration & Research
One of the most significant pieces of information revealed is that friends or family and the Internet are both equally influential as the number one source for inspiring a trip. Moreover, when it comes to planning and researching for a holiday, the premier sector turns to the Internet 87%...
There are a number of email campaigns going around claiming they can boost your TripAdvisor rankings, some even blatantly advising that you can buy 'genuine' reviews.
We often get asked how to boost your TripAdvisor rankings and our advice is always the same: "Give the better service than the guest expects".
We also often get asked if we think buying reviews is a good investment and our advice is always the same: "No, don't do it."
Today another email campaign made the rounds, it looked like this:
As a TripAdvisor Premium Connect Partner, we immediately reported this to them and they promptly responded with the following:
Hi Gina
Thank you for sending this on - I’ll get this to the attention of our content integrity team who will investigate.
Relationship advice in an online marketing article? Absolutely. Today, having a website, a brochure and working with your agents is no longer enough. You put time and effort into ensure the agents you work with are happy with your product and that you are romancing them but what about your online relationships?
Social media and review sites like Trip Advisor can make or break a business. An online distribution strategy based on paying commissions to Online Travel Agents (Expedia, Booking.com) is mono dimensional and eats away at margins. Having a Relationship Strategy can serve your agents, increase your online reputation to give potential guests assurance, build customer loyalty and thus increase bookings.
Sucking Eggs
So I am not trying to teach your grandmother to suck...
