When it comes to tourism strategies, marketing has positioned itself, without a doubt, as the main tool for most companies directly or indirectly involved in the travel and hospitality industry.
Why? There are several reasons why marketing is at the service of tourism.
SEO and SEM: Google, on Top of Conversions
Having a great position on Google for all keywords and searches within your sector will give you an impressive advantage over the competition. Perhaps the best example is the Booking Holdings (as reported spent about $1.3 billion on “performance marketing” just in one quarter) - how its position due to keywords (SEO), as well as ads through paid searches offered by AdWords (SEM), has turned into profitability thanks to Google.
More than 80% of online conversions come from organic searches, and this is no secret for the most important Online Travel Agencies (OTA), which have opted for SEO and SEM as their main online tourism marketing tools.
For many tourism-related sites, working on keyword strategies and search intent, as well as specific, geo-located, and original content based on these areas, have made them stay ahead of the competition.
Many small travel companies convinced that SEO is no longer reasonable, mostly because Google favoring big fishes and known brands who spend huge budgets at their SEO marketing and, it has become unbearable to compete.
However, there is still a massive amount of opportunity to be successful in the organic search and, as a result, to help your travel business grow, even on an insignificant budget.
If you exploit that advantage as a small business, there are lots of opportunities to grow your audience and your business.
A smaller business size could be an advantage and get in a place to compete with the travel market leaders and come out on the top. For example, if your domain has no power to rank in the search engine for desirable, yet the most competitive words in the travel industry, you may need to find tourism-focused editorial websites that do and will allow you to publicize your travel services, property or destination one way or another. It’s called Barnacle SEO. The ideal publishing property should be relevant for your targeted audience is already ranking high in the SEO terms.
Web Design and UX: Convenience at Your Fingertips
User experience (UX) is, without a doubt, a firm commitment to take the user to the hotel or accommodation through the website. That is, creating a place where a booking is not only easy but makes users feel that they are already enjoying their stay.
To do this, working on a briefing has become essential for any marketing strategy, and hotel chains know it: branding is a must, but the customer is who decides at the end, not the brand. This is another proof that marketing is at the service of tourism, and tourism is at the service of the customer.
Product Sheets and Booking Engines: It’s What’s on the Inside
Taking care of product sheets within the booking process is becoming a must for all hotel chains, which increasingly hire expert marketing agencies for all the parts involved in the conversion process: web designing, positioning, and content creation, including the booking engine.
Product sheets are the materialization of presentation of the service, or simply put, what people will see before purchasing a product or service, so carefully preparing them is very necessary. They should add value, and having clear and light information to read will make a difference.
The key to securing a reservation is in the small details, and hotel chains are quite aware of it thanks not only to the information they can gather every day but also at events such as international tourism and travel fairs and exhibitions, where marketing agencies showcase their potential to guarantee their clients’ success during the year.