seo basics for your hotel website
TRANSCRIPT
Copyright © 2014 Leonardo Worldwide Corporation
Technical Difficulties?Contact
Citrix GoToWebinar
1-800-263-6317
SEO Basics For
Your Hotel Website
April 23, 2015
Darlene Rondeau, VP, Best Practices, Online Merchandising, Leonardo
Marco Braggio, SEO Expert and Co-Founder, Braggio Cook Interactive
Alicia Whalen, Digital Marketing Expert and Co-Founder, Hashtagio.com
Technical Difficulties?Contact
Citrix GoToWebinar
1-800-263-6317
Darlene RondeauVice-President,
Best Practices, Online Merchandising
Leonardo
@darlenerondeau
Follow:
@VFMLeonardo
Tweets & Questions:
#LeoWebinar
Marco Braggio SEO Expert and Co-Founder
Braggio Cook Interactive
@marcobraggio
Alicia WhalenDigital Marketing Expert and
Co-Founder
Hashtagio.com
@Alicia_Whalen_
► Over 131 billion web searches a month
► More than 85% of travelers start their
search online
► Mobile matters
► Social media impacts rankings
Introduction to SEO
Marco Braggio SEO Expert and Co-Founder
Braggio Cook Interactive
@marcobraggio
WHAT is SEO
Search Engine Optimization is the
process (marketing and technical)
of getting qualified traffic from the
“organic”, “editorial” or “natural”
search results within search
engines.
What does that mean?
How Search Engines Work (nutshell version)
TWO MAJOR
FUNCTIONS
1. Crawling & Indexing
2. Providing Answers
3 Basic Elements
Accessibility
Relevancy
Usability
Organic vs. Paid
Org
an
ic
Accounts for 83% of
traffic
No media cost,
substantial ROI
Best converting channel
Global reach & hyper
localization83%
Organic vs Paid
Org
an
ic
Accounts for 17% of
traffic
High media cost, lower
ROI
Keyword discovery
83%
Paid Ads
17%
Short term strategy
BEHIND the CURTAIN
OFFPAGE
SEOONPAGE
Site Architecture
& Coding
Duplicate Content
Monitoring
Conversion &
Goals
Rich Media
Site Uptime
Site Speed
Keywords &
Content Marketing
Link Building
Mobile
Optimization
Localization &
Google Hotel
Finder
Blogs & Articles
Topic Association
Press Releases
Social Optimization
#LeoWebinar
SOCIAL impacts SEO
The Importance of Social Media
Drives higher quality website
traffic
Link Potential
Personalization
Search Query Volume
Brand Signals
The Mobile World
MOBILE isn’t a TREND
Mobile is Here to Stay…
#LeoWebinar
Prepare for Mobile
Build for mobile first, not
desktop
Device-agnostic
approach
Simplify content
Make it navigable
#LeoWebinar
SEO is frequently misunderstood
It’s critical to have a wider SEO strategy
Best SEO aligns with both search engines
and users
Mobile is not a trend
Key Takeaways
#LeoWebinar
Alicia WhalenDigital Marketing Expert and
Co-Founder
Hashtagio.com
@Alicia_Whalen_
The Travel Buying Funnel
Fact: The average travel research/buying process
runs across 22 different websites and 9.5 sessions
before booking
Fact: 85% of travelers use the web for research and
booking
Fact: 62% of travelers start travel research in a
search engine before they even know where they
want to go
Source: Goggle Think Travel
#LeoWebinar
Consumer Path to Purchase
The Roadmap:
Lead your guests to the point of booking
• Allocate a portion of marketing spend to SEO and good content
• Have a strategy: Align your SEO efforts with unique demand drivers (i.e. weddings,
sports teams, location to attractions etc.) and specific times of the year
• Do keyword research to determine what is actually being searched
• Do your own research
• Optimize your Google Local/Places listings: Google+ Google Places, Google Maps
• Measure and benchmark with Google Analytics
Getting Started with SEO
#LeoWebinar
• What you need to be found for -
including “hotel” "accommodations” +
City, Geo Reference, demand driver,
specials, packages, F&B outlets
• Identify what customers are looking for
as part of their path to purchase
• Are you providing the best rate
opportunity when they click through to
the website?
GOALS:
• Over time, work to build indexing in
Search for keywords related to all
demand drivers + MEASURE
Use Google Analytics
and Keyword Research
#LeoWebinar
First Booking Opportunities: Be Found
OTAs + Brand
PPC
TripAdvisor
Google Local
Measuring the Impact of SEO
Traffic sources:
#LeoWebinar
• Keep target keywords in mind in content off the website
• Link back to the website where possible
• Social signals (links back to the website from
Social Media sites are important for SEO)
SEO Principals to Follow Off-Page
#LeoWebinar
SEO in Practice
Website optimized for “Yellowknife Hotel” and related
keywords
Indexed on Page #1 – 2 Booking Opportunities
Impact of Implementation of SEO Strategy
132% increase in
TRANSACTIONS(Month over month)
from being found in
Search.
RESULTS700 NEW VISITS TO THE WEBSITE WITH SEO APPLIED
OVER 250 NEW VISITS DURING THE PREVIOUS PERIOD
Bring the Customer to the Point of Conversion
#LeoWebinar
Be visible in all places along the consumer
path to purchase
All roads lead to the website – point of
transaction
Be strategic with SEO and allocate budget
Optimize Google Maps, Places, Google+
Key Takeaways
#LeoWebinar
It’s a Wrap
TripAdvisor Tell-All: How to Use Reviews to
Craft Your Story and Drive Bookings
Save your spot:
http://bit.ly/TripAdvisorWebinar
www.leonardo.com
1.877.593.6634
@VFMLeonardo
blog.leonardo.com
Connect with us!
@marcobraggio
Marco Braggio
Alicia Whalen
www.braggiocook.com
www.ideahatching.com
@Alicia_Whalen_