Ten Hot Tips for Successful Online Travel Marketing – Part 2

February 26, 2008
by Latitude

Here are the final 5 hot tips that will help travel companies improve their returns from online marketing. The first tips, following an in-house poll among all Latitude search specialists for a presentation we gave for Travolution at the recent Travel Technology Show,were about fine-tuning your search engine marketing strategy. Now, in addition, make sure you:

6. Embrace social media. Peer recommendation has always been a strong converting factor, especially for travel. With the development of social media (e.g. blogs, forums, social networks) it’s now got an even higher impact. By getting involved in your customers’ online conversations, you engage with them, learn about their needs, drive more traffic to your website and increase the visibility of your brand in search engines. User-generated content, especially including images and videos, tends to rank well on search engine results pages.

What are the easiest ways for brands to go social?

. Figure out what the relevant blogs to your speciality are, read them and ultimately get involved whenever suitable. Be honest, don’t hide your identity and refrain from making your favourite sales pitch!

. Set up a RSS feed from Yahoo! Answers for all the keywords related to your business, including your brand name, and join the discussion when it comes to your field of expertise.

. Keep an eye on the industry forums, such as FlyerTalk or Wayn, and don’t hesitate to come forward whenever customers ask questions about your product.

. Why not create a dedicated social channel, where customers would share their views and experience of the brand? Think about a page on MySpace or Facebook, like Haven Holidays’, or your own private social network, such as the Flying Blue Golf Club from Air France-KLM.

. Explore the viral marketing opportunities offered by social networks, by developing applications that users will share, such as TripAdvisor’s TravelMap, on which users can pinpoint the places they love.

7. Explore alternative channels. Ever thought of getting your product listed in auction websites like eBay? The risk here is low (a listing fee + a low percentage of the final sale payable when the auction converts), and if you manage to attract enough bidders the returns can be worthwhile. Many travel specialists are already doing this check out the results you get when you type “package holidays” as a keyword in eBay.

8. Integrate your various marketing tools to create a halo effect that increases conversion. Research shows that TV adverts trigger a surge in search queries that are related to the product advertised on television. Similarly, according to Atlas, conversion rates for a search marketing campaign rise by 22% when an online display campaign runs alongside it. We also know from Hitwise that combining SEO and PPC produces a 51% lift in click-through rates. All this means that you have to make sure all your promotional tools converge in terms of timing and in terms of message.

9. Improve your website’s usability. Allow the user’s journey through your website to be easy, clean and clear by avoiding industry jargon and reminding them where they are in the booking process at every step of the way. Do not assume that clients know where Majorca is or what a transfer is – use simple terms and take the time to explain.

10. Track your visitors’ journey on your website. For example, give your visitors the possibility to create their personal account on your website. This will allow you to observe their behaviour even if they visit your website from various computers (at work and at home). You’ll also be able to map out patterns according to demographic criteria – an insight into your audience that will be useful for future marketing campaigns.

In particular, make sure you track the booking process to get a chance to identify where and why people drop out before finalising the transaction.

I hope you find the Ten Hot Tips for Successful Online Travel Marketing useful. If you have any questions or additional ideas you want to discuss with us please let us know.