Best Practices & Recommendations for Top Initiatives
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – More than one-third of hotel website revenue is generated as a result of organic search engine referrals. This is a proactive SEO strategy important.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – SEM includes all of the paid advertising formats on the search engines, from paid search on Google, Bing to Gmail Ads and YouTube Ads. We have seen some dramatic changes in the SEM landscape with Google dropping the right-rail ad, decreasing paid search real estate on the home page 36%. It’s important to keep up to date with this ever-changing landscape.
Google Display Network (GDN) – The GDN is the largest display network in the world and the number one provider of display across the screens. Google Display ads effectively communicate across all devices and media platforms and offer a combination of placement, contextual and audience targeting tools.
Smart Data Marketing – Smart Data Marketing is key to reaching your qualified potential guests at the right time in their travel planning journey. Using past guest data in the planning phase of your marketing campaigns: this type of data helps define your key customer segments and set campaign objectives.
Email Marketing – Over 60% of emails today are opened via a mobile device. Research shows that as much as 75% of bookings originating from email marketing campaigns happen via the voice channel and therefore are not easily trackable and assignable to your email campaigns for most hoteliers. If done and tracked correctly, email marketing is a low cost effective digital marketing initiative that generates average returns of 800-1200%. A smart email strategy focuses on putting timely marketing messages that will be of interest to the consumer right in their inbox.
Website Conversation Enhancements – In this multi-channel, multi-device world, travel consumers initiate 17 touch points before making a hotel booking (Google Research). Website conversion enhancements like Reservation Abandonment Applications, Instant Rewards and Smart Personalisation boost conversions on the website, upsell property amenities and services and make it easy and compelling for website visitors to book direct.
Seasonal & Targeted Marketing Campaigns – The seasonal and targeted marketing campaigns portion of the budget is focused on creasing occupancy during need periods, tackling group cancellations and ad hoc needs, reaching key customers segments and target markets, and capitalising on driving bookings during events and holidays.
Digital Assets – The foundation of any digital technology and digital marketing strategy, without properly investing in these line items, marketing initiatives will not reach their full potential in terms of increasing direct bookings.
Author: John thrives on collaborating with others to achieve a collective vision and takes pride in helping to create a supportive framework for teams that empowers them to deliver. He is digitally literate and possesses significant knowledge of advertising and integrated digital marketing techniques, such as search engine optimisation (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), and social media. In 2014 John has secured substantial funding from the Local Enterprise Office and was shortlisted in Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur Competition Best New Ideas Category. Interested in networking with John? Check his LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
John F Havel 
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