Here’s the complete list of WordPress plugins recommended for every travel website with links to download. [Read more...]
Pay-Per-Click or Organic?
September 7, 2008 By Leave a Comment
The top question I am asked is, “Pay-per-click or Organic?”
My answer is, “It depends.”
Fuzzy? You bet. Sorry about that. The bottom line is that it depends on what you’re marketing. Recently I launched a campaign for a travel agency client wanting to increase cruise bookings.
Starting with a gemtravelsite base website, built on the WordPress 2.6 platform, we determined how to integrate the content they received from their consortium for cruises.
The biggest issue all agencies & home based agents face is making sure they aren’t getting buried in search engine ranking by using canned content – it’s duplicate content as far as the search engines are concerned, period.
Next, we built pages for the cruise lines they wanted to sell, featuring the fact that they’re a specialist for a specific cruise line – but ALSO adding content for the features of the cruise line that consumers are probably searching for. Think: dining options, wedding options & kids programs.
Building the pages allowed us to utilize the built-in marketing features of a GemTravelSite, including tags, categories and search engine friendly pages.
Within a couple weeks, not only were they ranked as the #1 travel agency for the cruise line, the leads were coming in, without having spent a dime on Pay-Per-Click, which would have certainly generated immediate requests, but also immediate spending.
What is Microblogging?
September 7, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Microblogging, or liveblogging is a method of blogging which involves sending short bursts of information – usually less than 160 characters at a time – the primary purpose being speed.
The most popular service is Twitter, which has come under fire in the past for instability and network issues. Since about early August 2008 it seems to have mostly ironed their issues out.
Twitter accepts messages, or “tweets” via the web page, Text (SMS) message and also through a variety of third-party services and downloads such as Twhirl.
Some of the larger news organizations are using twitter, including the New York Times, CNN, and NPR and several businesses. There’s even a famous story of a disgruntled client of Comcast Cable being contacted after tweeting about her dissatisfaction.
Personally, I think this is a huge opportunity for the travel industry. Imagine posting a special with 1500 or more followers. It’s free, easy – by design – to use, and has huge potential.