Travel SEO | SEO for Travel Industry Marketing
Search engine optimisation (SEO) should be a core component of any travel industry marketing plan. The Internet has changed travel marketing more than any other market category. Each day there are millions of consumers making highly targeted searches for travel, accommodation, hospitality and leisure solutions via the search engines. Search engines are therefore the ultimate direct marketing channel for hotels, low cost airlines, Internet specialist travel agents and tour operators. Travel SEO is the ultimate marketing tool to unlock that potential.
Travel SEO in Perspective
With few exceptions, travel industry marketing has tended to lag other industries such as FMCG or financial services in the development of its marketing disciplines. The Internet is different and the leaders in the travel industry are pioneering the development of this crucial distribution channel. Travel SEO is the most valuable tool for gaining access to targeteds consumer on the Internet.
Travel Industry Marketing
Travel marketing has been transformed by search engine marketing. Within the field of travel distribution, the roles of travel principal, tour operator and travel agent are now indistinguishable to the typical consumer. The consumer searches on Google, Yahoo and MSN based on a travel or hospitality need and reviews the results that are presented regardelss of the ownership or apparent role within the travel distribution chain. One option is paid search. But a reliance on paid search means higher costs of customer attraction. Search engine optimisation, even in a basic form, will reduce those costs by diluting the reliance on paid search traffic. A well structured SEO campaign could lead to the vast proportion of customers being acquired via organic search. Travel SEO has therefore become the most critical marketing tool for communicating with the new travel consumer.
Travel Clients
Simply Clicks is led by David Burdon. David Burdon has a background in travel industry marketing stretching back to 1993. This includes Stena Line, where he was responsible for building a retail brand leader in ferry travel and motoring holidays, and Cosmosair, where he created the Somewhere2stay brand. The latter is now a £40 million turnover standalone business. Simply Clicks has worked on travel industry SEO with a number of companies. These include:
- Le Casacce - A private Tuscan holiday resort in Italy.
- Starwood Hotel - Italian Luxury hotels.
- Global Travel - Caribbean holidays.
- Go Travel - Dubai luxury holidays.
- Cha-am Villas - A private villa complex in Hua Hin, Thailand.
- The George in Rye - One of the leading hotels in Rye, Sussex.
- The Glenlo Abbey Hotel - A prestigious 5 star hotel in Galway, Ireland.
- The Zetter Hotel - A London boutique hotel in Clerkenwell.
- The Pass - A specialist Group Travel magazine.
- Goodwood Travel - Specialists in events such as the Monaco Grand Prix.
Simply Clicks
David has spoken on online marketing at several travel industry events. These include Group Travel Organiser 2008, Eye4travel, the Travel Technology Initiative (TTI), CIMTIG (the Chartered Institute of Marketing Travel Industry Group) and the Travel Technology Show. A copy of his latest presentation from the 2007 show can be found here: Blog, Forums, Articles and Social Media. He has also spoken the specific subject of SEO for hotels at the Irish Hospitality and Tourism Conference held in Dublin - Smile 2007.
Travel marketing has been transformed by search engine marketing. Within the field of travel distribution, the roles of travel principal, tour operator and travel agent are now indistinguishable to the typical consumer. Travel SEO has become the most critical marketing tool for communicating with the new travel consumer.
