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 almost 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 key online marketing tool to unlock that potential.
Travel SEO in Perspective
With few exceptions, travel SEO is the most valuable tool for gaining access to targeted consumers on the Internet. A high ranking position for a key search term can bring large numbers of high value consumers to your travel website.
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 Bing based on a travel or hospitality need and reviews the results that are presented regardless of the ownership or apparent role within the travel distribution chain.
One option is paid search. But a complete 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 has worked on travel industry SEO with a number of companies. These include:
- The Falstaff - One of the prominent Canterbury hotels.
- 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
Simply Clicks is led by David Burdon and Heli Salmons. Both have a background in travel industry marketing stretching back to the early 1990s. David's exprience 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.
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 Hotel and Tourism Conference held in Dublin - Smile.
Travel SEO has transformed travel 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.