E-Marketing Associates

Don’t Fall Victim to Over-Optimization

Melody Ciria by
on April 4th, 2012

According to a new announcement made by Google’s SEO guru, Matt Cutts, there will be a regulation on sites that are considered ‘over-optimized.’  This latest algorithm update is designed to penalize sites that are potentially using black hat SEO tactics to stay ahead of their competition. To avoid falling victim to over-optimization and protect yourself from Google’s pending Panda updates it is important to implement white hat SEO strategies and attract quality traffic. Because of the upcoming changes to Google’s semantic search and algorithms, site owners will have to be more careful in how they optimize their web content.  It has not yet been determined how search engines will target over-optimized sites but site owners should be prepared to adjust their SEO efforts based on these upcoming changes.  In essence, you may want to ask yourself whether you are overly optimizing your site.  When it comes to over-optimization, black hat SEO comes to mind.  That being said, you may want to ask yourself the following questions to ensure your website is not over-SEO’ed:

  1. Are you incorporating the same set of keywords throughout tags and within the content of the page for the sake of SEO? In other words, are you keyword stuffing in hopes that Google will crawl and index all your keywords?

  2. Are you internally linking all your pages using an excessive amount of text links? In other words, are you self-linking keywords to the same page?

  3. Are you duplicating the same content in all pages?

  4. Are you optimizing multiple pages with the same set of keywords? Alternatively, are you overusing key phrases in multiple areas with little regard to the content’s flow?

  5. Is your content based on how many keywords you can include rather than the quality of the message?

  6. Are you including keywords in a tag that is unrelated to the page’s content in hopes of targeting all keywords despite its relevance to the page?

If you answered yes to all these questions, then you are guilty of over-optimizing your site.  By continuing to implement these black hat SEO tricks, your site will eventually get spammed.   Practicing better SEO strategies will not only protect you from Google’s over-optimization penalty, but it will also generate quality traffic that will increase your return on investment.  Here are a few guidelines to follow in order to better prepare you for Google’s improvements and to help you in your SEO efforts:

  • Make high-quality content your priority.  Write content that is compelling and interesting to your target audience instead of focusing on how many keywords you can incorporate in a page

  • Build your presence in social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter,  &  Google+

  • Focus on reputation management.  Increase your fan-base on local review sites like Google Places  & Yelp

  • Make sure your site’s architecture and coding is up-to-date to ensure your content is easily crawled

By following these tips, Google will better recognize small businesses that produce quality content and develop a strong presence through local optimization.  So, adjust your SEO strategies based on Google’s upcoming algorithm updates to avoid being flagged.

Categories: Blog,Google,Internet Marketing,SEO — Tags: , , , , ;

Streamline Your Customer Service with Tello and Square

Golda Criddle by
on March 30th, 2012

Technology has been streamlining store processes for over a decade now, from cell phones to self-checkout machines to tablets. Each device is created with the goal of making purchases quicker and easier in order to provide excellent customer service. Tello and Pay by Name by Square are two tools that have promise to revolutionize small business—if only businesses will opt-in.

Now you can text a business feedback with Tello

Tello is trying to make this process faster by creating a SaaS and mobile application to help customers communicate with businesses in a fast and simple manner. The service was created so that customers could give live feedback to retailers, airlines, hotels, small business and restaurants. According to founder Joe Beninato, Tello is essentially “Twitter meets Yelp.” Feedback from consumers is usually concise and to the point, although it doesn’t have to be limited to 140 characters.

Users with iPhones and iMacs can download the Tello app and create a username to provide real-time feedback. With the app, smartphone users can text businesses, who can also respond. There is also the simple rating option of thumbs up or down with all feedback. So the next time you’re stuck in a line to check-in at a hotel, you’ll be able to communicate your frustration directly.

Tello goes a step further than services like Yelp to get the businesses involved. They are required to sign up for Tello so that they can be more involved with their customer reviews. Up to three profiles on Tello are free for most businesses. Beninato says that 80% of feedback on Tello has been positive, but the real question is, will businesses opt in to its services? Only time will tell.

Painless Payment with Pay by Name from Square

Technology is also streamlining another often painful part of customer service: payment. Perhaps you’ve used Square when purchasing from a street vendor; it’s a tiny reader that can read credit cards via your iPhone. Popular online payment system Paypal recently announced that they will be releasing a similar triangle dongle that can be attached to smartphones to compete with Square.

Tello and Pay by Name are both tools that have fantastic potential to improve a businesses’ customer service. Do you think users will use these services, and businesses will opt-in? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Categories: B2B & B2C,Blog,Clients,E-Commerce,Hotel Internet Marketing,Hotels & Resorts,Hotels & Resorts,Internet Marketing,Lifestyle — Tags: , , , , , , , , ;

Google Analytics Goes Social

David Sotelo by
on March 29th, 2012

Most of us know social media is important to stay ahead in the competitive world of online marketing but we’re not always sure how important. No matter what type of business you have the chances are you have a Facebook and Twitter account set up for your business. Return on investment has been for the most part fairly elusive for marketers and business owners. It has been elusive but is one of the most important factors in deciding how much to invest into social media. Google Analytics has recently announced that they will be releasing social reports for all users. This probably will not be the end all for social media return on investment but I’m sure it will definitely be a step in the right direction.

According to Google they want to help you do 3 things:

  • Identify the full value of traffic coming from social sites and measure how they lead to direct conversions or assist in future conversions
  • Understand social activities happening both on and off of your site to help you optimize user engagement and increase social key performance indicators (KPIs)
  • Make better, more efficient data-driven decisions in your social media marketing programs

 

There will be social reports that will allow the user to see at a glance how much conversion value is generated from all of your social channels. You should get a better understanding of how much a goal completion is worth from those that resulted from social referrals. There will also be conversion reports that will show the monetary value for each of your social channels and the money they bring to your business. There is also a social sources report that will let you see how visitors from different sources behave. This will be valuable since it gives you a clearer picture of how people are interacting and behaving on your site. It can help you optimize your website based of the flow or funnel your visitors take. You will also be able to  see which articles are most commonly shared or recommended and which social networks there being shared on.

 

At this point we don’t really know if this new social media analytics feature will provide the ROI data that so many of us have been wanting but it should help us make better decisions. Social media is definitely a legitimate and exciting new medium for marketers and businesses but knowing how much it benefits us so we can decide how much to invest into it will be even more valuable to us.

Categories: Blog,Google,Internet Marketing,Social Media,Social Media Marketing — Tags: , , , , ;

Hotels Excelling at Timeline (LA Edition)

Renee Radia by
on March 28th, 2012

March 30 is when all Facebook Business Pages will change to the new Timeline format and that date is fast approaching! Exploring the new features on Timeline has been really fun and despite deactivating my personal Facebook account in part because I did not want to switch to Timeline myself, I do see a lot of value in business pages utilizing the new Timeline profile. Timeline is very photo-centric, so hotels and travel brands are lucky since they tend to showcase their properties and products with beautiful photography anyway. Timeline also allows for fans to finally message a brand or business individually instead of simply commenting on the wall, so now interaction can be a bit more personal if necessary. Applications and custom tabs are also displayed more prominently and can be a great place to exhibit a special or event at your property. There are many other ways that Facebook’s Timeline will enhance Business Pages, but for now, I will show a few examples of hotels in Los Angeles that have switched over to Timeline and are doing a great job of using the new features effectively.

Breathtaking Cover Photo
The new cover photo is the most obvious difference with the new format, and Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes does a brilliant job of enticing guests by showing its beautiful grounds along the coast while also utilizing inset images to exhibit activities at the hotel. The tranquil photos set against the bright blue ocean are enough to make anyone Like the page and book a relaxing vacation at this resort.

Inviting Tabs
The tabs and custom applications are now prominently displayed under the Like button and have their own images as well. The London West Hollywood uses a sexy nighttime rooftop bar photo with the text “Wednesdays at Sunset” to invite guests and even non-hotel guests to their parties on Wednesdays. Posting events or other specials on these tabs is a great way to garner attention and display even more photos of your property.

Alluring Image Updates
As I mentioned above, photos have now become more prominent as well. This is a great time to be creative with your status updates and posted images because of their new displays. I like how the JW Marriott downtown LA posts a colorful and eye-catching photo of the macaroon selection at a nearby establishment. It’s also cool to see the hotel being neighborly and shouting out to the restaurant, potentially driving its guests to check it out for dinner.

The Beverly Hills Hotel is encouraging great engagement here by posting a vintage photo as well as some trivia about it.

Increased Interaction
Lastly, the Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica is already using the new Messaging feature so guests don’t always have to post personal details directly onto a page. Fans can message brands; however, brands cannot initiate the message. The Messaging feature opens doors to new possible interactions since some people may not be comfortable posting their thoughts, questions, or concerns to a public wall.

How have you been incorporating Timeline’s new features into your Facebook Page? Feel free to let us know in the comments, and check back in a few weeks when I will be focusing on examples in another city!

Categories: Blog,Facebook,Hotel Internet Marketing,Hotels & Resorts,Social Media,Social Media Marketing,Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , ;

Online Tools Guarantee Hotel Guests the Lowest Rates

Golda Criddle by
on March 23rd, 2012

It can be daunting to book hotels in a city you’re unfamiliar with: how can you be sure you’re getting the best deal? Luckily, new tools are coming out every week to help out travelers. In the past, we’ve covered newcomers Flip.to, Backbid and HotelTonight. of the best in finding hotel deals are Tingo and Guestmob.

Tingo

When you book a room online, you run the risk that the price will drop after you bought. This causes a lot of people to wait until the last minute. Tingo takes care of this catch by automatically rebooking your hotel room at a lower price if the rate drops. So if you book a room for $300 and a week later, the price is $200, you will automatically be refunded the $100 difference, and you’ll keep your room. Further if it drops again to, let’s say $100, Tingo will rebook and refund you again.

Tingo was launched on Wednesday by Smarter Travel Media, a subsidiary of TripAdvisor. What makes Tingo different from other sides that offer money back is that they refund regardless of trip dates and there is no limit on the amount of money you can get back. According to Tingo, 45% of hotels are booked online, and Americans could have saved almost $314 million with their platform in 2011.

Guestmob

Start-up Guestmob aims to completely change the way you book hotels by offering a “back-end auction” to find the best deal with participating hotels. You type in the city you’re visiting, and a collection of hotels in the area will appear with a price on the bottom.  Guestmob uses a pricing algorithm that factors supply, demand and social signals to find you the best price. There is a bit of a catch: you won’t know which hotel you’re at until you’ve booked, but all bookings are refundable.

Guestmob guarantees that all of its participating hotels are high quality, consistent and accurate in their amenities and price points. The site says it can offer hotel rooms at prices 50% lower than the best rates for the same hotel on other websites. Guestmob is currently available in 21 major cities across the U.S.

Online tools like Guestmob and Tingo make vacationing much easier as travelers no longer have to stress about how to get the best deal on hotels. With price no longer such an important factor, hotels will have to resort to other factors to attract repeat guests. Feel free to comment with your input on what these factors could be!

Categories: Blog,Clients,Hotel Internet Marketing,Hotels & Resorts,Internet Marketing,Travel — Tags: , , , , , ;

The Rise of Ambient Social Networking

Golda Criddle by
on March 16th, 2012

There’s a new trend in social networking, coined ambient social networking by this year’s South by Southwest conference. It’s been in the works with new technology, gadgets and social networks coming out every day.

What exactly is ambient social networking, and where did it come from? The term can be used in conjunction with SoMoLo, or social, mobile and local. SoMoLo refers to social networks, mobile devices and local-based intelligence affecting the way we purchase. We use Facebook and Twitter to tell our friends and followers what we have bought, and what they should buy. In turn, we get product recommendations and restaurant tips from Pinterest and Foursquare. Smart phones are now an integral part of many purchases, as we can check out phones to compare prices and see if items are in stock.

Local also refers to consumer location. Social networks that tag your location such as Instagram, Foursquare, and Path are extremely popular. Facebook and Twitter recently added geo-tags to its posts so you know where your friends are tweeting and posting from. Many restaurants, department stores and hotels have picked up on this trend by adding deals when you check-in via Facebook, Foursquare or Yelp.

All of this interconnected activity leads us back to ambient social networking, or sharing without all the extra work. A prime example is Highlight, an application that tells you when your friends are close by. Even further, the app remembers your Facebook Timeline and scans the vicinity for people like you. When it finds someone who has similar interests, or mutual friends, it notifies you.

The possibilities for applications like Highlight are endless. It could be used as a way to make new friends or a location-based dating application. Many have criticized our growing addiction to technology as isolating, but Highlight seems to bridge this gap, as it allows for a way to meet strangers as we go about our lives.

The drawbacks of ambient social networking are over sharing and lack of privacy. People you don’t know will know your location and have a way to get in contact with you. In addition, all the extra information could lead to burnout and deactivation. Do you think ambient social networking will catch on, or do you think privacy concerns will get in the way? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

Categories: B2B & B2C,Blog,Clients,E-Commerce,Facebook,Internet Marketing,Social Media,Social Media Marketing,Twitter — Tags: , , , , ;

Hotels: Optimize Your Twitter Network

Renee Radia by
on March 14th, 2012

I was recently reading a Mashable article about small businesses on Twitter and it got me thinking about a similar issue but for hotels. Building a strong and steady Twitter following for your property helps get the word out about your hotel, improves your SEO, and enhances your credibility. But what is the best way to go about gathering a large but loyal following?

One of the first tips I can give you is embrace the power of following others. When I come across a brand that has a high number of Followers but a very low number of Following, it automatically gives me the impression that the company cares very little about doing actual outreach. I feel like the company is unlikely to interact with me and has a presence on the social network only to promote itself and gain followers so that it can showcase “impressive” numbers.

Who Should You Follow?
It can be tricky figuring out whom exactly to follow because you don’t want to follow just anyone. Show your Tweeps love by following people that frequently interact with you and retweet you. You should not follow back everyone that follows you, especially since you will probably get some spambots in there, so take a minute to read someone’s bio and possibly check out his/her tweets before making the ultimate decision. If what you see is pertinent to your hotel then I recommend following back, especially because you may not know how influential the person is or who he/she knows.

In terms of seeking out people to follow, influential hospitality bloggers or other key industry people are a good place to start, especially because those can be the people that carry compelling Twitter conversations. Community leaders are also interactive on the network. Does your hotel have a killer golf course next to it? Follow golf bloggers or people who have a clear interest in golf. If you have a unique special then seek out people whose interests are relevant and start conversations with them or invite them to check out the special. Don’t forget about local venues or events with Twitter accounts as well.

Following Tools
Twitter Lists are a great way to find people to follow within targeted areas. Your hotel itself will probably be added to others’ Lists and that will only increase your exposure. There are some websites you can use that help you mass follow people, but in general that is frowned upon and can bring you many low quality followers. If you follow a large number of people but want to see who isn’t following you back, sites such as ManageFlitter can tell you and even lets you unfollow people from the site. Unfollowing people is helpful if you are trying to keep your number of Followers and Following balanced and while it may seem a bit unethical, maybe you have nothing in common with a specific user so following him or her might not be the best connection.

Building a following can be time consuming but keep in mind that it’s quality, not quantity! For more tips and hospitality-related articles, follow us on Twitter!

 

Categories: Blog,Hotel Internet Marketing,Hotels & Resorts,Social Media,Social Media Marketing,Twitter — Tags: , , , ;

Hotels Not Embracing Mobile Advertising Are Missing Out

David Sotelo by
on March 12th, 2012

We all know by now mobile is future and shows no signs of slowing down. Smartphone’s and tablets have redefined how we not only consume our media but how we live our lives day to day. Just about everything we do now is mobile. From how we read our news to booking a hotel room and it will become even more evolved as we enter the dawn of the post pc era. We brought up before the importance of the tablet and how hotels can embrace the tablet but I wanted to address the importance of advertising on the mobile medium. Having a mobile ready site is crucial for a hotel since a potential guest will most likely leave your site and not come back if they are on their device and it is not mobile ready. Having a mobile ready website really is a necessity and not an option.

The next step after having a mobile ready website is to have a well run advertising campaign. Most marketers know this but as with many hotels they will often be the ones that have to market their hotel. Diversifying ads across various digital channels will ensure that you are targeting all your guest and potential guests in the most cost effective way possible.  The rise of digital advertising is a sure sign that that’s where the money is. Almost half of US marketers surveyed by ValueClick planned to boost video ad spending and 65% noted increases to their mobile budgets for 2012. Another telling statistic is that 94% of survey respondents planned to purchase standard mobile banner ads, half also planned to buy mobile rich media ads and 49% planned to buy mobile video ads.

The bottom line here is to not only be aggressive with mobile advertising but to begin the journey of optimizing your mobile advertising campaigns. There is nothing worse than intrusive and annoying ads regardless of whether your offline or online. Targeting the right market and showing them something interesting and relevant will increase your conversion rates and overall advertising performance. There is tremendous value especially in video as the stats show. Showing your hotel and providing a unique glimpse of your hotel and all the great things about it in a video format and having it show up on a mobile platform will put your hotel ahead of the competition.

Categories: Blog,Hotel Internet Marketing,Hotels & Resorts,Internet Marketing — Tags: , , , ;

Web Travel Tools Focus on Consumer Discovery and Deals

Golda Criddle by
on March 9th, 2012

The travel industry is rapidly changing with new websites, tools and mobile apps popping up every year. Each has their own unique way of tackling the issue, but I have definitely started to notice a push towards giving consumers more power through discovery and hotel deals. Below are three examples of the trend.

Wanderfly

One such site is Wanderfly, a travel recommendation search engine that recently reinvented itself with a whole new site. Instead of focusing on details such as prices, Wanderfly has opted to provide visual, user-created travel guides with an emphasis on pictures. You can explore restaurants, hotels and other places of interest

Recommendations are tagged with large pictures and categories such as “off the beaten path”, “budget” and “culture.” Users can use the site like a search engine to find exactly what they are looking for in a travel destination with these categories. Each city’s site lists the places to visit recommended by a user’s community. The site looks and feels a lot like popular bookmarking site Pinterest with its emphasis on visuals.

TripSay

Web tool TripSay takes a different approach on travel discovery by displaying recommendations on a world map. Users can rate locations they have previously visited in simple categories like “Best,” “Loved,” “Hated,” and “Wish to Go.” Then TripSay will generate travel destinations based on your input and ratings of other site users.

TripSay’s hotel booking engine is also unique in that it uses its map interface to display hotels by location, budget and ratings. This is useful for booking hotels close to attractions guests may be attending, which can be critical in sprawling citys such as Los Angeles and Austin.

HotelTonight

Users wield even more power with hotel deals startup HotelTonight. The startup is built for the spontaneous decision-makers: with the mobile app, people can find last-minute same-night deals on hotel rooms. Starting at 12pm on any given day, HotelTonight will list three hotel options per city, per day in three simple categories: “hip,” “elegant” or “basic.” Users of the app have until 2am that night to book a same-day stay.

HotelTonight works with more than 300 hotels in 18 different cities to generate these offers. The service is only available via mobile phone, which makes it very easy to book last-minute. The app’s strategy pits local hotels against each other, much like hotel auction site BackBid.

Web and mobile tools such as these three give consumers the power to choose their destinations according to their interests and find great hotel deals in the moment.  With so many tools available to technology-savvy travelers, hoteliers would be wise to use to take advantage of the opportunities to bring in new customers.

Categories: B2B & B2C,Blog,Clients,Hotel Internet Marketing,Hotels & Resorts,Hotels & Resorts,Internet Marketing,Photo & Video,Social Media,Social Media Marketing,Travel — Tags: , , , , , , ;

Put a Face Behind Your Company

Renee Radia by
on March 7th, 2012

With so many new startups, agencies, and internet businesses emerging recently, it can be difficult for your company to stand out in the crowd. What sets you apart from the next company? Why would a business want to work with you over someone else? Your website can have all the descriptive content and FAQ pages you want, but there is one important aspect you need to incorporate that is becoming increasingly important as we become more and more social in the digital space. You need to put a face behind your company. You need to exhibit that you aren’t just some anonymous team, but that there is a person, or people, behind the company. Show that you and your team are personable! Relationship building is essential in obtaining new clients and if someone can get to know your business right from the start then you are already ahead of the game. The following are a few ideas of how to spruce up your company’s personality on the web:

  • Make an exciting About Us page. Take fun photos of your workers, or just team leaders if your company is bigger, and have each person put a little bit about his or herself on an About Us page. You could link to each person’s specific social media profiles or do “fun facts” about each person. Use bright colors so the page stands out. The possibilities are endless! Check out our About Us page (and photo below) to see how we made it fun.
  • Don’t use a company logo for your profile pictures. With Facebook’s new Timeline for Pages, businesses have the opportunity to be very creative here. The cover photo that will soon be on all Facebook Pages is a great way to showcase your company in an innovative way. Simply putting up a company logo will diminish the value of the cover photo and will turn people off from your company. On Twitter, use a photo of your company representative or the tweeter herself. We did this on our Twitter account, and have found that more people interact with us because they know someone is actually there and it is not just some anonymous company. People also commonly think it is a Twitter spambot following them if the photo is a logo. If you have a company blog, add photos next to your bloggers so readers can put a face with the author.
  • Integrate video. Making a short video of your company and its members to post on your website or social media channels is another fun way to showcase your business and its personality. You can put this on your About Us page or somewhere else on your site where your readers will see it. Remember to keep it short! If anyone in your company has an interesting talent, or you have a cool office space, why not show that off a little bit too?

There are so many ways you can bring a little personality to your business online! Feel free to share any ideas you may have or links to your own fun pages below.

Categories: Blog,Facebook,Internet Marketing,Social Media,Social Media Marketing,Twitter,Websites — Tags: , , , , , , , ;
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