Travel Internet Marketing & SEO Creates Lucrative Results

A March 2008 study titled "NEXTgen Traveler" wanted to find the niche for travel internet marketing. What surprised some people is that the majority of the 2,559 adults surveyed were gamers, music fans, film buffs and high-tech geeks. Fifty-six percent of those who book travel online also liked reading newspapers and magazines (like People and Time) online.  These travels also watched Fox and the Discovery channel, listened to rock (45%), classic rock (42%) or top 40/pop (39%).

Eighty-nine percent of these tech-savvy travelers use the Internet for sending and receiving email and 7/10 people use the Internet to research information about travel experiences or services. In addition, the travelers download music (81%), upload photos (69%) and videos (59%), shop online auctions at eBay (67%) and browse web pages from their cell phones (33%). One in seven travelers checked out Travelocity and more than half of those surveyed frequented Myspace.com. An additional 30% had Facebook accounts and 34% had Youtube accounts. For the travel Internet marketing analyst, this says a few things.

First, creating a web rewards program and asking travelers to sign up for an e-newsletter (with special bonuses and discounts) is essential. Email has and possibly always will be an effective way to increase conversions and encourage repeat customers. For mere pennies, clients can reach thousands of members, which – if executed properly – leads to double-digit conversions.

Secondly, the data suggests that travel SEO through video will be an emerging trend. Already many hotels and destinations are offering multimedia presentations to help prospective guests get a feel for the ambiance of their properties. As a very cost-efficient medium, travel Internet marketing videos are the ideal way to showcase a location, as well as appeal to the dreams and emotions of viewers.

Thirdly, social networking appears to be big in the world of travel Internet marketing. While it's a hard medium to navigate and keep current on, there are some budget-conscious ways to approach a site like Facebook and Myspace. Posting blogs, updating videos and pictures are all quick ways to connect with an audience. Travel SEO experts say that social networking is worth the money because web crawlers are searching Myspace blogs and profile pages, ranking them very generously. Starting a group and hiring a couple people to get the groups jumpstarted can also help. One thing that's surprising to many researchers is the readiness of people to participate and offer their opinions freely, without much prompting or any compensation at all.

Many business owners gather the professional opinion of an experienced travel SEO expert. The big questions in travel Internet marketing are: What is my audience, what does my audience want and how do I attract a bigger audience? The answers have often come to travel Internet marketing professionals through studies or to travel SEO experts through analytics software. We number-crunch, we categorize, we test new web designs or ads, we analyze trends and we look for new ways to get consumer feedback. The answers business owners can find by contracting a travel SEO expert are personalized, targeting where their client's web traffic stems from, how long they stay on the site, which pages scare people off, what the competition is doing that their client is not and where their traffic is going once they leave the homepage. The good thing about travel SEO is that it's a quick fix to conversion problems. However, for a long-term strategy, a travel Internet marketing campaign that includes copywriting, advertising, online videos, web design, online promotions and social networking is ideal.