One of my favorite things about Google Maps is how it constantly evolves. New features are being added all the time and often occur without any noise or fanfare. This morning, for the first time, I saw images being displayed in the Maps results. I searched for “winter park co” and here’s what displayed:

Here’s what a regular Google Search for the same query returned:

I must have been snoozing! Take a look at what you see when you click on the new feature “Explore This Area”:

And this is what you’ll see on the Map next to it:

Why is this significant? Is it the beginning of all relevant results displaying within Google’s verticals?  Images and videos are already in the Maps results. Will local news start appearing, as well?

I certainly don’t know, but it’s great to see another cool feature in Maps. Stayed tuned as the search story unfolds…

With just the clothes on his back, 50 pounds of camera equipment, a harmonica and a trusty Leatherman multi-tool, one man is set out for seven days to survive on his own without food or water.  This man’s name is Les Stroud.  In each episode of “Survivorman,”  Les places himself in a unique survival situation and demonstrates how to survive in a remote location with minimal supplies until being rescued.

Surviving in a wilderness is slightly the same as a website’s survival online.  It is important to understand the essentials to a web site’s success in order for you to benefit the most from website ownership. So here are a few survival tips to prepare you for the pitfalls you may face online.

Living off of the Land

In the woods:
Being able to eat off of the land is priceless in a survival situation.  It is important that you locate a decent food supply from your surroundings and be able to build a shelter to protect you from the elements.  Dining on wild animals and plants can be your only chances of getting out alive.  But be aware that not everything edible is safe to eat.

On the web:
Traffic is the food for your web site.  Although there are many forms of traffic online, it is important to know that not all of it will help you.  Make sure that your site is setup for your targeted audience.  If you are offering vacation rentals in Florida, you would most likely want to get traffic from vacationers and not someone planning their camping trip in South Dakota.

Rabbit Starvation

In the woods:
Feasting on rabbits and rabbits alone can lead to death.  An exclusive diet of lean meat, of which a rabbit is a practical example, will make you sick due to the lack of fat.  It is important to have a variety of edibles in a survival situation.  This is a great example of how overeating can kill you when you are starving.

On the web:
Relying primarily on off-line advertising and word of mouth to promote your website will eventually lead to a decline in your site’s visitors.  By investing in a search engine marketing firm to provide you with pay per click advertising and search engine optimization, you will increase your overall website traffic, since it will be coming from different sources.  It is better to have a variety of traffic sources as opposed to just one, because if one stops working, the other sources will still pull in site visitors.

Shelter

In the woods:
Having a sturdy shelter is imperative to protect you from the elements.  Whether in rain or snow, your shelter should be able to hold up and keep you safe.  A good shelter should have a thick roof and at least three protected sides.  It should be able to be used as a wind break and also provide a sense of comfort that you most likely wouldn’t get anywhere else.

On the web:
By having a good hosting provider that can protect your site from viruses, hackers and server crashes is a valuable asset.  Make sure that your host provides 24/7 network monitoring and response and a 99% uptime guarantee.  You should have a peace of mind knowing that your web hosting is being taken care of by a decent provider, because if your site goes down, no one can buy from you.

Staying Found

In the woods:
Knowing where you are at all times is critical to getting out alive.  If this becomes difficult, you can draw a map of where you have been to avoid further confusion.  It is important that you have your head straight in this crisis so that others can find you.  You can signal for others to find you by shouting, shining a piece of mirror or reflective metal or by using smoke signals from your fire. 

On the web:
Know where you stand with your current customers.  Returning customers are the key to your success online.  Let them know you are still there by sending out email newsletters, blogging, offering new special offers or even hosting a contest.  The more informed they are, the more likely you will get the sale.

So there you have it, four survival tips for the website owner.  Being able to be prepared for whatever is thrown at you is priceless.  Be sure to remember that traffic is great, but targeted traffic is even better.  Utilizing only one traffic source can be deadly and you should have a variety of sources of traffic.  Picking a sold web hosting provider can mean life or death of a successful website and that returning customers are essential to your success.  You can never be over prepared when it comes to the success of your website.

You’ve all dealt with the harried and harassed guests at the front desk.  Their plane was delayed, the airport lost their luggage, and the kids screamed the whole way.  Unfortunately, their vacation experience started when they left the house, and your online reviews could possibly suffer from a traveler’s bad mood.

 What can you do to help guests travel safely and conveniently to your doorstep?  Arm them with some great travel tips to keep them  happy, safe, and on-time!  I was just reading an article that my online friend Shane Keener from the Places to Stay blog sent me from BudgetTravel.com called the Family Travel Handbook  

This article had some great advice for traveling with kids - here are my favorite tips:

Sign kids up as Frequent Fliers

Check the car-seat - don’t use it on the plane.  I just put mine in an airline-provided plastic bag and it’s traveled well every time.  Car Rental car seats are dirty.

DONT preboard.  An extra 1/2 hour strapped in a seat? No Thanks!

Only the essentials - divide carry-on items by parent.  Dad has the fun stuff, Mom has snacks diapers, etc.  Then you’ll know who has what and you’re not digging around in your bags the whole flight.

Bring a few empty 8oz water bottles & refill once through security.

Not all of your guests will be families - so provide some essential items for adults to find your front door.

Printable directions with a map

Transportation information (shuttles & taxis) along with the location of the desk/taxi stop at the Airport Terminal

Let the guests send directions and reservations information via SMS (Text) message to their cellphones

Is your site mobile friendly?  Add a sub-domain to your site that is mobile friendly and contains location information, maps, directions and phone numbers. 

Provide a “suggested packing list.”  If your evenings are chilly, let your guest know beforehand. 

See if your confirmation pages and emails are compatible with a trip organizing service like TripIt.com.  Pretty handy for frequent travelers.

Keep in mind, the journey is part of the vacation…making sur eyour guests have a good one is a great service to offer.  Sometimes a “How was your trip?” is enough to release tension.  A sympathetic ear and some help with lost luggage goes a long way to gaining a good review.

texting photo from Nesster
packing photo from Tomeppy
Kid flying photo from ninjapoodles

International travelers from the US are apparently NOT looking to hit Europe this summer. This is largely due to the weak dollar and the poor exchange rate for US dollars into Euros. As of this article - $1 converted to just .6433 Euros - pretty dismal.

US Dollar to Euro Exchange Rate - 3 Month Trend

So where are people headed for an international destination? Look to areas where the dollar is still fairly strong, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America are experiencing fairly strong exchange rates. In Argentina for example - $1 converts to 3.1745 Argentine Pesos. Travelocity’s summer bookings to South America are up 13%, Mexico’s share is up 47%. For the most part, Mexico offers SOME of the amenities a European trip might offer, ambiance, cuisine, warmth, and beaches - at a much more reasonable price.

US Dollar to Argentine Peso Exchange rate - 1 Year Trend

How can US hospitality operators take advantage? Offer a guest who might have otherwise chosen an overseas trip some smokin’ deals - with the luxury and ambiance an international destination might afford. Partner with area nightclubs, restaurants, etc. to ensure guests are gaining an experience in their vacation, not just a “trip.”

Euro to US Dollar Exchange Rate - 3 month trend

The other opportunity here is that of the European travelers flocking to the US. Exchange rates into Euros aren’t very good, but flip the switch and turn 1 Euro into $1.5543 - this means a European vacation budget of €4000 converts into $6,218.60 - pretty good value. Check out my previous article “Weak Dollar Could Mean Strong European Bookings.”

For more details on the USAToday article - access the printable version here (no subscription needed)

At the beginning of April 2008, Google AdWords unleashed a new quality score metric relating to the load time of your landing pages. Landing page load time is defined as the time it takes for a website page to load, in seconds. According to recent articles throughout the search engine news forums, if the load time of your landing page for your ads is slow, it can affect your quality score.

Google sees pages with a slow load time as bad for the user.  As their ultimate goal is to deliver a good user experience, bad for the user equals bad for Google.  One way to improve load time is to eliminate redirects that take too long to load.  If you improve load time and the content quality of your landing pages the user will be more “satisfied” and thus you can increase your quality score.

According to Google, your load time will receive one of two possible grades; “This page loads slowly.” and “No problems found.”  The ads will be negatively affected if the grade falls into the first category.

Google will also compare the load time of your site with others in your same geographic region. Google is also basing the grade of your websites load time on the destination URL that is being used.

If you choose to assign a destination URL at the keyword level, the load time will be graded based on that URL. Choosing not to assign a destination URL at the keyword level, gives Google the option of grading load time based on the slowest ad in the ad group.

There are many factors to consider if your quality score is affected by slow loading landing pages. Improving or eliminating these issues on your site will help to improve your quality score in Google AdWords.

1. Eliminate redirects that use multi-second refreshes. If a redirect takes several seconds, consider setting it to zero so it loads immediately.
2. Check the speed of your redirects. You can use tools such as Fiddler or IWebTool to find out how long it takes your page to complete a redirect.
3. Avoid using multiple redirects. Each time your page redirects, it increases the load time of the page.
4. If you use an interstitial page; requires the user to wait before being taken to the landing page, consider removing it. An example of this for a lodging property would be a page that has an introduction and link inviting the user to enter the site.
5. Compress the size of your page if the HTML document is too large. Google suggests using GZIP or DEFLATE.
6. Eliminate the use of IFrames on your landing pages.
7. Discuss other ways to reduce the load time of your pages with your webmaster or hosting provider.
8. Avoid using large graphics and image files to decrease the load time for your landing pages.
9. Place any JavaScript for analytics code as far down on the landing pages as possible.

While this change is not factored into the Google AdWords quality score yet, it is a good idea to address these issues before the new metric goes live. Once this quality score metric is in effect, you will be able to see the results in the Keyword Analysis section of your AdWords account.

If Blizzard is managing your PPC accounts, we have already adjusted and made load-time recommendations in anticipation of this change.

May 1^st was all about blizzards – Colorado was pummeled with a random May Day snowstorm, and Blizzard Internet Marketing was included on the prestigious list of the world’s top Organic Optimization firms!

Each month, TopSEOs.com evaluates Internet Marketing companies in a variety of categories, and based on a set of factors has ranked Blizzard Internet Marketing #21 in Organic Optimization for May.

TopSEOs criteria to rank the top Internet Marketing firms include: client feedback, customer service, competitive advantage, and overall performance.

What sets our Glenwood Springs based company apart from other Search Engine Optimization firms? Blizzard Internet’s experts are among the top authorities in SEO: Carrie Hill and Mary Bowling are speakers at invitation only conferences, regular contributors to respected industry publications, and attend numerous SEO symposiums to stay on top of up tomorrows’ trends.

Having top Internet Marketing authorities on the team means that Blizzard Internet clients are the first to benefit from the latest best practices SEO and see results in top search engine rankings.

We’d like to thank our clients for their constant support and trust, we’ll be sure to keep you updated on future Blizzard successes!

I recently took a leave of absence from Blizzard to visit my sister in Wellington, New Zealand.  During our visit together to the South Island, we made a stop in Christchurch, where we stayed at the Hotel So.  Opening in 2007, the designer hotel is a recent addition to the city’s myriad of accommodation choices.  They market themselves toward a younger, style (yet budget) conscious crowd, mainly composed of 20 and 30-something adventurers, as well as some business travelers.  The overall feel of the hotel is modern and chic, with minimal yet appealing interior design.  The bar serves designer martinis; the café menu is eclectic and trendy. 

The thing that grabbed my attention the most about this hot spot was their branding strategy.  Every detail of the hotel was considered in the planning of the business; all elements communicated with each other visually.  From the logo to the wallpaper, right down to the tea bags and chocolates, everything matched perfectly.  Simply said, it’s a designer’s paradise, and I fell in love immediately.  If their marketing team hasn’t won an award for this place yet, it’s about time they did!

When I returned to the states in March, I hadn’t checked out the Hotel So website yet, so when I finally did I was pleased to see that their website carried the same stunning brand identity that the hotel did.  Not only did the professional photography sweep me right back across the Pacific Ocean, but the graphic elements of the site reminded me of how carefully their designers made the place a cohesive whole.  The same unusual color combinations of brownish taupe and various pastel colors (which are all very fashionable combinations right now) that I found throughout the hotel itself, were now echoed on my computer screen. 

So what’s so important about creating a brand identity for your property?  Well, there are lots of reasons.  For starters, if you create a lasting impression on your customers, they will become repeat customers.  There is no doubt that if I were to find myself in Christchurch again, I would make a point of staying at the Hotel So.  Since my sister and I stayed in a variety of hotels and hostels all over New Zealand, many of them blur together in my memory.  However, this place was an experience in itself, and I won’t soon forget it. 

The AVS Group, a web services company in Wisconsin, explains another reason that branding is so important. “Brand identity commands a price-premium. Why is someone willing to pay thousands of dollars more for a Lexus than for a Toyota? They are virtually the same product with the exception of some additional options and accessories…the value proposition is wrapped around the brand. The Lexus…[is] worth more in the minds of consumers regardless of whether the product actually functions better.” According to an article by Lara Appelhans at INeedHits.com, “building your brand will create credibility, implies trustworthiness, and should make your business name synonymous with the product or service that you sell.”

When it’s time to start establishing your brand, make sure your design is consistent online and offline.  You and your designer(s) should work together to establish a standard of typefaces, layouts and color palettes.  If your outdoor signage is designed in the font Soho Gothic, carry that font over to your website and use it on some of your buttons (remember though that for many areas of a website, such as the copy, you will need to stick to web-safe fonts).  If the color of the walls in most of your rooms is hunter green, try using a similar color in your website design. 

One of the design elements that we see on the Hotel So website is the repeated abstract line pattern at the bottom of the screen:

Although not identical, it is very similar the line pattern found on the wood panels and comforters found in every room:

To the non-designer, details such as repeating lines may seem trivial.  However, when several of these small details tie together, it can create a visual theme that wows the consumer.  Next time you order new comforters for your beds, or new packaging for in-room amenities - think about the “style” you’re conveying with your property and with your website.  Sometimes making a few simple purchase decisions can go a long way towards giving your guests the experience today’s traveler is craving.