TripAdvisor Reviews – The Good, the Bad, and the Crustiest of 2011

February 17, 2011 by 1BlizzAdmin

“It looked like a CSI Crime Scene.”

“Crusty.”

“Bug bites.”

“Cockroach filled pool.”

These are just a few of the words used to describe this year’s coveted list of Top 10 Dirties Hotels from TripAdvisor as reported by travelers.

As in previous years, the class of 2011’s Dirtiest Hotels did not have a lack of sickeningly descriptive reviews.

It really is fun to read through bad reviews (when they aren’t about you, of course) so here are a few snippets of my favorites from this year’s list:

“I would have preferred to stay under a bridge or in a dirty rental car.”

- Jack London Inn

“It all started with the manager burning trash in the fireplace in the lobby.”

- Super 8 Estes Park

“They told us that the competition writes the bad reviews and puts them on the internet but don’t believe it its really bad and they don’t care!!!!”

“The hallway smelled of urine.”

- Desert Inn Rose

You get the point.

For more crusty details, check out the rest of TripAdvisor’s list of the Top 10 Dirtiest Hotels in the US.

If you have a strong stomach, don’t miss the Dirtiest Hotels in Europe (“I wish this hotel would burn down so no one else would have to stay here”) and India (“No extra charge for cockroaches at this place”).

Filed Under: Heard Here and There, Out and About

Stop Sharing Your Google Analytics Password

February 15, 2011 by 1BlizzAdmin

Maybe yesterday’s post on Filtering Out Your Own Office’s Visits inspired you to update your Google Analytics but was too technical, so you asked for help.

Did you give someone else your login credentials? Have you ever given someone your Google Analytics username and password so that they could see your account? Don’t do it! There is a better way.

Use Google’s User Manager to add a new user to your account with their own username and password. This not only protects your own passwords from unauthorized use, it allows you to at a later date remove that person’s access. It is quick and easy to do.

1) Your new user needs a Google Account… (have them set one up if they don’t)… just get their official Google account’s email address.

2) Find the User Manager at the bottom of your profile’s overview page. If you don’t see it, you probably have read-only access instead of administrator access.

Add the user… you can give them admin rights or just look only.

Filed Under: Analytics

Free Email Marketing Template to Match Your Website

February 14, 2011 by 1BlizzAdmin

Have you been looking for a way to increase your revenue in 2011? When done correctly, email marketing is an affordable way to stay in touch with loyal customers and find new patrons.

We are big fans of Constant Contact, and until the end of the month they are offering a fabulous deal for new clients.

Sign-up for a new email marketing campaign with us using Constant Contact and receive a free email template to match your website!

(Sorry current Constant Contact users, this is only for the new people.)

The deal is only being offered until February 28th, so don’t wait.

If you are interested, give Brian a call at 888-840-5893 ext. 119 or fill out the form on this page and we will get in touch with you.

Filed Under: Marketing Musts

Stop Polluting Your Google Analytics Data with Your Own Visits

February 14, 2011 by 1BlizzAdmin

If your Google Analytics install is tracking visits from your office, or your web design/SEO team’s offices, your data becomes less relevant.

Tracking those visits typically:

Boosts your website’s visits artificially
Raises your bounce rates
Decreases your conversion rates

It is quick and easy to tell Google to “filter” those out.

1) On your Profile’s Overview page, in the lower right hand corner, is a “Filter Manager.” If you don’t see it, you probably have read-only access instead of administrator access:

2) Use the Filter Manger to add a new filter that excludes all website traffic from specific IP addresses. Put in your office’s IP address there… and any other IP addresses that would be visiting your website frequently:

If you don’t know what your IP address is, just go to Google and search for “what is my IP address”

Filed Under: Analytics

Google Analytics Professional Development Resources

February 11, 2011 by 1BlizzAdmin

Are you looking to learn more about how Google Analytics works?

There are lots of blogs, forums and workshops available where you can learn more. Two of my favorite resources are Conversion University and Web Analytics TV Episodes.

Conversion University is a set of online lessons created by Google to help you become a more knowledgeable Google Analytics user or to prepare for the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ) test.
Here is a sample lesson on Goals

I also enjoy Google Analytic’s Channel on YouTube,the Web Analytics TV Episodes (currently 16) are excellent. There is a large set of instructional videos at the YouTube channel too.

Filed Under: Analytics

Gross Revenue in Google Analytics vs Reality – A Wake Up Call

February 10, 2011 by 1BlizzAdmin

Amy Tomasello, project manager extraordinaire, and I were reviewing revenue data for a client the other day. We wanted to compare what Google Analytics is reporting vs. what the client actually deposited “in the bank” for January.

The reality was pretty interesting.

According to Google Analytics, this VRM in Florida received about $85,000 in online bookings in January 2011. When we asked the client to “match it up” with what she received, it was pretty interesting. Photo Courtesty: Treehugger on Flickr

Here’s what we found out:

Google Analytics doesn’t report cancellations, or those that call and move to another unit, be it less or more expensive.
Some guests call and decline trip insurance, further reducing the gross revenue of the booking.
Credit card fees and other “costs of collecting money” aren’t revenue, so even though they’re included in the gross revenue numbers, they need to be pulled out to get a true picture of revenue.
Google Analytics DOES remove taxes from gross revenue numbers, so that math is already done.

So what did we find out? In reality the actual revenue deposited “in the bank” for January 2011 was down around $57,000 – which basically slices about 34% off the top – WOW! It was definitely eye opening.

I started to think, how can we track this better in Google Analytics? I think, and correct me if I’m wrong, that the only way is to have the actual transaction “thank you” page divide out the fees and report those to Google Analytics as separate line items.

For example:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Analytics, Industry Stats, SEM, Travel Marketing