Now that you have successfully implemented a Web Analytics program to evaluate visits to your website, what should you be looking at? Whether you are utilizing the Blizzard ROI Tracker, Google Analytics or another type of analytics software on your website, these resources can provide valuable information about the effectiveness of both online and offline marketing efforts.

Bounce Rate - tells you the percentage of visitors that only viewed one page on your website. There are many possible scenarios that cause websites to have high bounce rates. If the content on your website is outdated, you will typically lose visitors looking for the newest information about your business. How often do you update the content, specials or packages, local events, etc… on your website? Are your keywords reflective of what your visitors expect from your website? If the keyword phrases you are using, both in your optimization and paid advertising don’t give visitors what they are expecting from your website, they will most likely not make it past the first page.

Average Time Spent on Website - It is crucial to monitor how long the average visitor spends on your website. If your content keeps the visitor engaged, they are more likely to view more pages, which often lead to conversions or a request for more information. Pay attention to pages that show an unusually high time spent on the page, as there could be an issue with the page.

First Time and Returning Visitors - It is important to spend your time and efforts attracting new visitors to your website. It is just as important to see an increase in returning visitors, an indication that visitors are interested in learning more about what you are offering on your website.

Top Referring URL’s - This will help to determine which directories and search engines are bringing the most traffic to your website.

Top Keywords that send visitors to your website - analyze whether the most relevant keywords for your business are really the ones that are sending the most qualified visitors. Which keywords are resulting in more conversions?

Top Keywords by Search Engine - Analyzing the top keywords by search engine will allow you to determine what is working best for you in the organic rankings and your pay per click advertising.

Paid vs. Organic search engine referrals - this will help you to analyze your organic and paid marketing efforts. Are you investing enough money for Search Engine Optimization or Pay Per Click advertising?

Visitor Demographics - You can analyze where the majority of your visitors are coming from by Country, State, or City and focus marketing efforts in these areas.

Conversion Rate - The number of visitors that complete the desired action, such as reserving a room, signing up for your newsletter or filling out a request for information form. It is important that you or your webmaster define the conversion pages.

Other Links - Are the other link building efforts, such as lodging directories and authority websites, sending visitors to your website, if so, are they also converting?

Don’t forget that the purpose of your website marketing efforts are saving money, increasing traffic, increasing conversions, increasing your return on investment and decreasing the bounce rate of visitors to your website. The analysis is as important as the online marketing itself.

Bounce Image Courtesy bigwibble6

Purchase image quaziefoto

Nowadays when building a website you want it to captivate and engage the customer from first glance. Your homepage needs to be an attention getter, and you want it to usually stand out and “sell” more than all of your other pages. So what can you do to spice up a simple page that has nothing but text and an image sitting on it? Add some Flash!

Flash has been around since 1996 and the technology has become a popular method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages. Flash is commonly used to create animation, advertisements, various web page components, put video into web pages, and more recently, to create powerful internet applications.

Flash has gone through a lot of phases throughout the different versions that have been released. With each version it has improved, getting better and more user friendly. I feel flash started to shine when AdobeMX was released in 2002. Flash wasn’t really popular more then 6-7 years ago, if you saw it on a site you were typically kind of surprised. In the last 5 years flash has been pushed to its limits in what it can do, by communicating with other programming/html languages, animation and movie advancement, and its own build in language, Action Script. Entire sites can actually be created in flash and still function just as well if not better then other formatted and coded sites.

If you take a look at some of the major brand name companies websites, you will notice a lot of flash intros, slideshows and navigations. These alone can keep a visitor’s attention focused on your site. Sometimes just the feel of a page can keep you there. Flash also makes the page feel futuristic, more advanced, and just cooler, because things are typically always moving, glowing, animating, etc.

Flash on a site tends to clue the user in on the site being modern and updated and is a great addition to your already spectacular content, just keep in mind - we do NOT recommend full-flash websites.

How can you use flash to help spice up your page?
Try taking some high quality pictures that match the look and feel of your website. Pick a good order for them to be displayed in and have your design company put together a good 4-8 image flash slideshow for you. Unlike JavaScript, flash slideshows are a lot more flexible. JavaScript slide shows just fade in and out nothing more. Flash slideshows can zoom in/out, pane from left to right, fade at more specific rates, have fancy fade in/out effects rather then just the basic fade, and much more. Typically a flash slideshow will work best on your site’s homepage, without slowing down the page load time.

How much flash do you need?
As great as Flash is, you never want to overdo it on your site. Too much movement on a page can distract the user from making buying decisions or from finding the “booking” or “buying” buttons. That being said, having a flash slideshow added to the header of your page can really “class it up.” It’s important to appeal to the eye, but still maintain a minimum of 150 words on that page to make it rank for your best and most competitive keywords. If you add more than an accent, it’s going to cost way more than its worth, scare your viewer away, or make the site too animated by taking away the focus of your sites original goal with the visitor. Making a site in complete flash with no actual links to other pages and having all links internal in the .swf file will tank your search engine rankings. Google has admitted that they are starting to index flash, but there is some controversy around how much, and exactly how they do it.

How do you know if you really need flash on your site?

• If you feel like your page doesn’t have that extra touch, feel, or presence that your competition delivers.
• If you feel like your ready to leave your site the moment you arrive.
• Your page feels stale and needs some motion, action or more images to it.
• Your homepage hasn’t changed in months/years.
• You don’t have any flash on your site!

What it really boils down to, is that most up to speed, newer generation sites have and use flash on a regular basis on their website in some form or another. You’re really putting yourself above the competition and maintaining and increasing your visitor rate with this new technology. So what are you waiting for?

Local search continues to be an emerging and important trend in Internet Marketing.  It’s important to understand what does and doesn’t work when optimizing your site for local and/or mobile search. 

Attending conferences and trainings that focus on teaching members of our industry what is effective are an integral part of keeping our clients’ Internet marketing strategies up to date.  Speaking at these conferences is even more important, as our people become known as experts not ONLY in the hospitality industry, but also in the larger Search Engine Marketing industry. 

To that end, our very own Mary Bowling has been asked to present a Local/Mobile Case study at SMX Local Mobile in San Francisco at the end of this month.  Scheduled for July 24-25th, Mary’s session will take place on day 2.  This is going to be a session you wont want to miss if you’re in attendance.  Here are the details from the SMX website:

Local Mobile Case Studies - What works in local and mobile search marketing? What doesn’t work? How do optimization and advertising in the local mobile space differ from traditional search marketing? Speakers on this panel share their real-world experiences, successes and failures with local and mobile search campaigns.

Moderator:Chris Silver Smith, Lead Strategist, NetConcepts

Speakers:

Mary Bowling, SEO, Blizzard Internet Marketing
Craig Smith, CEO, ServiceMagic.com
Marty Weintraub, President, aimClear

In my opinion, Yahoo!Shine is simply Yahoo!’s attempt to attract more women and then sell them stuff.

Last month Yahoo! launched Shine, a site focused on the issues they feel women today think are important. Categories include fashion and beauty, parenting, food, at home, healthy living, entertainment and culture, work and money, astrology, and love and relationships. In a recent press release they state the aim of Shine is to “create a better experience for women on Yahoo!” However, in the next breath they go on to admit what this is all really about:

“[Shine] provides Yahoo! advertisers with a single lifestyles destination to reach this coveted demographic. . . the female (age 25-54) audience, which Yahoo! has designated as “Chief Household Officers,” is a highly sought-after demographic for advertisers. It is made up of heavy Internet users, who are frequently the household purchasing decision-makers. Yahoo! Shine creates an opportunity for advertisers to reach this audience in an environment that is relevant and meaningful to women.“

Relevant and meaningful? That is questionable. A blogger introducing themselves on one of Shine’s initial posts explained better than I can:

“I spent a good deal of time on Shine, today. It feels like SOOOO many of the other online, girlie sites. What’s so special about Shine? Where are the sports, stock tips, tech reviews?”

Shine claims they will “avoid all of the buckets that advertisers or marketers tend to put us in,” but I disagree. The site is a bunch fluff slapped together so there is one more place in this universe to sell things. If Yahoo! truly wants to expand the “experience” for their users they will have to come up with something better than this.

Yahoo! needs to concentrate on creating innovative verticals like Yahoo! Finance or the numerous products of Google’s that are skyrocketing in popularity. Until then, don’t sell me a mule and tell me it is a thoroughbred.

With plans of building a new house within the next few years, I’ve been researching green construction. The idea of the green movement is to promote sustainability, so naturally, it made me think about how to build a green - or sustainable - presence on the web.

Here are some sustainable building principals outlined by Jake Jacober, a contractor in the Roaring Fork Valley (Blizzard’s home) who’s been coloring his projects green for over 35 years, along with my thoughts on how they can translate to the internet.

Location
Your domain is your location on the web, so choose your URL wisely. While redirects are possible, starting with a good domain name will facilitate your online marketing efforts for many years to come.

Permanence
While there are people who are on the internet to make a quick buck, most of us want to create a sustainable internet presence that will last well into the future. We want to keep the Search Engines happy, so that our pages get into the indexes quickly and stay there. We want to boost our branding, increase targeted traffic and build a base of happy customers who return frequently and rave about us to their friends. By creating a solid foundation and continually strengthening an online business with incremental improvements, it can become a permanent part of the internet ecosystem.

Functionality
In a website, this translates to usability. Create a site that works well for both searchers and the Search Engines. Remove obstacles and provide clear navigation paths that enable visitors to move unhindered throughout the site.

Flexibility
The useful life of a website, like that of a building, is extended if it can be easily modified instead of having to be replaced when changes are needed. Choose a content management system carefully, but do choose one. You need to be able to add and rewrite content, change links, swap out pictures and graphics and include gadgets and widgets quickly and easily. Websites that require major code work to make changes are already dinosaurs and are well on the way to extinction.

Aesthetics
We have hundreds of millions of web pages to choose from, so if you want people to look at yours, they need to be attractive, interesting and fresh.

Safety
You need a host that can keep your website and email safe from hackers and spammers and insures optimal uptime for your servers.

Visitors to your site must feel, safe, too, in all of their interactions with it. They need to know that you’re a legitimate business with a decent reputation, that you won’t spam them or share the information they give you with anyone else and that their online transactions with you are secure.

Community
Use the web to become part of the communities that are (or can become) important to your online business. Position yourself for discovery on Social Media sites. Join the conversations. Engage with visitors to your website using blogs, surveys, tags, polls, bookmarks, widgets, wikis, forums and things that have yet to be developed.

Comfort
Once all the above green principals are applied to your presence on the web, your potential customers will feel comfortable doing business with you. You’ll have an attractive, easily found and easy-to-use website that’s bolstered by the trust from your branding, online reputation and the security features of your site.

You’ ll also feel much more comfortable investing your time, energy and money contructing a web site and internet presence that’s built to last and is sustainable well into the future.

Construction photo by Tengis

Computer photo by hyku

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.

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)