Profit from a Blizzard Local Listing

Mary Bowling | 30 May 2006 |

It’s important to your online marketing success that your toursim business appears when internet searches relevant to it are made; this does not happen automatically. Blizzard Internet Marketing now provides yet another solution to the problem of not being found online - Blizzard Local Listings.

What are Blizzard Local Listings?
When you subscribe to Blizzard Local Listings, we create a master profile containing current information about your travel business. This information is then distributed weekly to over 30 Local Search platforms, such as Yahoo Local, Google Maps (formerly “Google Local”), Verizon Superpages and Local.Com. See an example by clicking here.

While you can submit your data individually to most of these websites, it tends to be a confusing process and is very time consuming, especially when details change and the listings all require updating. Blizzard Local Listings provides a cost-effective solution for you.

What is Local Search?
Local Search is a query made with local intent - the searcher is looking for something that is located within a specific geographic area. This includes queries for goods and services close to the searcher’s vicinity, like “south bronx chinese takeout” or “myrtle beach dry cleaner”. It’s estimated that about 30% of all internet searches are made with “local intent”.

Why is Local Search vital to the lodging industry?
Marketing the physical location of your hotel, lodge, bed and breakfast or vacation rental is critical, since an overwhelming percentage of searches for lodging are geo-specific. You know that travelers are not just looking for a place to sleep. They want to visit a specific area, and need somewhere to stay while they are there. Local Search includes such queries as “downtown denver hotel”, “santa fe bed and breakfast”, “oahu condo rental” and “south padre island beach house”.

What if my website already appears for relevant geographic searches?
With your website well optimized for the correct geo-terms for your market, such as your neighborhood, town and region, along with your service or product, it will appear in the SERPs. This strategy brings traffic to your website. However, websites are not displayed when queries are made on Local Search platforms.

What information do Local Search websites display?
When a query is made on a Local Search website, an information profile of a business is presented. Some contain minimal information, while others are quite detailed. To see what is served up, search for your best geo-targeted keyword term in Yahoo Local, Google Local, and the online Yellow Pages. Then, try Local.com and Superpages.

Is your property or travel business listed? Are the details correct and up-to-date? Is any information missing? Is your location on the map correct? Is there a link to your hospitality website? Is your e-mail address displayed? Is there a place for your hotel logo? Are you missing any obvious opportunities? What needs to be done to update your information?

What if my listing contains a link to my website?
Fortunately, local profiles often contain a link to the business website. Keep in mind, however, that the searcher must first find the profile before using a link in it to get to a website. It is worth noting that a great profile can bypass the website completely and spur visitors to immediately call or e-mail you.

What is the future of Local Search?
Local Search already feeds results to Mobile Search - that is, internet searches made on cell phones, PDAs and Blackberrys. Nearly three fourths of all cell phones sold today are web-enabled. There are many more mobile devices than personal computers and, as the cost of data services goes down, the number of people using mobile devices to connect to the World Wide Web will soar. If you want your tourism website to be found when Mobile Searches are made, you need to be found in Local Search first.

Read my April 2006 article, Local Search 101, if you ‘d like to learn more about how local search works.

To learn how locals can help your bottom line, check out my February 2006 article, Make More Money By Marketing to Locals.

How can I get a Blizzard Local Listing?
Because this new product will prove to be a very valuable service to our hospitality clients, we are integrating it into many of our new Promotion Plans from their inception. However, if you are already part way through your plan, you may wish to add this service now, rather than waiting. If so, you can subscribe to Blizzard Local Listings through your Promotion Account Team or Manager at Blizzard Internet Marketing. E-mail or call toll-free at 888-840-5893.

Mary Bowling - Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc.