Tourism Technology Update
This month has been so busy, it's just flown by! Busy is a good thing though, and I'm sure you're experiencing the same thing as the summer tourism season is upon us. I'll be brief so you can get back to work.
In June I held personalised 1/2 day mentoring sessions with multiple operators in Fredericton, Smith's Creek, Sackville, Bathurst, St. Andrews, and St. Stephen, and I chatted with a few more along the way. These were great experiences, and I look forward to visiting more of the province soon.
I was also able to help with a number of questions over the phone or email. Some of the topics covered included...
- Importing contacts from MS Outlook to Gmail.
- Using a social media scheduling template.
- Basic WordPress functionality.
- Help re-claiming a Google Business listing.
...and many more. If you need assistance with online technologies, please feel free to call or email anytime.
And since you are so busy, we want to give you some helpful information, but in quick segments. We're planning on releasing a number of short videos this summer; one per week starting the end of July. Topics include:
- Best practices for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
- Useful SEO tips.
- Responding to reviews.
- Finding your brand voice on social media.
Our fall workshops are shaping up as well. Our Video Production & Marketing full-day workshop will be taking place the end of September at various locations. You won't want to miss this one! We'll be announcing dates and additional workshops on our website and in future communications, so keep watching!
And now, Part 3 of our ongoing article series, "Your Definitive Guide to SEO".
5 More SEO Tips You Can Do Yourself
There seems to be no limit to the number of ways you can improve your search engine rankings. Here are a few more basic tips that you can do yourself and that won't cost you next month's profits!
Tip #1 - Optimise Your Titles, URLs, and Descriptions
This is hardly a new concept, but it's still valid today. Unfortunately, some websites are still missing this.
Look at the following 2 sample search results...
Donuts-R-Us - Greatest tasting donuts in New Brunswick
Conveniently located in Salisbury, NB. Donuts-R-Us delivers the largest variety of delicious donuts in New Brunswick.
index.html
Home page | About | Contact
Now ask yourself:
- Which one is more descriptive?
- Which one is sounds friendlier to the user?
- Which one gives you a good idea of what the website is about without clicking?
- If you saw both in the search results, which one would you choose?
Go through your website and look for opportunities to improve your titles, page descriptions, and in some cases, even the page names.
Tip #2 - Improve Your Website Load Time
If you didn't realise, page speed is a ranking factor for search engines. If you have 2 websites similar in every way except loading time, the faster website will rank higher in the search results.
Faster websites results in a better end-user experience, so they are likely to view more of the site. And faster websites generate more conversions, meaning more sales, more subscribers, and more clicks on your products or services.
Some ways of speeding up your site include removing large (file size) images, removing unnecessary JavaScript files, and have your web host enable page compression.
Tip #3 - Register Your Website with Google and Bing Webmaster Tools
Google and Bing probably already know everything they need to about your website, but registering has 2 advantages.
- In the unlikely instance they're missing a page, you'll be able to get it indexed.
- If they find a problem with your website, you'll be notified! This is extremely beneficial.
In addition, you'll have access to some really useful information, including:
- Number of index pages
- Number of incoming links
- Search queries
- Crawl errors
- Number of internal links
Tip #4 - Encourage Online Reviews
Reviews help to drive conversions, but they also help your local SEO visibility. If you want a prominent position in the local Search Engine Result Pages, you need user reviews. If you want to encourage click-throughs or visits to your website, you need good reviews.
Tip #5 - Don't Rely Completely On Google
Google is the top dog, without a doubt, and it's worth putting effort into improving your Google rankings. However, Google can change their ranking algorithms and the way they display results at any time. If you reply solely on Google and they make changes, you're going to feel the hurt.
Be sure to list on Bing search, build your email lists, and use social media to diversify your customer sources. And look into other search options as well. They aren't as big as Google, but you may find a niche market you hadn't known about.
In the next issue of Tourism Talk we'll introduce "Negative SEO" and how to protect yourself from it. Subscribe to our newsletter if you haven't already so you'll stay up-to-date!
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