Tourism Technology Update
In this newsletter, I'd like to give you a quick department status update, so you'll know what's been happening, and what's coming up in the future.
For the month of May I travelled with members of the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture on a tour throughout New Brunswick. I was able to inform tourism owners and operators about the benefits of joining TIANB and the various training options available, in particular for online technologies.
This information was well received!! Within just over a week of returning, my training schedule for the month was full, with more appointments in waiting. I'm extremely excited to be working with tourism operators around the province on improving their knowledge and abilities for their websites, social media, email marketing, and more.
If you weren't able to attend one of the provincial information sessions in May and you'd like to find out why people are so enthusiastic about these technology training opportunities, feel free to contact me by phone or email anytime and I'll be happy to tell you all about it.
We're also planning now for a workshop series happening this fall. One topic I can announce is "Video Marketing", where you'll learn hands-on from experts in the field how to plan and market videos for social media and your website. We'll also be talking about how you can use Facebook Live to drive more customers. Stay tuned for details!
And now,
Part 2 of our ongoing article series, "Your Definitive Guide to SEO".
5 SEO Tips You Can Do Yourself
Last issue we discussed what SEO is, how it works, and why it's important. It can be a tricky process, and usually involves getting your web developer involved, which usually means spending more money. No one likes to do that! So in this issue, we're going to look at some basic tips for SEO that you can implement yourself.
Tip #1 - Create Genuinely Good Content
Content is king! Creating content on your website purely for the sake of SEO is a waste of time and resources. Whatever you add to your website must be of value to your website audience. If they don't like it, then they won't be buying, literally and figuratively. Concentrate on real content with the intent to add value for your visitors.
Tip #2 - Use Keywords/Phrases Multiple Times
We're not talking about the old days of search engine marketing when "keyword stuffing" was rampant. Definitely
do not stuff keywords into your content over and over just to get them in there for the search bots to pick up. That tactic no longer works, and hasn't for some time.
Always refer to tip #1.
With that in mind, while you're writing quality content, be sure there is a focus. Each page on your website should have one or two targeted keywords or phrases. If your writing stays on the keyword topic, you should naturally be able to repeat your keywords/phrases a few times without sounding "spammy". And don't forget to use synonyms. This will create variety in your writing so it doesn't sound repetitive to your human visitors, and it will help search engines better identify your page's overall theme, ultimately helping you rank better.
Tip #3 - Be Aware of Keyword Placement
Using keywords multiple times is good, but if they're all at the bottom of the page, it won't be nearly as effective. When possible, try to use the main page keyword/phrase in the page heading and definitely in the first paragraph; the earlier the better.
Tip #4 - Don't Plagiarize
This seems fairly self-evident, but it happens more than it should so it's important to say. It is vital that you create original content. If you don't, not only are you stealing other people's work, but there's a good chance your website will be penalised in the search engine rankings because of it.
Tip #5 - Location, Location, Location!
If you're trying to attract clients from your locale, you need to mention those areas where you provide services. This will help Google and other search providers to display your results to web surfers in those areas.
Whenever you're writing for the web, the golden rule is found in tip #1 - create quality content by writing with your audience in mind. Remember this for all aspects of SEO and you have a much higher chance of being successful.
More tips to help your SEO campaigns coming in the next issue of Tourism Talk.
|