7 Ways to Increase Your Hotel’s Digital Footprint – By Catlyn Origitan
For hoteliers, driving direct bookings is key to the health and viability of your property – 91% of hoteliers report increasing direct bookings as key for the future of their business. In order to attract potential guests to your hotel website, and sell them once they are there, you need to have a strong and expansive digital footprint.
Our latest eBook gives you the tools necessary to create a website that converts travelers once they reach your website. We’ve put together seven ways to help you draw guests to your website in the first place:
1. Refresh your content
Google and other search engines check (or crawl) websites looking for fresh content. New content boosts your SEO rating because it shows you’re active and engaged.
2. Get social
Social media is a hotelier’s best friend—or at least, it should be. As we’ve shown in a previous article, social media gives you access to free advertising, instant customer service, and the ability to monitor what people say about your brand, as well as your competitor’s.
3. Start retargeting
According to Digital Information World, users who are retargeted are 70% more likely to convert. It’s important that your advertising strategy includes retargeting so that you can stay top of mind and convert even more travelers.
4. Go mobile
This year, over half of travelers who book online will do so through mobile. If your booking experience, website, and social media presence isn’t mobile-friendly, you will miss out on reaching these in-market customers.
5. Seek out new guests
With prospecting, you can reach travelers who have shown intent to visit your destination, but don’t necessarily know about your specific property. Prospecting is a great tool for increasing your digital footprint because you can find people showing interest in your destination and serve them ads directing them straight to you.
6. Hyperlink
Hyperlink to other websites and, really, create a world wide web. If, for instance, you mention how close you are to a local attraction, you should hyperlink to it. Doing this helps guests immediately look at the specific amenity or feature you’re describing. You also build trust by becoming a reliable source of information for your customers.
7. Make a Video
According to the Digital Tourism Think Tank, “The click through rate of online video ads is the highest among all digital ad display, with 1.84%. That means that viewers are more engaged face this kind of advertising and messages.”
Consider, then, creating a video to showcase your property, but be sure to keep your videos under three minutes.
Want more tips on how you can increase your hotel’s digital footprint? Get the eBook: Creating a Website that Converts: The Hotelier’s Guide to Driving Direct Bookings.
About Catlyn
Catlyn is Sojern’s Content Marketing Manager. She loves playing video games and hiking with her dog, Dottie. Her favorite part of travel is the food, preferring street food to fine dining.