Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Key lesson #2: SERP design
Search results (i.e. snippets) are short advertisements that represent 'fi rst contact' with a potential
visitor on a search engine, and establish a fi rst impression of the destination. Thus, the snippets
should be deliberately designed to fi t within the strategic communication goals of the tourism
organization. Additionally, one would expect that the words/terms used within the queries
should relate directly (i.e. be included within) to the SERPs as they serve to reinforce the
relevance of the website. Importantly, the way search engines create snippets from a site vary
substantially; therefore, carefully monitoring the results of the search engine is crucial to
effectively control the messages conveyed by it.
Key lesson #3: Keyword targeting
Search queries for a destination follow a long tail shape: a few keywords have tremendous search
volumes while a large amount of niche keywords are searched infrequently. For popular keywords
in the 'head' of the distribution curve such as the word 'hotels' or the name of a destination, the
cost for both organic results and paid listing will be very high. Thus, DMOs should focus on
complementing and/or strengthening the range of opportunities within the destination. For
example in most American cities, 'hotels' is the most frequently used tourism-related search word
associated with a destination and many top results for these queries are from major online travel
agencies or online review sites such as expedia.com, hotels.com, or tripadvisor.com; many
searches for a destination will also have a Wikipedia entry as one of the top results. In order to
be effective, a sensible approach for a tourism destination is to provide additional resources
beyond hotel reservations including offering opportunities to visit local attractions, alternative
routes to the city etc.
Key lesson #4: Micro targeting
DMOs also need to be fl exible in targeting the long tail because the niche keywords offer
potentially substantial opportunities for tourism organizations to more effectively market to their
target customer community. The long tail is represented by those niche geographic keywords
more specifi c to a certain destination (such as 'DuPont Circle Washington DC') or seasonal
keywords (such as 'Cherry Blossom Washington DC' in the spring). Studies indicate that these
words offer DMOs the opportunity to gain premier positions in SERPs given their limited
resources and huge competitions from the accommodation sector.
Key lesson #5: Competitive analysis
Given the dynamic relationships between the three actors, it is essential to anticipate similar
approaches one's competitors might adopt. Those competitors are likely to bid on relevant
keywords and adopt link campaigns targeting same organizations and bloggers. Indeed, a study
conducted by Sen (2005) has shown that, when everyone is adopting search engine optimization
on the same keywords, paid listing will give the businesses a competitive advantage. As such,
destination marketing organizations need to differentiate themselves by adopting diverse SEM
tactics or targeting different keywords. Organizations should avoid those keywords the dominating
competitors in the marketplace will target and thus, avoid a heads-on rivalry for top positions.
This strategy includes not only search engine optimization (SEO) to increase visibility in organic
listings, but also the use of paid listings.