After my hotel reputation management post yesterday, I received a lot of emails about the subject, and how a hotelier goes about finding an Internet marketing firm for their hotel. I couldn’t answer some of those emails too directly, as there would be a conflict of interest, but I thought I would create a decent post to help you out.
In an effort to prevent any conflicts of interest and to fully disclose my information, I want to mention that I am indeed involved with a hotel Internet marketing company. However, I’m not going to name said company because I like to keep my blog as unbiased as I can, and give a good set of tid bits that any hotel can use to their advantage.
So, how does a hotel find a good Internet marketing firm? I’ll give you a couple of good guidelines and questions to ask.
General SEO and Internet Marketing
Overall, a potential hotel Internet marketing firm should have basic SEO knowledge. I say this for 2 major reasons. 1) some firms didn’t start out providing SEO or Internet marketing services. They previously started somewhere else, and decided that this was a good business to get into. This doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be considered, but it does mean that they should have hired some people who are knowledgeable about the industry, and not trying to reinvent the wheel or just looking for a few quick bucks. 2) There are plenty of SEO scam firms out there, and a niche provider is no different. You need to educate and protect yourself.
To help you out a little, the First Chapter of the Learning The SEO Factor book I started (and will try to consistently expand on) that should help you ask the right questions and what to look out for.
I also wrote an article for another blog called 7 Signs of SEO Scams.
Rankings To Traffic To Bookings (Proof of ROI)
The neat thing about hotel SEO and Internet marketing is the ability to show a return on investment. You see, hotel websites can make use of what is known as an Internet Booking Engine (IBE) to allow visitors to book rooms online. You Internet marketing firm should be able to work with your IBE (or even provide one for you) and track the visitors to your site, and then to your booking engine as a result of their online marketing efforts. These are good, hard numbers. Now, just because a firm doesn’t offer or work with an IBE doesn’t mean they aren’t providing a quality service, but it is something of the norm and provides a good bit of information.
Hotel Experience
Generally speaking, I’ve never really agreed with the niche service providing model in regard to SEO. Why limit yourself to just one field. Besides, we SEOs get really excited when we get to work on something new and interesting. That being said, that is only my personal opinion and I don’t feel has any bearing whatsoever on the quality of service being provided. However, if a firm is to focus on providing a specific service to a specific type of business, then they should probably employ a few people with experience in that type of business. This will only help the SEOs working on your site have a greater understanding of your business.
Again, this shouldn’t be a deal breaker, but if a company is going to focus on one niche, I feel they should have a few experts in that area. Just food for thought.
Practice What You Preach
When I was a kid I worked for a landscaping company. My yard, however, looked terrible. It was something of a running joke between the workers. They all had ugly lawns. I currently have a mechanic friend (now THAT’s good networking. He comes in handy) that drives a car that’s in really bad shape. There’s a point here, I promise.
When I became involved with SEO, I had the feeling that my site didn’t need SEO attention. I now feel that this is very ignorant thinking. If I can’t SEO my own site and see some rankings for my targeted terms, how will a potential client trust in me. You should hold your bidding firm to the same expectations.
Ask them what search terms they rank for. Are these competitive terms? Do they sell «Web 2.0 services?» Do they even have an active blog? Is the firm giving excuses why they don’t rank? You may want to take a closer look.
Custom Services For Your Hotel
SEO firms have a notorious stereotype of trying to fit all SEO clients into the same package every time. Though this is the case sometimes, there are plenty that don’t do this. SEO is not a one-size-fits-all service. This will yield mediocre results at best. Ask you potential firm if they will tailor their service to meet your specific hotel’s needs, or will you get the exact same treatment as all the others? Are they offering a set price every time? They are probably trying to package their services. Want a good hint on this?
If they are trying to sell services on the first call, something isn’t right. As an SEO, it’s important that I analyze each and every site individually to provide the best service I can and an appropriate quote.
Riding On Coat Tails
And finally, the saddest part. As I’m sure you know, SEO takes time. It’s really funny though, that the first three months or so really set the mood for the next nine. The initial SEO efforts on a site are, in my opinion, the most important. Lately though, I am seeing a lot of hotel Internet marketing companies pulling new clients from one company to theirs. They wait a few months, call the hotel, let them know that nothing is happening for them and take the business. I’ve even seen sites taken, and absolutely nothing changing. They let another company do the grunt work, and take credit for results a few months later. Legal issues aside, this is just shady.
As much as I hate telling someone to ask for previous clients for SEO (I sign a non-compete, non-disclosure to ensure that I will never release such information) this may be something to think about. Larger firms don’t seem to have a problem showing previous clients off, so poke around. I know it’s a lot of work, but find out when said hotel became a client. When did they see results? Did they have a previous SEO firm? Who was that? You may even be able to contact the hotel directly to ask some questions.
Well, my fingers are tired now. I hope this guide helps you to find a quality hotel Internet marketing firm. If you have any questions at all, as always, please feel free to contact me.
With this, and any other post, please read the disclaimer.