TECHNOLOGY : SEO
Longtail keywords , site restructuring and niche targeting help steer organic search traffic from competing OTAs .
by NATHAN GREENHALGH , ASSOCIATE EDITOR , AND ADAM KIRBY , CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Search engine optimization ’ s solid ROI is driving hotel companies to invest more in it to better compete with online travel agencies for search traffic . To achieve the best results , hotel companies are focusing on keywords and content that can help them connect with niche segments of their customer base using longtail search terms , restructuring their websites to make them more user- and search enginefriendly and using paid search and Facebook advertisements .
“ In spite of all the hoopla around social media and around all of these other emerging various digital marketing avenues , the good old-fashioned search engines continue to deliver more than 50 % of hotel website bookings ,” says Max Starkov , president and CEO of New York City-based Hospitality eBusiness Solutions . “ Ranking means bookings .”
The revenue impact of successful search engine optimization can be powerful . Hilton Worldwide says as a channel , organic search represents the highest profit margin for its hotels .
Minor International , Bangkok , says organic search is 30 % of the company ’ s generated conversions , while its competitor Onyx Hospitality Group , Bangkok , says almost half of its brand site revenue comes from organic search . “ It takes a lot of effort to optimize the keywords , but it ’ s worth it ,” says Chetan Patel , Onyx ’ s vice president of strategic marketing and e-commerce .
While regional players often outsource their SEO efforts , the major brands are steadily hiring SEO personnel . Hilton has an in-house team overseeing enterprise SEO strategy , supplemented with external staff . Accor has a small corporate team dedicated to SEO that then works with e-commerce managers at the country level . Each e-commerce manager is responsible for their own activity and that of the local SEO agency . Accor also works with 10 regional PR agencies worldwide , some of which include SEO and social media partnerships .
These hotel company personnel will face off against their counterparts working for the online travel agencies to see who can best steer search traffic their way . According to a study by online trademark security vendor BrandVerity , Seattle , OTAs bid on hotels ’ branded keywords extensively , which likely contributes to decreased traffic and direct bookings for some hotel companies . In retaliation , hotel companies like the consortium Preferred Hotel Group , Chicago , say when OTAs bid on hotel names , they apply pressure on them to stop .
Research suggests OTAs outspend hotel companies on paid search . To mitigate this , hotel companies are taking a holistic approach to their SEO strategies to account for search ’ s rapid evolution .
www . hotelsmag . com January / February 2014 HOTELS 51