food for thought - Travel Salem · Backlinks – search engines evaluate quality of backlinks 1....

food for thought

A M A R K E T I N G S E R I E S

website insightsPartnering with your Destination Marketing Organization

1travel salem resources

3digital resources

2your website

Listing components

Event listing benefits

What works best

1travel salem resources

Free and Paid Listings

• Free Event Listing Free, 35 word description, image, website link

• Free Business Listing1 basic address listing with phone

• Paid Business Listing TS member, 2 listings, 25 word description, image, website link, PDF upload

Additional Options• Video• Discovery Map• Ticket link• Booking Engine link• Visitor Guide

Listing components

Free – early posting, longer internet life = SEO benefit

High web traffic - 63,500 views between January-May 2017

Blog Content – prime resource for area events

E-blast Content – weekly Friday Events email over 2,500 subscribers, E-clpise email

Newsletter Content – monthly, quarterly

Travel Oregon – major and premium events for visitors –TS>TO

Links – creates an inbound link from TS, credibility helps SEO

Shareable ContentOpen your emailShare your email

Event listing benefits

CriteriaLocated in Salem, Marion County or Polk CountyLocated outside Marion or Polk County, within 50 miles of Salem ~ members onlyOpen to the public and of interest to visitorsNot a class, meeting, convention or ceremonyNot for religious, political, personal, pornographic, or propaganda purposes

35 word description for EventsThink like a visitor!No need to duplicate content – title, date, time, URLWrite for editingCheck spellingUse U&LC, please!Multiple calendars – set-up a monthly format, cut and paste

What works best

2your website

Content matters

Working with travelsalem.com

Why use links?

WEBSITE BEST PRACTICESUsability User experience is important. A website that is difficult to navigate will cause your viewers to leave. GraphicsKeep fonts readable – an artistic or fancy font isn’t always the best, sans serif is easier to read on screens. Use your brand/web colors with ease of readability in mind.CopyViewers tend to scan – generally avoid lengthy copyContent is king – relevance above quantity, unique contentLinksBest to set so the link opens in new windowAccessibilityA list of guidelines can be found at www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/Use “alt” text for images on your site

Chrome Link Checker Extension, checks for broken links that show as 404 errors

Content matters

Working with travelsalem.comListing - Send updates as soon as possible -- i.e. contact information, hours, URL change – form is best – indicate update in title or description

Events – post early for maximum exposure, some publications work 6 months out for major events. Changes need to be sent to TS.

Be consistent in use of copy – i.e. Name, address, description

Site updates onTravelSalem.com are constant, allow 2-4 weeks for information to be processed

Long-term listings are good for SEO, use ‘evergreen’ content

We are open for new ideas, itineraries to include on the site

Images

Upload 500px minimum in jpg or png format – photo or logo

Events without an image – not streamed to homepage

Listings without an image will be held for publishing until an image is submitted

File name – use descriptive file name, helps SEO

Public Relations Request Form

Press release development and distribution to media outlets

Working with travelsalem.com, cont.

Why use links?Inbound Links – links that lead to your site from other sitesInternal Links – a blog may have links that lead back to other pages on your site. Use a keyword or phrase, helps increase relevance of page, improves user-friendliness.

Backlinks – search engines evaluate quality of backlinks1. Subject relevance – it should always relate to landing page2. Anchor text – should relate to the target page and refer to

the content3. Link location – links from content are rated higher than

from a footer or site navigation4. Guest blog – helps improve your branding and helps

acquire high-quality backlinks, partner with businesses

Social Media – search engines take into account the traffic generated by links from social networks,1. Use buttons for social on your site – make it easy to share2. Maintain your social channels and keep adding new

content.Email – share your content and extend the reach of your website and social shares with e-blasts. Helps create more inbound links.

Review links on your site to make sure all are active

3digital resources

Website analytics

Website check-up

Google apps

Google AnalyticsGA provides valuable data about your website

1. Traffic – visitors come from various places i.e. search engine, advertisement, email link. Referral vs. organic traffic.

2. Keywords – shows you how visitors are finding your site

3. Visitor profiles – geographic location, device, new or returning visitor

4. Site traffic and bounce rate -Helps determine which pages are most popular and which may need adjustment. Helps to target to audience and provide relevant information.

5. Historical Data – Ability to review and compare data by designating date range. Useful to identify trends by time of year, campaigns to help with future marketing plans.

5. No cost – GA is free and offers more options than most fee-based analytics tools

Google Analytics, cont.

Google Analytics Sample

Website check-upWebsite Down http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/#Check Myhttp://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/#Links Free add-on. Crawls through your webpage and looks for broken links.Open Site Explorer – Free link analysishttps://moz.com/researchtools/oseWebsite Grader – https://website.grader.comSiteliner.com - reveals key issues that affect your site's quality and search engine rankingQuick Sprout Website Analyzerhttps://app.quicksprout.com/analyzerPageSpeed Insights –https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights

Google Apps(need a Free Google account)

Trends – shows changes in search volume for different topics, search terms and entities. This can be local or global.

Keyword Planner – enter a ‘seed’ word and it gives suggestions plus estimates of monthly searches. Also can enter competitor’s URL and search for relevant keywords.

Search Console – identifies organic keywords that are already driving traffic to your site. Good for establishing a base of keywords.Search Traffic>Search Analytics>Queries

thank you

Presented by: Dee Hendrix, Marketing & Online Manager, Travel Salem :: dhendrix@travelsalem.com ~ June 2017