Why Do Some Travel Websites Sell More? Travel Marketing Video
How to Sell More Travel – Especially Online
Over the last 3 weeks while interviewing fellow tourism professionals, one critical marketing questions that impacts you has come up. Your opinion is needed today. See below.
The discussion has been about: What has increased your sales and arrivals and what has not? A clear trend is unfolding…
Travel & Hospitality Industry Fact:
- Over 94% of ALL Travel & Leisure is being researched online and now over 50% is booked online.
This means to even be in the travel game you must have these 2 things if you want to your increase sales, profits & arrivals.
- A website that converts shoppers into new prospects, sales and arrivals with a compelling marketing message
- A constant stream of targeted online traffic
That’s why during these video interviews, I want to know about their travel websites sales conversion and traffic generation strategies.
Things I want to learn more about, that I know will help you too are:
- What makes one travel website sell better than another?
- Why do some travel websites generate targeted prospects, and increase sales and arrivals, while most languish?
This is where I need your input today.
What is your #1 question about how to make your website generate more inquiries, sales or targeted traffic?
I am doing these interviews and asking for your input because I am a constant student of the business of travel and I want to share with you solutions and strategies that I am learning.
Thanks for taking a moment right now and sharing your question, concern or opinion.
You can reply to this email with your question. But I would prefer if you would go to this blog page link and post your 
question there because then fellow global travel professionals can see your opinions and questions.
PLEASE PLACE YOUR TOP IDEAS AND QUESTIONS ON THIS CORE TOURISM MARKETING TOPIC on HOW TO SELL MORE TRAVEL IN THE “Speak Your Mind” BOX BELOW THIS POSTING.
To your success, Tourism Tim
PS Please share this survey with friends, associates to help us all sell more travel. Thanks for sharig this post in Facebook, Twitter for “liking it” 🙂
We have had great success in the past because we specialize in Russian travel only. We have credentials because the owner has a Ph.D. from the Russian Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg and we offer a wide range of price points. We also have deep roots within the ballet and art communities of Russia. The economy is killing us at the moment.
Thanks Mike for your input. Mike I agree the economy is tougher now, but there are MANY tour operators I know that are doing well. Some great. So I know it’s not just the economy.
I visited your website and can see you have good credentials and over 13 years as a tour business. This key ” Social Proof” is unfortunately buried in your text and so it is not being seeing by prospective customers fast. I also highly recommend you place testimonials from clients, unniversity or media on your home page and another page dedicated to more terstimonials ( social proof).
During some recent video interview and website reviews with tour operators who are doing well now, there website was the #1 asset to deliver now prospects and sales. And Social proof elements like testimonails ( video, audio or text) , Tripadvisor ratings, Google Places and Yelp reviews, Facebook Fans, Google+1 – all significantly communicate your company and staff are a good choice for Russia travel.
You have less then 10 seconds to communicate credibility, expertise and what you do (on your website – and all your marketing communciations), or people are gone. Just look at your website user analytics. A high percentage of new web visitors stay less then 10 seconds on most travel website. I recommend Google Analytics If you don’t have this for tracking website visitor activity, key words they used to find you, pages visited, and much more. It’s free.
I recommend this article: How to Double Your Sales and Profits With a Travel Website that Sells!
Keep me posted on your website travel marketing updates.
To your success, Tourism Tim
Hi, I guess my biggest question is: What is the cheapest way to improve your search engine ranking?
Any and all suggestions would be great.
smiles, Liz
Great question Liz. This seems to be a common problem with tourism pros world wide.
I visited your New Zealand health Spa near Kerikeri website. Your spa looks beautiful. I can see you put a lot of thought, expense and effort into it. You need to do the same for your website, but you DO NOT have to spend a lot of money to get on the right path.
Your website is missing all the key elements that MUST BE in it for the search engines to even know where to list or rank you.
How to Increase your Travel Website Ranking
The entire theme of your website, content ( words), headlines, sub-headlines; should all be about New Zealand Health Spa Kerikeri and other very closely related key word phrases.
You also need to add your top ( and very specific) key word phrases to your Meta Data ( source code). This is you “Brief description” and a better “page title”.
URL: Sorry your URL; Number 42.co.nz tells me nothing about what you do, where or why I should choose you. You should seriously consider getting a key word rich domain name and use that for your website. Your business can still be called Number 42, but it’s not helping you in the search engine.
This is all cheap to do, easy and critical if you are ever to get indexed. This is the first critical step in improving your ranking. There’s more to do, but this is mandatory.
Thanks for your questions, being a subscriber and keeping me posted on your progress.
To your success, Tourism Tim
Keep me posted
The unanswered mystery question for us is.
After doing everything suggested regarding our website, it seems impossible to increase our traffic beyond ten clicks per day. My question is, Is the Philippines NOT a desired tourist destination for the traveling public?. Is it due to the strange and a bit unpronounceable name of our town?. Why is the tourist traffic so poor in the Philippines compared with other south east asian countries?
I failed to mention in my first posting, we have tried Videos, Language translation buttons, special online discounts, weather information, interactive buttons, general travel and hotel information, Even a travel IQ game. Nothing seems to make a pronounced difference. Our booking conversion rate on the site is miserable. We are registered with major travel agencies and have good internet recognition, we have our own Facebook page. What more can we do to attract visitors?
why is my website not selling nowadays and i need more international clients?
Most importantly is the security and confidentiality of information for the online travelers to book online. There are fewer websites safe to process online bookings especially in developing countries like Uganda, East Africa where I am based this leads to most travelers engaging older travel bureau than the newer upcoming ones.
Trust partnerships amongst the players both local and internationally together with professionally secure websites with safe online payment facilities will enhance online traveler bookings world wide.
I am still seeking professional travel web designer who can a company increase sales, profits & arrivals online.
Regards
You are right James Trust is the #1 thing ALL Travel buyers look for when deciding who they are going to book with – No Matter Where in the World – they are booking. That’s why I keep showing example of how to use “social proof” to turn travel shoppers into buyers.
Web designers are not Sales or Marketing professionals. They are designers. It may look pretty, but most likely your travel website will be a “brochure site” that is “dead on arrival”
In order for you to increase sales online, you first must have a basic understanding yourself of your marketing message that will sell and basic online marketing for search engines. You must educate yourself so you can guide the web designers on your marketing communication and double check to make sure they are doing it correct so you get indexed in the search engines.
My new course will help you get educated to create a website that sells and earn earn online traffic in the search engines. Stay tuned for an announcement next week. To your success, Tourism TIm
We at Advika Tours are dedicated to make your leisure a pleasure. Travel Agent and Agency in Delhi, India. Contact us for any travel query:
If you have a question or comment about how to make your website convert more visitors into solid prospect and bookings, I would l love to have your posting.
As a later time we will have a interactive forum to help connect travel agents, travel suppliers, inbound and outbound tourism professionals and more…
Here’s a key piece of advice for ANY tourism professional who wants to create a working relationship with another tourism professional:
Your credibility, experience, professionalism is 10x more important to communicate quickly and effectively when selling to tourism professionals .
Why would any tourism professionals send you their clients to you if they are not 110% convinced your travel services, lodging or destination is good? Their reputation, ( and their long-term business relationship) with their clients is on the line and in your hands. If their clients have a less than wonderful experience with you, you lose, they lose.
Bottom line to sell to the travel trade:
You need to communicate credibility, testimonials, years of experience, Social media comments, recommendations and reviews in your website and ALL YOUR MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS.
Keep the faith. I will show you how to do this with my tourism marketing videos, case study interviews and more. Stay tuned 🙂
When Tim makes an urgent request, I feel compelled to comply. He provides so much great information to us in the Travel Industry. Thanks Tim!
I am in the middle of launching a revised and professionally created website by a company that does website consulting for Guerrilla Marketing International. (As I type this, an email popped up with more pages of the new website to review). Tip: The new website will offer a “freemium” near the top of the page. A freemium is something that can be given away for free (brochure, consultation, sample, video, estimate, etc.). The purpose of a freemium is to get prospective travelers to opt in to your list. From that point forward you can continue to build relationships with these people. Ours will be the top 50 places to visit in Central Florida. It won’t be just a static list, but have some meat (pictures, headlines, micro-stories) enhancing it. Building a desire to learn more about what you do / offer. Engage the customer by building soft steps that build trust and rapport which eventually lead to the hard step of buying much easier.
Last week, I attended the Guerrilla Marketing Intensive course, hosted by author Jay Conrad Levinson at his home in Florida. This 21 hour program had attendees from Europe, the Far East and the USA. Here is just one take away: We are fortunate to be in such a visual industry. A Social Media segment was taught by two managers, Cesar Avery and Rajesh Nair of The Roger Smith Hotel (www.rogersmithhotel.com) in Mid-town Manhattan, NYC. This boutique hotel (a travel industry member) has three staff members committed to building the social media presence. They are at the top of the search engines. With IPhones in hand staff members seem to photograph and video almost everything, then upload to the social media staff to take it live. Though I dabble with Social Media, I didn’t have a grasp of what it can do. I asked what is the benefit (very skeptical) to all this? Their kind reply was: it is cheap, this is where prospects and customers are hanging out in growing numbers, it builds relationships and creates new ones, and it is how they compete against the giant hotels in NYC. Roger Smith is just 16 stories. Social media is exponential growth rather than linear growth.
This morning I was speaking with a long-time friend in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. During the course of the conversation he said that he and his wife, and another couple were planning a weekend to NYC. Guess what contact information he has in his email inbox.
Thanks Jack for the kudos and great tips. I appreciate the constant tourism business and marketing education and networking you are doing. That will pay huge dividends.
Looking forward to seeing your new travel website that sells. I hope you shared lots of ideas from my book and coaching with them.
Your site will do even better as you add more social media options and “reasons why” to opt-in to your prospect email list. “Social media” is nothing more that “Social Proof” Meaning that other travel consumers are sharing their endorsements, reviews and recommendations. I would offer some gifts to past clients and send them the Tripadvisor review link to get some on your Tripadvisor listing.
I would also come up with a couple different “freemium” titles/themes and test which has they higher opt-in rate.
Keep up the good work. I am proud of you.
Re: “Things I want to learn more about, that I know will help you too are:
What makes one travel website sell better than another”?
“Why do some travel websites generate targeted prospects, and increase sales and arrivals, while most languish”?
Here is what i think on the above questions:
a). How the information is presented is really important.
b). The spelling and the content of the text, i see this problem all the time, “amateur translators” translating from a language to another (e.g. Fin – Eng), and in most cases the English language is not fluent. Therefore the translation becomes jerky and awkward. The translators falsely presume that language can be translated literally, without taking into consideration the cultural/traditional variations from country to another country.
c). Service, i think genuine service is the BIGGEST thing that can influence whether customers return a positive feedback and give out free advertising. A genuine good service always wins people, and the opposite is also true for sub standart/poor/indifferent/un-professional services.
Which are good companies or resources to find pay per lead contacts for an inbound tour operator?
Hola Enrique; Great question and cool Galapagos trips.
Here’s some advice and 2 free online resource below to help you get more quality profitable leads.
One of the most direct, targeted and potentially highest converting sources of leads for tour operators ( or any travel professional ) is Google Adwords when done right. There are other lead sources I can share at another time, but one of the fastest, cheapest and most targeted source that insures your control of the lead is Google Adwords.
Do Not Make This Google Tourism Marketing Mistake
The problem is most travel marketers don’t understand Google Adwords, fail to use some simple yet powerful free options, and end of up spending a bunch of money with few leads. That sucks!
My teacher is Google Adwords Guru Perry Marshall who has a proven track record generating very targeted hot leads that convert profitably – when you follow his advice.
Check out his article and mini-case study on Google Travel Marketing Advertising.
Also here’s a Free Google Adwords “Cheat Sheet Course” Perry puts out I recommend.
Keep me posted Enrique. Saludos, Timoteo de Turismo
Hi everyone
A travel company should have a website to introduce there product and services. Selling online and converting surfers to arrivals. If I can also get help on credit card payment system, will be welcomed.
tks
What’s the best way for a tour operator’s website from a small company in a small country in the third world to transmit in a credible manner that it is safe to buy a tour from us? We get very good feedback from those that take the risk and actually buy a tour from us, but the before and after is miles apart even though we provide testimonials and have a Tripadvisor page. We wish our guest didn’t have to go through this uncomfortable stage of uncertainty as part of the process, not to mention the ones that are just too afraid and don’t even consider us as an option.
Amanda your questions are great! Way too many tour operators face the same challenges and frustration as you.
I have some suggestion that will help but I really need to see your website to give you the best advice.
Please email me your URL right away and with your permission, I’ll review your website and offer some suggestion based on what other successful tour operators are doing.
Keep the faith, Tourism Tim
PS I started my tourism experience back in 1989 helping my brother sell his totally unknown eco-tours in very remote, very rustic Mexico. Now Mexico is undergoing a big drug war, there’s US State Department Travel Warnings, and despite this, 2010 was a record sales year (and best months ever) for a new whale watching tour he does.
Hola Amanda with Explora Eco-adventures Panama ( Panamatraveltours.com)
Your very targeted questions about how to establish credibility so people ( and travel pros) will feel safe to buy from you, is the path to your success.
It’s true that every new potential customer has uncertainty before buying travel. especially with an unknown operator, activity or destination. The #1 solution to converting reluctant travel shoppers into happy buyers on your website ( and in all your marketing materials and advertising) is by communicating your company and staff Credibility, Experience and Expertise . And you have less then 10 seconds to communicate this…
Here are some quick tips that will help you, and all other travel and hospitality service providers and destinations sell more travel.
You need what I call a”Defining/ Credibility Statement” (DC statement) that reflects total # of years in business, or # of guests or collective life experience. And you need to place your D/C statement in the upper left – hand side of every page on your website because that’s how Westerner read.
For example:
– Since 1998, Over 2,500 Happy Guest
– 50 Years Combined Experience Providing Incredible Eco-Tours
– Panama Eco-Tourism Leaders with 34 Years Combined Expertise
The D/C statement is just 1 proven, but critical tactic that reduces travel purchasing uncertainty. Look around at most major brands, there will always be a D/C statement of some kind. I am willing to bet between Briant Dominici, yourself, staff and suppliers you works with, you have ton of “combined experience”.
TripAdvisor
Congratulation on your #4 Panama Tour Operator ranking and all your great reviews. This is HUGE credibility you must leverage. You must communicate this and place the Tripadvisor widget on every page of your site. I recommend the one that shows both your ranking and a few reviews. I would replace your Facebook logo with the Tripadvisor widget for now because you have more great Tripadvisor reviews and it is instant credibility.
Now make sure that after all your tours you send thank you emails or letter with your Tripadvisor “write a review” link so you get more reviews and a higher rating. This will help you sell more trips.
And if you are trying to attract travel agents or other tour operators, everything I just recommend – is 100x more important because they are even more cautious about sending their clients to an unknown operator.
Tourism Marketing TV Success Series videos
Be sure to watch all the upcoming series of video interview with successful tourism professionals to see how they are using their websites to convert travel shoppers into travel buyers easier, faster and with more comfort.
Please let me know if this was helpful, keep me posted and please post more questions.
To your success, Tourism Tim
PS Thanks for sharing my comments, Tweeting. “Liking” my videos in Facebook.
Our custumers contac us and we may custumized your travel to Colombia to get Culture immersion. Paymet by credit card is possible. how ever we get our custumer from other happy custumer who recmment us as operator or bookingo Colombian touris office. We are looking for to get our custumer by our web site http://www.bilingualforcolombia.com
Any suggestions are wellcome.
Hola Alberto;
I hope that the all the videos and emails I have been sending you for the last 4 weeks have helped you see how you can get more customers via your website. I went to your website and see that you must add a Defining/Credibility Statement, you need testimonials and your site lacks the key elements to get researched properly in the search engines.
In my new Tourism Marketing Success Course, it will show you step by step how to do all of this and be able to check your webmasters work. Did you hear what all the other people I interviewed said about how their business was good and that by following my advice on their website, it was the #1 source of new inquiries and business.
What i will give you in the new course applies to a language school as well as a lodge, tour or entire destination. Look for special announcements soon on the course.
Saludos, Timoteo de Turismo
HI,
my name is gerald, iwould like to know as which ways ishould do to cupture the travery agents as iam a starter in this industry and i look to be late in the busness,well what kind of the link in the website ishould have in my web site?hope to hear from you,
IT IS ME GERALD THE TOUR OPERATOR OF RUBONDOUNIQUE TOURS IN TANZANIA
Hi Tim,
I enjoy your enthusiasm for Tourism in this type of economy. Here is a tip from our success that you can share. Half of our recent increase in sales has come from the ability of our guests to book our fishing lodge packages and day charters immediately online! I encourage other operators to do whatever they can to get a booking portal set up on their websites ASAP!
Hi Tim.
I work with a small tour operator company in Cameroonn Zwinkels Tours Cameroon. I wish to ask how i can get tour operators from America, Europe, Asia and Africa to work with Zwinkels tours.
Secondly, i wish to ask you that. Apart from the website, brochures and announcements, are there other ways i can help Zwinkels Tours to market their products?
Greeting Shinghang;
Since over 95% of all travel is research online, and probably 99% with other tour professionals, I would put 100% of your marketing efforts in your website.
Here are the top 4 things you must have to create a travel website that sells. Plus you have less then 10 second to communicate this, otherwise your new web visitor is gone….
#1: your credibility and experience as a tour operator
# 2: social proof in testimonials, endorsements, social media reviews/ratings
#3: what you do and where
#4: Clean professional uncluttered layout, design and the site must be functional.
Your travel website main questions that should answer fast is:
– Why should I want to book a trip with you?
– Am I going to be safe and secure?
– Are you a good choice for fun and a great experience?
Be sure to check out the upcoming 7-part Tourism Business Marketing Success Tour Operator Series video interview. You will learn a lot and be inspired.
Keep me posted and thanks for Sharing, Tweeting and “Liking” my videos and blog postings 🙂
I was an active field tour operatour before deciding to teach, motivate and encourage young people to have passion for tourism. I am most likely to retire to active tour operation business. Meanwhile I keep mind active on issues and activities around my passion. Thanks But what can people in daunting challenges of bad roads, security threat (eg Boko Haram, Armed robbery attacks, hijacking etc) that pervades Nigeria tourism economy? How can we convince the other West Africans to visit and enjoy our rich heritages beyond megacity of Lagos/
Hi Tim, I have very small website and wonder if thats perhaps my problem and other Tour Operators have discouraged me to have an expensive site as it does not generate much business and how to get into contact with international Operators especially in the English speaking countries. I will welcome any advice on other marketing methods. I thank you for all e-mails and trying my best to attend to all. Warmest Regards, Tony
Hey Tony; The size or cost of a travel website do not have anything to do if will attract prospects and help convert them into sales.
But you must convey credibilityin all your marketing messages, especially online. And especially if you are trying to attract international tour operators or travel agents in the English speaking countries.
I do not see anything in your website that convinces me that you are a good choice to spend on tours. You may be, but your website certainly does give me confidence…
Please go back and watch this important training video on” Why most travel websites are dead on arrival”
Keep on trying. A tourism lifestyle is a good one.
To your success, Tourism Tim
PS Don’t listen to your friends.