There have been clues that this would happen including evidence of testing throughout the summer, but now it’s official.

Bing!

There is also chatter that Yahoo’s paid-advertising platform will be powering Bing’s ads this fall.

It only makes sense that the both organic and paid ads would be driven by the same product…stay tuned!

I’d argue that these tips aren’t ONLY for vacation rental managers; hotel and resort managers could hop on the bandwagon also.  Keep in mind, in many locations “Off-Season” is longer than “On-Season” in this economy; the lines between seasons are blurry.

Here are some tips for maximizing your fall, and the possibility of turning your “slower” season (between summer vacation and holiday getaways) to your busiest. The ideas here can be developed for nearly any location, although some do require Mother Nature’s help.  You can’t peep at leaves in Palm Springs!

1)  Leaf Peepers – This is big business in the Northeast, but some locations have great color but not a lot of recognition – get the word out if you’re a great destination for seeing the fall colors.

2)  Bargain Hunters – Sometimes travelers are just waiting for the deals off-season brings – make sure you’re reaching those shoppers via content, social media, email marketing and paid advertising.

3)  Semi-Locals – 3 and 4-day weekends are big in the fall and winter – if you have a 7-day minimum, consider relaxing that to get “heads in beds” during your slower times.

4)  Empty Nesters – They’ve sent the last one off to college, and want to celebrate!

5)  Honeymooners – Either they’re waiting for cooler weather, or chose a fall wedding – either way you might have just what they need for a romantic getaway.

6)  Special-Event Seekers – If you’re near a big concert, sporting team or charity event venue – you are poised to house the in-town crowd.  Partner with event organizers to get the word out.

7)  Sports Enthusiasts – Many are excited to hit town for the weekend to take in the big game.  Sponsoring events and offering transportation or tailgating options might make you the perfect choice for out of town attendees.

8)  Pet Lovers – Traveling with pets is a challenge.  Consider taking a few extra steps to welcome your guests’ furry friends.  A watering bowl, tennis ball and Frisbee might be just what’s needed to make the difference.  A list of pet-friendly walking trails and beaches will be a huge hit with visitors, also.

9)  Corporate Retreats – Have a meeting space you don’t use on a regular basis?  A large home with room for many to stay and meet? Corporate retreats for small to medium groups might just make the difference in your shoulder season.

10)  Early Skiers – If winter promises to start early – and the snow is already getting good up high – start marketing to the early crowd.  Offer them things they’ll remember for next year, including storage for their skis, lift tickets and dining options near the slopes.

11)  Guys/Girlfriend Getaways – These are popular year-round – but off season can be a lucrative time to market to these 3 to 4-day weekenders looking to relax and get away.  Some industries that might support this idea would be teachers, bank employees, or even state & local government workers.

As you can see – a little brainstorming can bring up a great list of ideas for marketing your off-season.  Be sure to get with your Blizzard Project Manager and see if your current marketing plan has room to try one or two of these amazing ideas – and good luck!

Fall Pup Photo by Andrew Morrell Photography

The tips aren’t all that different from what we’ve been saying for awhile now, validation is always nice, but putting all the tips together makes the underlying theme of image search apparent: ALWAYS use keywords where you can.

As with most things ranking – keywords are king – and should be chosen for images with as much thought as they are for the content on your page.  Start your image optimization with fresh keyword research.  I’d take this a step further and see if anyone is searching for your keyword AND image keywords appended together, such as {Keyword} + photo, photos, pictures, pic, pics, image, images, etc.

Once you’ve found your keywords, assign them to the images you have on your website.  You don’t want to overdo it – so maybe one or two keywords per image.  After you’ve assigned them – you can do this by listing the URLs and the photo descriptions in Excel – start optimizing the photos.

Here are the steps according to the comprehensive article cited above:

• Filename – Image filename is a strong indicator of the content of your images.  Make sure your filenames contain keywords relevant to what the image actually shows.
• Alt-Text – Although there is some conflict as to whether this is a ranking factor – it’s recommended you err on the side of “maybe” and use alt text that is keyword rich but describes the image.
• Caption – Captions are a strong indicator of what the image is showing – but in an on-page element (vs. alt text and filename, which don’t show to the user.)
• Alignment of filename, alt text and caption in the code -  All of the above elements should be optimized to support each other with the same or similar keywords.
• Page Content - Content helps search engines determine what the image on a page is about.  I think this is a huge factor as how many times have you done an image search and found photos that are irrelevant simply because the text on the page IS relevant?
• File Format – It’s recommended to always use PNG, JPEG (JPG) or GIF – JPG is recommended as it has additional reach for various other verticals attached to Google or even outside of Google search.
• Image Dimensions – You see a lot of sizes available when you do an image search – no one size is dominant, BUT, if you want to bust into universal search with your images, its recommended that the image be at LEAST 250×300 pixels.
• File Size – Don’t make the files for your images too big – 1) for load speed; 2) for Google to cache and display. Huge image files don’t cut the mustard.
• Anchor Text links TO photos or as photo captions – These should be optimized for the keyword phrases you chose when you started the process.
• Title Text – The text you see when you roll your mouse over an image is the Title Text – make sure this is descriptive of the actual image, but also contains your keyword phrase.
• DO NOT STUFF KEYWORDS – It’s tempting, but a bad idea to cram 10 or 20 keywords into these elements.  Be deliberate, descriptive and most of all – ask yourself what a user of the page would like to see there.  You’re doing these to be found by PEOPLE, to sell them things – not to rank in a search engine for irrelevant garbage.

Photo by paul (dex) found by using image search in Flickr

The data was pretty interesting; most surveyed said they were more likely to travel off-peak in 2010 vs 2009, more than 50% were looking at traveling when the deals could be had and the destinations might be less packed.

What does this mean for hotel, resort and vacation rental managers? It means your off-season might not be as quiet, and your on-season might be a bit slower because your normal visitors are waiting for that off season deal to hit their social network or email box.

Compete speculates that travelers may be less likely to commit to booking too much at once. They might book hotel/lodging because they can cancel, but might wait until closer to travel dates to book a flight, depending on the prices available. This year only 19% of those surveyed are somewhat or much more likely to book a air/hotel/car rental package as they were last year.  The clear winners were “about as likely” and “somewhat less likely.”  This latter category seems to support Compete’s assumption that this year air/lodging packages might just be less popular.

There are definitely opportunities to be had by lodging properties. Taking advantage of those who wish to save by traveling off season opens the possibility of recouping revenues thought lost due to a slow “on-season.”  Make sure your users and potential visitors have the deals and the packages that will entice them to book their stay with you during the slower times of the year.

Here are a few ideas to increase bookings during the slow season:

• Offer an off season package that gives a sizable discount but is 100% non-refundable; they save, but are committed to paying no matter what.
• Talk to your fellow tourism attractions and combine off-season activities with lodging to offer an inclusive package that saves the visitors money not only on lodging but also on attractions and dining in the area.
• Watch the airfare deals to your nearest airport and have a great lodging deal ready to send out when the airlines drop ticket prices into your destination.  There are quite a few sites that will email you when airfare drops below a certain price; take advantage by having an email blast ready to hit your advertising, email and social media followers once the flights dip to great discounts.

As a followup to our April 13th, 5 Ways to Use an iPad at Your Hotel’s Front Desk, here is some good reading about iPads in hotels:

• Will Hotels Begin Offering the Apple iPad in Rooms? (We Can Only Hope) (written in January by Hotel Chatter)
• iPad: Hotel hype or help?
• Best iPad Apps for Hoteliers by Josiah Mackenzie
• 10 Innovative Uses of the iPad By the Hospitality Industry
• InterContinental Hotels & Resorts first to equip concierge teams with Apple iPads
• The Plaza Hotel Launches First Virtual Concierge App on iPads
• iPad Replaces Menu in Hotel Restaurant
• Top 10 Green iPad Hotels
• London Hotel Gives Guests an iPad for the Duration of their Stay
• Pavilion Hotel Offering Complimentary iPad Use to Guests
• Posh Hotels offer iPad Newspapers While Publishers Demand in-App Subscriptions…
• Six Hotels With iPads You Can Touch
• Where to Find Hotels With iPads

Susan, myself and our whole management team are very excited and satisfied by this recommendation.  We have worked hard over the last few years to not just provide a great service to our customers, but to also make Blizzard a great place to work.  As you know, a company is only as good as its employees.  And Blizzard has a great bunch of employees!

Did you know that our average employee has been with us more than 5 years?  Some of the key things our employees enjoy:

• A healthy work/life balance
• Constant professional development opportunities
• Great health, dental and vacation benefits
• Profit sharing
• Annual rafting and skiing days
• A dog-friendly environment
• 2 or 3 monitors per employee

Here is a copy of our press release:

Colorado is known as a popular vacation hotspot for tourists; for those lucky enough to live in Colorado, finding a great place to work is a challenge.

Known for providing a high-quality blend of online marketing solutions for the hospitality and travel industries, Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc. was recently named as one of Colorado’s Best Companies to work for.

Blizzard Internet Marketing prides itself on being a family, fun, and pet-friendly workplace with a core value based in customer service and company culture.

The Best Companies to Work for Award is given in conjunction by Colorado Biz Magazine, the Colorado State Council of the Society of Human Resource Management, and Jobing.com.

Located in the heart of Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley between Vail and Aspen, the company was founded by Trent and Susan Blizzard in 1997 when the idea of search engine marketing, and the internet, was still in its infancy.

During the mid 90’s, Trent and Susan traveled the country seeking a small town with easy access to skiing, fishing, and airports. In 1998 Blizzard relocated to the perfect small town: Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Today, Blizzard Internet Marketing provides a unique workplace in which knowledge is shared, fairness and teamwork is widely respected, and each member of the company is highly valued.

The current employee has been with Blizzard Internet Marketing over 5 years on average. In this small company each person understands the direct affect that they have on company, and clients’, success.

What makes Blizzard Internet such a great place to work? The company recognizes employees with frequent awards, annual ski and rafting trips, profit sharing, and the company’s overall value of a healthy work-life balance.

Blizzard Internet Marketing challenges their employees to further their knowledge of search engine marketing and to seek profitable strategies for their clients to market online. Several employees are known experts within the search marketing community and are invited to present at hotel, resort, vacation rental manager, and travel industry trade shows.

Announced today at the Google Lat Long blog, Google now offers verified business owners the ability to respond to reviews made directly on their Google Places page!

Responses will be featured below the review:

At Blizzard, we recommend everyone: 1) be aware of all reviews made of their business, 2) respond to reviews in a public forum where appropriate; and 3) understand that all feedback is valuable.

Google agrees with this stance and gives some helpful tips for responding to reviews:

1) Be Nice - This isn’t just a guideline – it’s a good idea.
2) Don’t Get Personal – Remember that you’re replying to feedback about an experience, not about you as a person.
3) Feedback is Helpful – Both positive and negative feedback can be good for your business and help it grow.

If your business listing isn’t verified, we advise you to do that as soon as possible.  If it is verified, start responding to reviews  – both negative and positive – to engage with your audience and ensure future viewers of those reviews see you care about each and every guest.

They recently enlarged their data in the “links to your site” report.  Finally, Google seems to be showing a healthy list of all the links that point to your own website.

This improvement means that Google Webmaster tools will become one of the goto tools for measuring how many links point to your website.  One nice feature is that they also break the links down by which page they link into, so you can get a better sense of your “deep linking” strategies.

Read yesterday’s article about the exciting “search queries” report that talks about improved data in that report too.

Our favorite research resource is David Mihm’s Local Search Ranking Factors which has been updated in June of  2010.

In a nutshell, they survey a bunch of local search experts on what they think most important factors are.  They tally the results, and voila, you have an instant resource on what the true experts believe works and doesn’t work.

Here are their top 20 factors:

1. General Importance of Claiming Place Page / Local Listing
2. Business Address in City of Search
3. Associating Place Page with Proper Categories
4. Volume of Citations from Major Data Providers + IYP Portals
5. General Importance of Off-Page / Off-Listing Criteria
6. General Importance of Customer Reviews
7. Quality of Citations from Major Data Providers + IYP Portals
8. Product / Service Keyword in Place Page Business Title
9. Volume of Customer Reviews associated with Your Business
10. Quality of Unstructured Citations
11. Volume of Unstructured Citations
12. Proximity of Address to City Centroid
13. Customer Reviews Left on Third-Party Websites
14. Product / Service Keywords in Place Page Description
15. General Importance of On-Page Criteria
16. Quality of Inbound Links to Website
17. Velocity of Customer Reviews Associated with Your Business
18. Volume of MyMaps on which Your Business Is Included
19. Associating Photos with Your Place Page
20. Associating Local Area Code as Primary Place Page Phone Number

And here are the top negative factors that hurt you (the worst one is the last):

1. Negative Review Sentiment
2. Negative Ratings
3. Location Keywords in Categories
4. (800) Phone Number on Website w/o Local Area Code
5. (800) Phone Number on Website w/o Local Area Code
6. (800) As Primary Place Page Number
7. Multiple Locations on Places Landing Page
8. Multiple Place Pages w/Same Business Title
9. PO Box on Website w/o Physical Address
10. Multiple Place Pages w/Same Address
11. Hiding Address on Your Place Page
12. Multiple Place Pages w/Same Phone Number

Also, they provided a list of the top data providers and top review engines at the bottom of the report.

I recommend you read every word of this important report if you want to learn how to get better results in the world of local search.  Thanks David Mihm!

• The top search queries for which your site appeared in search results
• The number of impressions that query received
• The number of clicks each query received
• The Click Through Rate (CTR) of each query
• The Average Position of each query

It starts by showing a nice graph of impressions vs clicks:

And then really gets amazing by showing details of clickthru rates and rankings, query by query:

Three reasons why this is important:

1. Google now provides authoritative data of where you rank for each keyword phrase.  It actually averages the position if you showed up in multiple spots and it shows which pages showed up in each spot.   No more guessing!
2. By producing the Click Thru Rate (CTR) for search results, Google may actually be revolutionizing the SEO industry.  We can now see how often a high ranking by itself doesn’t convert impressions into clicks. Finally, SEO companies like Blizzard Internet can impress upon customers the value of writing compelling titles and descriptions (which increase CTR), the value of worrying about sitelinks, the value of coming up in multiple spots.  To put it bluntly, we can focus on clicks from Google instead of rankings.  Looking at the data, it is clear that a high ranking doesn’t automatically lead to a click
3. Google is demonstrating it knows the CTR of specific queries and websites.  I believe this is the first step to a major change in Google’s algorithm.  My prediction is that soon you will move up or down partly based upon your CTR.  Better start improving those CTRs if you want to keep the top spot!

It should come as no surprise that CTR could become part of the algorithm.  Google has ranked PPC in AdWords for a long time based upon click-thru rates… why not move that into its organic algorithm?  I think it is gonna happen!

Want more evidence?  Google also has a load-time monitor in its webmaster tools, and your load time is now part of the organic ranking algorithm.  Google knows that websites that load fast are more enjoyable by its users… so it bumps them up a bit.  If I were Google, I would start lowering websites that have below average CTRs for specific queries… they are a waste of search engine real estate.

I recommend you start investing in improving your CTRs of your important keyword phrases… start by writing and testing better titles and descriptions.  Stop stuffing keywords in there.

Want to know what is next?  Bounce rates! Google knows if users do a search, click on your site, and bounce back!  Another sign that you don’t deserve to rank for that keyword phrase.  BTW, this factor is also already in Google’s Adwords algorithm.  I bet we are talking about that in the next year.