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Developing your online marketing and bookings will bring several important advantages. Once your system is set up you can accept bookings easily and cheaply, 24 hours a day - without paying commissions. And if your Internet marketing efforts are ahead of your local competitors, you can even attract some of their market share. The Internet works for consumers seeking hotel rooms, so you will have to deal with it eventually. By starting now you can increase your bookings and revenues and be ahead of the pack.

I'm confused! How can I understand the online market simply and easily?
The Internet is still new for many people - and its constantly changing. So its to be expected that the business of marketing and selling your hotel online will be confusing at the beginning. However you've come to the right place. Start by reading our advice on How to Get Started in Marketing and Selling Your Hotel Online. Get an Overview of Electronic Distribution Channels and read our articles, reviews and other information on online marketing and sales for hotels.

Don't be too worried if it all seems confusing to start. If you stick with it things will fall into place soon. If you're really stuck, contact us, and we'll help in whatever way we can.

How can I reduce the commissions I pay to travel agents, GDS systems and online intermediaries?
If you want to reduce the commissions you pay to travel agents, GDS systems and online intermediaries then you have to (a) have your own online distribution channel and (b) get your customers to use it as much as possible. The centre of your own online distribution channel is your website - preferably with an easy-to-use, commission-free booking engine. Market your website in the search engines, through online and offline advertising, to your existing guests, and in other ways. If you make it easy for your customers to find you and book with you directly, then more and more of them will. Its as simple as that!

How can I find how people find my website?
In order to find out how people find your website, how many people visit your website, what pages they look at, what keywords they use to find you in the search engines, and other very valuable information, you need access to your website statistics or 'logs' in a comprehensible and easy-to-understand format. There are several excellent programs that allow you to do this. Talk to your website developer about them, or contact us for advice.

My website gets a lot of hits, but I get few booking from it. Why?
You may be getting more bookings from your website than you think. Many people use the Internet to research their travel needs, but then contact you by telephone to book. Ask all of your guests how they found you and you may find that your website is working for you in ways you didn't realise.

Of course, its possible that your website is poorly designed, and does not encourage people to book with you. Or perhaps you do not offer online booking from your website. A worse scenario is that you are trapped in an exploitive contract with an online intermediary and people find your website but make their booking through the intermediary at a substantial discount. Your website and all the information it contains (including pricing) should be focused on helping and encouraging customers to book directly with you. If you are getting lot of hits, but few bookings, then your website probably needs some work.

How can I get my hotel's website to rank higher in the search engines?
The steps to hotel's website to rank higher in the search engines are to (1) identify the keywords that your customers use to find your site (see our article on the subject here), (2) use your keywords to optimise your website for the search engines and to register with them, (3) get as many quality links to your website as possible, and (4) consider developing your website's content with information on your destination or specialities, and market these pages separately. You can get more information about marketing your website online from our article on How to Effectively Market Your Hotel's Website on the Internet.

A high ranking in the major search engines under the most popular keywords for your hotel and destination can have a huge effect on the number of booking you get through the Internet. Taking the time to market your site effectively is well worthwhile.

How can find the best keywords for my hotel's website?
The most productive keywords for your hotel are probably 'destination + hotel'. For example, if your hotel is located in Glasgow these keywords would be 'glasgow hotel'. However there are probably many other keywords and phrases that people use to find accommodation at your destination via the Internet. Read our article on the topic of finding the right keywords for your hotel and destination to get an idea of what they might be. You might also consider hiring Hotel Sales Online to do a professional analysis of the keywords used to find your hotel and destination across a variety of the main search engines.

How can I get more links to my website?
Links to your website are very important because (a) they bring traffic and bookings to your website and (b) they improve your rankings in the major search engines, which brings you more traffic and bookings. You should look at link-building as a continuing and long term marketing effort. A large number of quality links to your website can be very, very valuable.

The first step to building links is to find out what websites already link to you, and to your competitors. Use your website logs to find out which links bring you the most traffic. Then look for similar websites and ask them for links. It helps if your website contains interesting and useful content, perhaps on your destination or the specialised facilities and services that your hotel offers.

You can get more information on building links to your website from our article How to Effectively Market Your Hotel's Website on the Internet. You can also hire us to do it for you.

How can I accept reservations from my own website by myself?
The ability to accept reservations from your own website by yourself is of vital importance in effectively marketing and selling your hotel on the Internet. While there are many companies that offer online booking engines and services you should make sure that you do not engage them on a commission basis. After all, the ability to accept bookings from your own website without paying commissions to anybody is one of the most attractive things about online marketing and sales.

Check out our reviews of online booking services and software. We particularly recommend RezEasy online reservation software from Hallisoft, because you can own it outright and not have to pay commissions or regular charges to anybody.

Where are the most effective places to advertise on the Internet?
Probably the most effective way to advertise on the Internet is to use keyword advertising from Google Adwords, Overture and other search engines. You only pay when somebody clicks through to your website, so if you use focused, targeted keywords (and have a good website with an easy-to-use booking engine) you can attract very motivated potential customers.

It can also be a good idea to advertise on websites that are targeted to an audience you wish to reach. Examples of these could be websites related to your destination and websites related to specific facilities and services that your hotel offers (such as wedding websites). You can get more information about Internet advertising from our article on How to use keyword and other online advertising effectively.

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