This is no longer a secret, the Internet has become the preferred search tool for travelers. So of course, the more you talk about yourself on the web, the better! When it’s free, no questions to ask, but when faced with a paid proposition, how to react? Is the game really worth the effort? I share below a few ideas to help you better evaluate its potential.
Improve your ranking in the search engines
The SEO (Search Engine Optimization) brings together all the techniques allowing you to go back up your search engine results (such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, Lilo, etc.) in a “natural” way (= without paying for sponsored links). Improving your natural SEO is a true painstaking work. It will be the result of multiple and diverse actions dispersed in time.
One of the basic principles of SEO is that of weaving a web of links pointing to your website. But be careful, not just any links! Imagine, it’s like real life: if several people recommend a hotel, it’s a good sign, but if in addition it is people of trust, that you know well, it is even better. In the same way Google gives a high level of confidence to the most popular websites. If Google realizes that many trusted websites are talking about you (because they have a link pointing to your website), then Google concludes that you are certainly too a trustworthy website.
A website offers you to write an article about you and to insert a link, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is the topic of this website relevant to yours?
- Is this website popular? What is its ranking in search engines (look for its MozRank for example)? How does it perform with its website traffic? Which audience does it reach in social networks (on Facebook for example)? You can use for example SimilarWeb to get a sweet overview of a website/blog audience and traffic.
- Will the link be inserted within an article with relevant keywords for your SEO?
Learn more about SEO, read for example here.
Reach a new audience
Some blogs and digital media have gained a notoriety and enjoy a certain loyalty of their readers. Publishing an article on their sites makes it possible to reach this community directly. Surely you have heard about the concept of “storytelling” in communication? A press article, written by a blogger or a journalist, is precisely the most storytelling way of communicating. It is not just about making pure and hard (and often annoying) promotion, it’s about telling an inspiring story (by a rather neutral third party) that will make the reader want to know more about the subject.
Ask yourself:
- Who are the readers of the blog?
- Are they numerous?
- Do they match your target audience?
- Are they offering you “only” the publication of an article, or also to share it in their social networks (which ones?), through a newsletter (etc …)?
Earn the trust of your visitors
When another website writes about you (and writes good things!), and especially if it is a popular site, think about putting it on your own website, and that from your homepage. In the same way as a good review on TripAdvisor, this can represent quite a great sign of confidence for your potential future visitors! In the same way, consider putting forward this article when approaching travel agencies, especially if it is a first approach.
Example of logos displayed on Ecocamp Patagonia homepage.
Once the article is published, don’t forget also to:
- Add a link to the article in the section “Press / They talk about us”, and even directly on your website homepage with the logo of the media concerned if it is very well known.
- Choose the press articles to highlight according to the language in which they were written: an article published in French-language media (like TV5 Monde or Voyageons-Autrement) will be very useful for the french version of your website and/or to approach travel agencies based in France /Belgium / Switzerland / Quebec.
- Share the good news in your social networks. You can even “boost” a Facebook post with the link to the article and targeting a specific audience.
- Translate the article to publish it, quoting the original source, in other media, or even on your own blog (in case you target an international audience).
Would you like to publish an article on Voyageons-Autrement and/or TV5MONDE ?
Which visibility? How much does it cost? It’s all explained here!