| What is effective bed and breakfast marketing? | | | | for a course on internet marketing or search engine |
| What are you trying to achieve when promoting | | | | optimization when they set up their b & b! |
| your guest house, country inn, gite, or whatever | | | | The problem with a traditional website is that they're |
| accommodation you run? The ultimate target is | | | | static. The typical bed and breakfast website will |
| obviously people filling your beds - but how are | | | | have something between five and ten pages |
| people going to find you in the first place? What's | | | | explaining where they are, what their accommodation |
| going to make your lodging the one that they | | | | is and how much it costs. They might have a page |
| choose? | | | | of local places of interest, perhaps some links. |
| You have to find some way to appeal to them. You | | | | It's common for people to think that once those |
| need to get right up in front of them and show them | | | | pages are in place a site is "finished". Nothing much |
| why your bed and breakfast (or whatever) is the | | | | changes... and that's what's wrong. What the search |
| very best place to stay. You need to make an | | | | engines want to see is useful, appropriate content - |
| immediate impact and a lasting impression. Oh is that | | | | which a traditional website can provide - but to get a |
| all! | | | | high place in the rankings it also needs to be vibrant |
| Putting Friday 13th in the title of this article is an | | | | or, in other words, frequently updated. |
| example of immediate impact, that's why I chose it. | | | | Which most traditional websites fail at miserably. If |
| Depending on how old you are it's either a day of | | | | you have one of those kind of sites then it could be |
| bad luck or it's a famous horror film. It doesn't matter | | | | described as "finished" but only because it's "dead"! |
| which - the point is you are reading this article | | | | The good news is it's a relatively easy fix. Just set |
| because that headline grabbed you. You probably | | | | up a blog. Add one to an existing site, set up a new |
| thought "what's all that about?" | | | | one, it doesn't matter. A blog can transform the |
| A lasting impression then has to be made by me | | | | effectiveness of your bed and breakfast marketing |
| delivering on that bed and breakfast marketing | | | | in a matter of weeks. A blog gives you the ability to |
| promise - by giving you valuable information. | | | | reach out to specific market segments. You can |
| For the purposes of this article, that value is in | | | | target particular groups, events, areas... you can do it |
| showing you how you can use these tactics in your | | | | yourself so it's all under your control. |
| own business because if you think putting up a | | | | Even if you're not online yet at all setting up a blog / |
| website is going to have people beating a path to | | | | CMS (content management system) costs peanuts |
| your door you're in for a bit of an unpleasant surprise. | | | | and will repay your investment a thousand times. |
| Ain't going to happen. | | | | Imagine having something as effective as the best |
| It might have worked ten years ago but the web is | | | | web designer could build for you yet at a fraction of |
| a crowded place these days. Everyone puts up a | | | | the price and, more importantly, you put it together |
| website. Your competition, your plumber, your | | | | yourself so you don't need to rely on anyone else |
| window cleaner, the pool man... | | | | when you want to update or add to it. The search |
| Your widest reach - your most profitable avenue - is | | | | engines love these kind of websites, ordinary folks |
| certainly the internet. Your web presence can | | | | love them because they allow you to be more |
| massively change your occupancy rates if you know | | | | personal, you don't have to learn complex programs |
| how make the most of it. Not surprisingly most | | | | and they save you money. Really, what else could |
| accommodation owners don't - most don't sign up | | | | you want? |