A case study for the HSMAI Digital Marketing Strategy Conference 2014

1. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Search Engine Marketing Strategies
for hotels – Hummingbird, Schema’s,
authorship, and more.
Benu Aggarwal
benu@milestoneinternet.com
www.milestoneinternet.com
http://blog.milestoneinternet.com
http://twitter.com/milestonemktg
http://www.facebook.com/milestoneinc

2. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Milestone at a Glance
Drive online revenue and profitability for our clients
Silicon Valley ~ Chicago ~ India ~ 150 employees ~1400 hotels
Digital marketing software and services for hospitality

3. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Things We Will Review
Conversational
Content
Hummingbird
Update
Schemas

4. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Relevant & Engaging Content Pushes Higher
Conversions
• Content which provides value to user
• Give answers to searchers’ questions
• Provide fresh solutions for searchers’ problems
• Users really enjoy reading it and they bookmark it and share it
Why thin content is not good
– Low quality content
– Results in low engagement
– Low sharing
– No value
– Bounce rate is high

5. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Relevant & Engaging Content Pushes Higher
Conversions
• Content which provides value to user
• Give answers to searchers’ questions
• Provide fresh solutions for searchers’ problems
• Users really enjoy reading it and they bookmark it and share it
Why thin content is not good
– Low quality content
– Results in low engagement
– Low sharing
– No value
– Bounce rate is high

6. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Geo-Local
Vertically
Focused
Socially
Relevant
SEARCH
RESULTS
Evolution of Content Marketing
Thin content /
duplicate
content
Bad links /
Keyword
stuffing
(Conversational
Content)
PANDA PENGUIN
HUMMINGBIRD
Tactics
Strategy
Schemas
Index
Social Links /
Citations
Voice search
Google glass
Voice recognition

7. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Geo-Local
Vertically
Focused
Socially
Relevant
SEARCH
RESULTS
Evolution of Content Marketing
Thin content /
duplicate
content
Bad links /
Keyword
stuffing
(Conversational
Content)
PANDA PENGUIN
HUMMINGBIRD
Tactics
Strategy
Schemas
Index
Social Links /
Citations
Voice search
Google glass
Voice recognition

8. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Geo-Local
Vertically
Focused
Socially
Relevant
SEARCH
RESULTS
Evolution of Content Marketing
Thin content /
duplicate
content
Bad links /
Keyword
stuffing
(Conversational
Content)
PANDA PENGUIN
HUMMINGBIRD
Tactics
Strategy
Schemas
Index
Social Links /
Citations
Voice search
Google glass
Voice recognition

9. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Website Content – Ready for Hummingbird
Hummingbird
Before Now and Future
Need directions – open
Google maps, type
address, get directions
Give me directions to
Hyatt Regency Santa
Clara
• Google’s newest search engine algorithm update focuses on:
• Voice search
• Conversational search or natural language search
• Knowledge graph and schemas
• High-quality website content will provide answers to users’ queries by
understanding the intent

10. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Relevant Content Pushes Higher Conversions
Content goals: communicate,
engage, and compel
Use Foursquare
tips in website
content
Relevant

11. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Relevant Content Pushes Higher Conversions
Content goals: communicate,
engage, and compel
Use Foursquare
tips in website
content
Relevant

12. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Creating Fresh Content on an Ongoing Basis
Use tools to research destination content
Promote via other channels:
Local Events Local News Trends/Seasonality Tips Content Reviews
MediaConnect360
Google+ Page
Yelp
Brand website

13. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Internet Use Today

14. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Impact of Social on Search

15. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Schemas
Gives desired information to search engine in the format they want
• Organization-name:
Ramada Hotel & Suites Bangkok
• Address:
street-address:
22 Sukhumvit Soi 12
• Locality:
Klongtoey
• Region:
Bangkok
• Nearby:
Suvarnabhumi Airport
Keyword = [Hotel in Bangkok near Airport ]
Keyword = [Organization + Region + Nearby]

16. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Schema Hypertree

17. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Case Study – Background
• Existing hotel wanted more traffic
• Needed to build a new online strategy
• Give Google and users what they want

18. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Case Study – Online Marketing Strategy
Social
Activities
(leisure)
Events
Conventions
and meetings
Attractions
(leisure)
• Weddings
• Reunions
• Religious
• Corporate retreats
• Conferences
• Tradeshows
• Theme parks
• Getaways
• Museums
• Skiing
• Wine tours
• Golf
• Festivals
• Concerts
• Sports events
Local and
regional factors
• Universities
• Hospitals
• Stadiums
Community
• Hotel in city
• Hotel in region
Specific needs
• Pet-friendly
• Park and fly
• Bed and breakfasts
Emulate the offline business drivers in the online world – become the
online Director of Sales

19. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Case Study – Google Webmaster Indexed
Pages Jumps
Site live – March 19, 2013

20. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Key 2014 Digital Marketing Take Aways
Search is more
conversational
& personal
User experience
Social
engagement
Content with
schemas

21. www.milestoneinternet.com @milestonemktg @benuaggarwal blog.milestoneinternet.com
Thank You
Questions?
Benu Aggarwal
benu@milestoneinternet.com
www.milestoneinternet.com
blog.milestoneinternet.com
http://twitter.com/milestonemktg
http://www.facebook.com/Milestoneinc