2014 Digital Marketing Trends

Panelists
 Presenters

Benu Aggarwal

Founder & President
Milestone Internet Marketing

Kchitiz Regmi

VP, Operations and Technology

 Moderator
Mike Supple

Director of Social Media

2
www.milestoneinternet.com

blog.milestoneinternet.com

@milestonemktg

Milestone at a Glance
Drive online revenue and profitability for our clients

Digital marketing software and services for hospitality
Silicon Valley ~ Chicago ~ India ~ 150 employees ~1400 hotels
3


@milestonemktg

2014 Top Digital Marketing Trends
1. Relevant & engaging
conversational content

User Experience

2. Impact of social
media on SEO

6. Paid search evolution of new
channels & platforms

7. Meta search

3. Mobile experience &
responsive site design

8. Schema &
semantic search

9. Website
architecture
conversion secrets

4. Google local, Bing
local & hyperlocal

5. Identifying quality
citations & links

10. Analytics &
tracking

4


@milestonemktg

Relevant & Engaging
Conversational Content

Relevant & Engaging Content Pushes
Higher Conversions
 Content which provides value to user
 Give answers to searchers’ questions
 Provide fresh solutions for searchers’ problems
 User 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


@milestonemktg

Website Content – Ready for
Hummingbird

Before
Need directions – open
Google maps, type
address, get directions

Hummingbird

Now and Future
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
7


@milestonemktg

Relevant Content Pushes Higher
Conversions
Content goals: communicate,
engage, and compel

Use Foursquare
tips in website
content

Relevant

8


@milestonemktg

Creating Fresh Content on an Ongoing
Basis
Local Events

Local News

Trends/Seasonality

Tips

Content

Reviews

Use tools to research destination content
Promote via other channels:

Google+ Page
Yelp

MediaConnect360

Brand website


9
@milestonemktg

How Social Media Impacts Business
Influence on Search Results

“If something occurs on Twitter or occurs on Facebook and
we're able to crawl it, then we can return that in our
search results”

– Matt Cutts, Search Quality Group, Google (22 Jan 2014)

1.15 billion
users

Define Brand
Personality

540 million
users

6 billion hours
viewed/mo

Customer
Service

Build
Semantic
& Longtailed
Relevancy

225 million
users

Share
Compelling
Media

Impact
Purchase
Decisions
11



@milestonemktg

From Social to Conversion
•Facebook
•Twitter
•Flickr
•YouTube
•Foursquare
•Google+
•Pinterest

Social:
Travel Inspiration
Blog
Website
Conversions

Source: “The Customer Journey to Online Purchase,”
http://www.google.com/think/tools/customer-journey-to-online-purchase.html, July 2013


12
@milestonemktg

Brand vs Local Promotion

13


@milestonemktg

Local Level

14


@milestonemktg

Impact of Social on Search

15


@milestonemktg

Measuring Impact
Website Referrals
Social Conversions
Individual ChannelAnalysis
Competitive Performance

Monitoring Key Metrics
 Competitive analysis
 Referrals to website
 Individual channel performance  Conversions and assisted
conversions
16


@milestonemktg

Mobile Experience &
Responsive Site Design

Understand User Intent

 Desktop User

 Office hours
 Research about
property, specials,
events, reviews and
detailed
information

 Tablet User

 Evening hours
 Looking for visual
content about
property and
destination

 Mobile User

 Lunch
breaks/Starbucks
 Looking for property
location, maps and
directions, click to
call reservations,
local area guide
18



@milestonemktg

Robust Mobile Strategy –
Which One is Right for You?
Comprehensive Responsive
 Same URL with two options
Same Content
Different Content

 Different elements based on
device type
 Server side content
optimization to reduce
download time

Separate Mobile
 Different URL
 Different layout
 Different content for desktop
and different for mobile

 Integrated with CMS and
analytics

19


@milestonemktg

Responsive Websites – Desktop, Mobile,
Tablet Versions
DESKTOP SITE

TABLET SITE

MOBILE SITE

 New Gestures
 Jquery Swiping
(photo gallery)
 Pixel Width of
average finger

20


@milestonemktg

Google Local,
Bing Local & Hyperlocal

Intangible ROI
 Can you define ROI for the following: vacuuming the room,
utility bills, friendly staff, etc?
 Ensuring your UNAP is correct is the same idea – if UNAP is
wrong, people can’t find you.

22


@milestonemktg

Where is is Local? – All Channels
Where Local? – All Channels

Bing Local
Google+
Local

IYPs

Yahoo
Local

Local
Search

Internet Yellow
Pages

Maps

Local Citations

Hyperlocal

Travel Sites
UGC

 73% of all online activity is related to local content.
 Hotel searches are inherently local in nature.

23

@milestonemktg

Top Factors Impacting Local
Signals

 Optimizing local profiles on
Google+, Bing Local, Yahoo Local
 IYPs and Data aggregator: NAP
consistency, citation volume
 Social and Hyper-local Signals:
Google +, Facebook likes, Mobile
Click to calls

 Removal of all duplicate listings

Personalization
Behavioral/
Mobile

Places Page

Social

Review

External Loc.

 On-page local optimization
 Quality & quantity of reviews

Link
On-page

http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
Survey by David Mihm
24


@milestonemktg

Naptune Local Search and UNAP
Consistency Tool

25


@milestonemktg

Optimizing Google+ Local Presence
 Merged and verified
 Correct UNAP and contact
information
 Optimized images for profile,
cover and of property
 Accurate map marker location
 Correct categories
 Optimized content
 Overall review score
 Key review takeaways
 Get custom
URL:+HyattEscalaLodge

26


@milestonemktg

Optimizing Apple Maps Listing
(Apple iOS6)
 Milestone is editing Yelp,
Factual, OpenStreet,
Acxiom and Localeze to
ensure accurate listing

Before:

After:

Phone
Number is
Incorrect

27


@milestonemktg

Identifying Quality
Citations & Links

Links – Quality and Authority
Datafeeds/
IYPs

Local
Profiles on
Search
Engines

Quality
Local
Links

Social
Signals

Freshness
Signals

Trust
Signals

Local/PR
News

Editorial
Content

Vertical
Directories

29


@milestonemktg

Qualifying Relevant Local/Niche
Citations and Links

30


@milestonemktg

How Do You Qualify a Partner?
 Page Authority
 Domain Authority
 Page Rank
 CTA Feature
 Engagement

 Photos
 Eco Connection

31


@milestonemktg

Measure ROI – Groups & Meetings

Critical: Ensure you can
measure conversion from
these channels! (phone calls,
RFP’s, actual bookings)

32


@milestonemktg

Paid Search - Evolution of
New Channels & Platforms

Digital Media Advertising Opportunities
PPC

DISPLAY

SOCIAL

META

$

34


@milestonemktg

Channels to Achieve Your Goals
Visibility & Branding

$
Conversions & Revenue

35


@milestonemktg

Mobile Ads
Benefits
 Low competition
 Target Local
destinations
 Higher click-throughrate

 Higher average position
 Lower cost per
conversion
Destination Resort in
Florida - 2OX ROI
Average -14X ROI

36


@milestonemktg

Improve Conversions
1. Images
2. Call extension
3. Sitelinks

1

4. Call-to-action
5. Remarketing –
banner ads

2
4
5
3

37


@milestonemktg

Display Advertising
 How it works?
 Create compelling image ads for
targeted channels
 Target relevant market using:
remarketing, display select, GDN &
betas, DSP’s, media placements
 Can run text, image, animated
image & video
 Rotate multiple banner sizes

 Benefits

3-star Hotel in Orlando
5X ROI
Average: 3X-8X ROI

 Increases brand awareness
 Generates direct bookings
 Target users who visited the site
 Google Display Network (GDN)
reaches 80% of global Internet users
38


@milestonemktg

Meta Search –
Show Rates Direct
 How it works?
 Provide rates for check-in/out
searches for property and
hotel geo searches
 Compare pricing and
availability on Trip Advisor,
Google Hotel Finder,
 Organic results in Google/Bing
(coming soon Trivago &
Kayak)

 Benefits
 Book direct, increase
profitability and revenue
(avoid competitor ads on OTA
sites)
40


@milestonemktg

Hotel Meta – Google Hotel Finder

41


@milestonemktg

Schema & Semantic
Search
Give search engines what they want in the format
they want.

Schema’s
Gives desired information to search engine in the format they want

Keyword = [Hotel in Bangkok near Airport ]
Keyword = [Organization + Region + Nearby]

 Organization-name:
Ramada Hotel & Suites
Bangkok

 adr:
street-address:
22 Sukhumvit Soi 12
 locality:
Klongtoey
 region:
Bangkok
 NearBy:
Suvarnabhumi Airport
43


@milestonemktg

How to Look for Relevant Schemas?
1. http://schema.org/GolfCourse
2. http://schema.org/Park
3. http://schema.org/ShoppingCenter
4. http://schema.org/StadiumOrArena
5. http://schema.org/Museum
6. http://schema.org/Airport
7. http://schema.org/Aquarium
8. http://schema.org/CollegeOrUniversity
9. http://schema.org/Casino
10. http://schema.org/Zoo
11. http://schema.org/Beach
12. http://schema.org/Restaurant
13. http://schema.org/SkiResort
14. http://schema.org/Hospital
15. http://schema.org/SportsActivityLocation

44


@milestonemktg

Schema Hypertree

45


@milestonemktg

Setting Online Marketing Strategy
Emulate the offline business drivers in the online world – becoming
the online Director of Sales
Community
Social
•
•
•

Weddings
Reunions
Religious

•
•
•

Universities
Hospitals
Stadiums

Conventions
and meetings
•
•
•

Corporate retreats
Conferences
Tradeshows

Attractions
(leisure)
•
•
•

Local and
regional factors

Theme parks
Getaways
Museums

•
•

Activities
(leisure)
•
•
•

Skiing
Wine tours
Golf

Hotel in city
Hotel in region

Specific needs

Events
•
•
•

Festivals
Concerts
Sports events

•
•
•

Pet-friendly
Park and fly
Bed and breakfasts

46


@milestonemktg

Case Study – Google Webmaster
Indexed Pages Jumps

Site live – March 19, 2013

47

@milestonemktg

Website Architecture
Conversion Secrets

Architecture Impact on Search Engines
Speed &
Performance
Relevant, Fresh
and Engaging
Content Optimized
for Search and
Visitors

Crawlability

Usability and
Conversions
49


@milestonemktg

Speed & Performance

Minimize HTTP
requests

( Reduce number of requests
going to the server to improve
page performance)

Minify JS & CSS

(Source code on page
should be kept minimum
to reduce download time)

Optimized
images

(Reducing size of images
reduces load time and
increase page load speed)

GZIP components

(Gzipping files reducing the
size of the files sent from your
server, reducing sizes of
pages by up to 70%)

Just one second delay in page-load can cause 7% loss in customer
conversions!
50


@milestonemktg

Crawlability

HTML

HTML
validation

performed on W3C
to make sure page
complies with HTML
standards and helps
cross-browser, crossplatform and future
compatibility

< >

CSS

CSS
validation

to ensure no errors
found in style sheets
and all browsers aim
towards compliance
with the existing
standards

Link checker

to ensure no broken
links on pages and all
links are properly
working

Canonical
tags

to avoid duplicate
content issues and
penalties

xml
Sitemap XML

for website & images
submitted to Google
Webmaster

51


@milestonemktg

Milestone Client Site
HTML validation

CSS validation

Link checker

Sitemap
submission

52


@milestonemktg

Relevant Fresh Engaging Content

meta
Schemas for
semantic web is

micro data and rich
snippets that help search
engines index the most
critical data quickly and
help improve clickthrough rates

Optimized meta
tags are structured tags

that go in page head
section so the browser can
understand it

<h1>
Heading tags –

H1, H2, H3 are present in
body content

Photos,
images and
map optimized
and indexed for
image and map
search

53


@milestonemktg

Meta tags

Schema for
address

Schema for
reviews

H1
H2

54


@milestonemktg

Usability & Conversion

Content is above the
fold for better conversion

Sophisticated designs

on client branding, positioning,
and target market segment

Eye tracking studies

to determine how people spend
time on site

404
Usability testing to

understand information flow,
conversion items

404 error pages for user to
easily find pages

Cross browser testing to

make sure site is viewed properly
on all browsers and devices

55


@milestonemktg

Information
Architecture

Usability

Colors
Images
Legibility /
Eyetracking
Backend

404 error page
Content is above
fold

Eye tracking
studies
56


@milestonemktg

Your ROI Tracking Plan
1. Define your business objectives!
2. Identify channels
3. Know soft and hard conversion
metrics
4. Know overlapping channels
5. Know demographic of your customers
and user behavior when they land on
your site

58


@milestonemktg

Business Objectives & Channels
 Increase long tail, unbranded, leisure, transient, family travel
 All main search engines, referral traffic from most popular travel
based directories, social channels to create engagements
1

2

3

59


@milestonemktg

Demographic Tracking
 Demographic tracking
offers insights to who is
visiting a website
 Since keyword report
shows 90% “not provided,”
demographic tracking fills
that gap perfectly

60


@milestonemktg

Key 2014 Digital Marketing Trends
User experience

Search is more
conversational &
personal

• Content, information
on websites,
engagement,
download speed, etc.

• Hummingbird
(conversational search),
Knowledge Graph,
schemas, personal
preferences, click
through patterns, etc.

More channels
for reaching
consumers
• Google Hotel Finder,
many more paid
search options within
Google, OTA meta
search, Apple Maps,
Bing/Nokia Maps,
Facebook, Pinterest,
Youtube, etc.

Mobile first!

Social engagement
and reviews

62


@milestonemktg

2014 Digital Marketing Trends

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Featured

Featured (20)

2014 Digital Marketing Trends

Editor's Notes