Budgeting for Hotel Digital Marketing in 2014

With search technology continuing to change to provide users with the most relevant information, we narrowed down and summarized some of the key digital marketing trends and provided some budgeting ideas for 2014 hotel digital marketing initiatives below. By focusing on key areas, you can improve your online marketing presence in 2014.

1. Website on Steroids– Engagement, Freshness, Mobile Compatibility, and Structured Data
If your site has not been updated for 2-3 years, it may be a good idea to budget for a new website. Your site should have schema markup, download quickly, and be mobile compatible. Engaging and socially sharable content is also plus.

2. Robust Mobile Strategy
A robust mobile strategy for 2014 is a must- have. Make sure your website is responsive, which automatically adjusts based on the browser window and scales based on device type. Add mobile promotion to your web strategies such as paid search on mobile as we've seen high yields for our clients who have ran mobile PPC.

3. Local and SEO
Local search optimization should include optimizing the local profiles on Google and Bing and ensuring you have accurate information on your local search profiles on Google and Bing. In addition, it's key to have consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) across all the local data aggregators and local search channels. Budget for local search optimization, and directory listings in relevant high-quality directories.

4. Paid Search and Media Spend
In addition to traditional PPC channels such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, there are several other channels that are showing excellent results for hotels seeking presence on online channels. Our recommendation is to allocate a significant amount of marketing expense to media purchases in 2014. This would specially be more relevant to independent hotels without brand's marketing support.

5. Social Media
Social Media is continuing to grow in significance and its influence on the overall digital marketing strategies is key. Social media marketing is closely integrated with search engine optimization and developing a brand equity with your guests. Create a robust social media strategy and budget for a social media management software and social media marketing services.

6. Guest Reviews and Ratings
Reviews will continue to influence a consumer's decision in choosing a particular property over others, and will also impact search engine placement as a property with more favorable reviews reflect a better user experience. Budgeting for reviews monitoring software is crucial.

To read more, check out the full article on Milestone Insights