Article - Advertising Offers: Marketing Online and Offline

Website Advertising Offers

Online Marketing Management Tips For Members

1) Check All New Listing Offers Thoroughly:

• Before paying for new listings check the offering companies credentials. Do they have a solid marketing plan? Do they offer good content and value to the visitor with a user-friendly interface?
• Check if they are well positioned in the search engines rankings using ethical means? (Check Google's Spam Report page for a quick checklist of what they consider to be "search engine spam".)
• Are they copying text and photos? Be wary of listing if they are populating their directory by scraping information automatically or otherwise for their website.
• Have they made a page for you using your copyright text and images without first gaining your permission? This is not acceptable.
• Ring or email some of their existing advertisers to find out if advertising on the website in question has proven successful for them.
• Be especially wary of phone calls using high pressure sales tactics encouraging you to approve a listing on a limited time free trial basis. It seems easy to say yes and then forget about it until you receive a sizable invoice because you forgot to monitor results and cancel the service within the specified time frame. Know who you are dealing with and get details in writing before authorising anything.

2) Keep Records Of All Advertising:

• Keep a list of all paid for listings with renewal dates, costs, user name & password. Always check this list before paying any incoming invoices to check that you have indeed authorised a service.

3) Creating Listings For Your Benefit:

• Never let another website copy your own web site information (text, meta descriptions & page titles) to theirs as it could directly affect your own Search Engine ranking.
• Giving away your own carefully crafted copy will strengthen larger more powerful websites and put your smaller individual website at risk of being drowned or demoted in importance.
• Assess if your web site has been plagiarised with a tool like Copyscape www.copyscape.com or search for a unique phrase from your website on Google with quotation marks around it.
• Consider strengthening your own website by creating more unique and useful content. Google has some useful information and guidelines you may like to read. Example: Webmaster Guidelines & Google and Duplicate Content issues.
• When listing on other websites provide unique wording and keep it simple, request a link to your "real" website. Encourage people to click through to find out more information directly from you. Otherwise your message is diluted as you strengthen bigger players - duplicate content issues can result in losing Search Engine positioning.
• It is also easier to keep listings current if they are just a general overview without time and dollars sensitive information included.
• The use of the BBFNSW-ACT logo is ONLY permitted on your website (and MUST contain a link to the Associations web site) and brochures. Please note the logo terms of use on the Association's member website and advise other websites that display our logo of these limitations if they are using it without permission.

4) Monitor Performance To Establish ROI:

• Monitor performance (by using a statistics program such as Site Meter - www.sitemeter.com) to see where your enquiries are really coming from (referrals) and if your money is working for you.
• Even low cost offers can add up to a sizable amount per annum if you have several listings in various places.

5) BBFNSW & ACT Website Advertising:

• Make the most of the BBFNSW & ACT website advertising offers. An enhanced listing could boost your marketing efforts by encouraging more click-throughs to your website with a description of your offer that stands out over the free basic listing available to all members. Members with enhanced listings report the Association's directory website to be a strong referrer when checking their statistics.
• The Association's websites have around 8,000 qualified visitors per month (most arrive because they are specifically looking for B&B, Farmstay or cottage accommodation in NSW & ACT) and between 40-50,000 page views per month. Advertising Options Information...

6) Reciprocal Link Requests

• Many members will receive emails requesting "reciprocal links", often they will include details of their Google PageRank and how participating will benefit your website in the search engines. Many will ask you to link to one website and place a link to you on totally different websites.
• Wise operators will heed these words carefully: "Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighborhoods" on the web, as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links."
  Quote from: Google's Quality Guidelines...
• Keep in mind that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with having inbound, outbound or even reciprocal links - links are what the world wide web is made of. When linking ensure that you link to quality resources that are useful to your visitors i.e. local tour operators, tourism information, transport, local restaurants etc.

7) False Billing - Industry Advertising Scams

• The B&B industry is consistently targeted by publications (online & offline) requesting payment for an advertisement that the operator has not ordered.
• Read the BBFNSW & ACT Scams Article

• The ACCC have developed a website to address the issue of all types of Scams, for further reading see their article titled: Directories and advertising (false billing)

© Copyright Article - Not to be reproduced without permission - Author: Dianne Scott August 2007