Mobile device travelers matter in your marketing strategy

website is optimized for keywords and your location, your online booking engine matches the theme of your website, and you’re building relationships with your followers on social media. You’re done, right?

Not yet! Though we’re not saying that you have more work ahead of you, you just need to make sure the efforts you’re continuing to put forth work for your mobile visitors too.

Recently, Criteo found that travel bookings via mobile increased by more than 20 percent in the first six months of 2014, including airlines, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and so on. They also noticed that 21 percent of hotel bookings are happening on a smartphone or tablet. The Boston Consulting Group found that, “The average customer visits or uses a combination of 19 websites and mobile applications during the course of one trip, and many travelers use digital tools to share their experiences and reactions throughout the process.”

Travelers are a lot more comfortable purchasing on their smartphones or tablets than they were in previous years and that means your website, booking engine, and content marketing strategy needs to include them. How can you include mobile device travelers in your online marketing strategy?

• Use a responsive website: The search engines are putting more emphasis on the user experience and if your site is slow or redirecting users to a mobile version, your visitors may not stick around long enough to see that you’re exactly what they’re looking for. Make sure your site loads quickly and that all of your pages are available on any device.
• Focus on local: Make sure your local listings are accurate, especially your Name, Address, Phone Number (NAP). Consistency in these factors is key across all your listings and channels. 
• Social on mobile: As social media best practices shift toward Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices, make sure your content is easy to find on social media as well as branded with your location and keywords. Also, try to keep your posts concise so they perform well for mobile app users.
• Take advantage of mobile Pay Per Click (PPC): You use PPC to gain the attention of travelers looking in your area, but don’t miss out on people that are looking as they’re already on the go! Did you know that in Google AdWords you can create a mobile specific ad with its own call-to-action? You can also add call extensions so mobile users can call your property directly. See the example of Google AdWords below:   

As users continue to get more comfortable purchasing on mobile devices you’ll want to ensure you’re ready for them. What other tactics are important for a mobile strategy? Tell us below in the comments section!