Top 8 reasons you need Internet marketing in 2017

You’re often evaluating your investments into your business and your property but an investment that can often be overlooked is your Internet marketing strategy and plan. When it’s not something you work with every day, it can be hard to see the benefits of Internet marketing tactics and especially since Internet marketing isn’t a quick fix – it’s a long-term maintenance for your brand. If you’re looking into online marketing plans or evaluating your current one, here are the top eight reasons you should invest in it this year.

Reasons you need to invest in Internet marketing in 2017:

1.  It’s where your customers look first

There’s a reason you’ve invested in an online booking engine and a website that encourages your guests to book direct; it’s because your guests are already online looking for travel inspiration and places to make their reservation. Today’s consumer journey begins online and if you’re not there, you don’t exist to these consumers.

2.  Reach new travelers

By using the right SEO elements and optimizing your website for the right keywords or keyword phrases, you can increase your brand’s awareness to target new travelers. You can also reach new travelers through advertisements on the search engines and on social media networks.

3.  Establishes trust and credibility

Having an optimized and strong online presence not only makes it easy for your guests to find your website or directory listings but also makes them feel more comfortable with their direct booking if your site follows today’s industry standards for optimization, design, and security settings. A good Internet marketing plan will also include tactics to increase your ranking on Google through quality website content and backlinks – showing the search engines your credibility as an accommodation.

4.  Measureable and packed with data

The great thing about digital marketing is that it’s trackable and measurable! Now, we’re now saying every single email or each blog post is going to drive tons of new reservations but you can see what online tactics are assisting reservations and driving results.

5.  Understand market and data to attract quality customers

With all that data, you can figure out what enhancements need to be made to your website or optimization efforts to bring in the right website traffic – traffic that converts! You can also understand what tactics aren’t resonating with your visitors and make improvements or reinvest that time or money into a different tactic that is working.

6.  Stay on top of trends and tools

By participating in an ongoing Internet marketing strategy, you’ll stay in the loop of the latest trends and upgraded tools that can bring even better results and conversions. Website design and optimization best practices can change overnight so actively working on your Internet marketing or trusting your digital marketing agency to keep you in the know ensures your business is utilizing the best tools and practices in the industry.

7.  Time is money

Digital marketing provides a healthy ROI and can be a cost-effective alternative to traditional marketing and advertising but it does require more of your time. It takes time to design your website, understand your website visitors, optimize your pages for the correct keywords, post to social media, write up monthly newsletters, post new specials to your website, and so on. It’s important to invest time into these tactics instead of just throwing a ton of money at a print ad in a travel magazine.

8.  Your competition is doing it

And finally we have the age-old adage: Your competitors are doing it. Don’t risk losing a booking to your competitor down the street because you don’t invest in Internet marketing! Of course you don’t want to just do what they’re doing but outdo them when it comes to your website and digital marketing strategy.