By Benu Aggarwal, Milestone Internet Marketing

Effective internet marketing in the year 2008 will be a powerful promotional agent for the hotel industry – from major franchise chains in urban cities to independent inns in rural countryside. In fact, it has been projected that 40% of all hotel bookings will be generated from the internet in 2008. As we envision the possibilities this year, hoteliers must take a proactive approach to internet marketing and direct their strategies and budgets from traditional offline marketing to hard-hitting online highways.

Savvy hoteliers who utilize the hottest trends and practices in internet marketing – from social networking to mobile websites – will be well rewarded for staying ahead of the competition curve and capturing more market share . . . both now and in the years ahead.

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What if your business location is listed incorrectly on Google Maps? What can be more frustrating than people not finding right direction to your business? Can your business location be fixed? Thankfully, the answer to this question now is “Yes” because of Google’s new map-editing functionality called Map Marker.
Google’s Map Marker lets you edit your business location on Google Maps by simply dragging the location marker on the map to the correct point. All you need is a Google Local Business Center account.
Once you have a Google Local Business Center account, you can log into your account and:

1. Click “Fix incorrect marker location”
2. Next, you can use the mouse to pick up your marker and drag it to your street address. Use the tools in the upper left corner of the map to pan and zoom for a better view.
3. Next, click “Save Changes” and you’re all set. It’s as simple as that!

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Article contributed by Kchitiz Regmi, Milestone Internet Marketing, Inc.

With the introduction of Google’s “Universal Search” back in May of 2007, the ever increasing need to surface among a sea of a multifaceted search is approaching new advancements. With the blend of news, images, video, and local all under one roof it is increasingly important to include a comprehensive sitemap for your website—and that includes video!

On December 24th 2007, Google announced their Google Site Map Generator tool. Now, via Google Webmaster tools, you can create a separate video sitemap file complete with title and description tags allowing yet another way for web crawlers to index your page.

What does this mean? More Traffic! With the pressure for webmasters to adapt to new ways in getting top rankings for their relevant search terms and keywords Google Site Maps lends a helping hand. “By submitting this video-specific Sitemap in addition to your standard Sitemap, you can specify all the video files on your site, along with relevant metadata,” said the Webmaster Central blog.

According to Google “…when you submit a Video Sitemap to Google, we will make the included video URLs searchable on Google Video,” and they go on to say “…in addition, your video may also appear in other Google search products.” Now videos on YOUR domain have a greater chance of getting listed in Google’s index!

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Article contributed by Ashley Esselstrom, Milestone Internet Marketing, Inc.

Sources:
Google 2.0: Google Universal Search
http://searchengineland.com/070516-143312.php
www.marcliron.com
www.marclironblog.com
www.marctalkstech.com

According to a survey by JPMorgan, US Paid Search and Advertising Revenues have been steadily increasing since 2006 and are expected to rise by 31.9% in 2008. eMarketer is predicting that rich media/video is going to see the biggest growth in spend in 2008 with an increase of 48.9%. The saying goes “a picture is worth a 1000 words,” and this is monumentally important in the world of travel where visuals of your property and destination (or lack thereof) can make or break your conversion rates.

With the advent of Universal Search, your video isn’t just a conversion tool for the visitor who stumbles upon your website. Done right, it can actually increase the visibility of your website and allow for stronger search engine results placement. For more information on how to make your videos search engine friendly, see our article Online Videos – How Old Media, New Technology Is Driving Search!

Though it comes as no surprise that online customer reviews affect online shoppers, it is noteworthy how online customer reviews also affect offline conversion. In a study by Avenue A | Razorfish’s “Digital Consumer Behavior Study,” 55% of the survey group reported checking other people’s opinions online. The study also showed that those who read positive online reviews were more likely to spend additional money than those who did not read the customer reviews.

In another study, by comScore and The Kelsey Group, the research took a look at consumers who ultimately pay for local services such as hotels, restaurants, etc. and found that 24 percent of them read online reviews before making their selection. Whether the purchase takes place online or offline, your online reputation continues to impact both major distribution channels. As a hotelier, it is increasingly important that you allow a credible forum for consumers to provide feedback.

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Article contributed by Kimberly Ehrlich, Milestone Internet Marketing, Inc.

Over 100 Training Sessions in 2007. Invite Milestone Experts to Your Next GM/Sales Meeting. Learn More….

Does Web 2.0 and Internet Marketing continue to baffle your team? Do you have a GM or Sales meeting scheduled? Consider having a local expert from Milestone educate your team about the internet, trends, Web 2.0 and positioning your hotel to drive more online reservations. In 2007, Milestone held over 100 Hotels to HTML’s seminars for brands, large management groups, and state and tourism associations. Consider kicking off your 2008 GM/Sales Meetings with an educational session about the fastest growing channel for hotel reservations—The Internet!