YOU KNOW YOUR WEBSITE NEEDS ATTENTION WHEN...


(This is an article writen for resort owners but the same principles apply to any web site)

In my business, I run into site owners all the time who can’t understand, having built a web site, why it hasn’t translated into overnight fortunes in accommodation bookings for their property. Most hospitality properties these days receive a significant amount of their business off the web (80% statistically). Some of the heavily branded properties, such as Hilton, Marriott and Delta, with business/conference exposure may certainly depend more heavily on brand loyal customers managed between properties in different locations via centralized marketing and reservations. However for the most part, when someone is planning a vacation or recreational getaway, they tend to be looking for something specific and of the proper cost/value equation to spur them to make their purchase. These people are generally not expense account purchasers so they tend to research and compare accommodation attributes and vacation costs a little more carefully than business travelers. Generally their research comes off the web and begins with a keyword search (also statistically 80% of the time) rather than using a web site url/syntac from collateral materials or hard copy advertising. So if your web site is placing well with the search engines that’s half the battle.

Many resort and lodge owners forget that it is one thing to get folks to find their site and it’s another to entice them to commit to purchase or at least make a phone call or email once they have viewed the web site. To use an old analogy, you can get to a lake full of trout but you need to use the right bait and technique if you are going to get a bite.
Here is a list of some things that you should not DO with your web site if you expect to have lots of customers biting.

1. Never build a web site entirely of Flash or Dynamic pages (ASP/PHP scripted), as search engines will not recognize the content and only a few (e.g. Fast) can negotiate through the site to find relevant html content that they can add to their index. Flash pages, dynamic pages and any page with too much Java script are tricky to optimize because search engines have difficulty wading through the site. Dynamic pages that change with every request have to be supplemented with standard html pages to give the search engines something to spider. Flash is like a spice. Use it sparingly on your steak and it will add pizzazz to the meal; over use it and you ruin the dinner.



2. Too many moving objects on the page. Animation using Flash or Java is much over used and it not only slows down the loading of the page by using up resources, but it looks tacky when it is over used. Same thing applies to sound files. It’s kind of like putting pink flamingos on your lawn. Hey, you might like pink flamingos or garden troll sculpture all over the place, but ask yourself, is that the impression you want to convey to your customers? Is that the image of your business that you are trying to project? Too many moving objects on a web page is like running a three-ring circus. There is just too much going on for anyone to concentrate on the objective at hand. The purpose of your web site is not to entertain your customers but to get reservations from them. (I hope that if you have a flamingo in you garden, you won’t hold it against me!)



3. Web sites that look “amateurish” will scare away customers in a hurry. You’re in business. Your site should look business-like and be crisp and functional for the user. If you had your site built by a friend of a friend’s kid, you probably got a great deal on the price, but remember the old saying about being penny wise and pound foolish. Find yourself a site designer that can build a professional looking site that has impact and presence when you come up from a search on the web. Your business’ success depends on the impression you leave with your web viewers.



4. Packaging is in. People are not shopping for a vanilla vacation these days. They want perceived quality and value and specific vacation experiences. Package on your web site and don’t hide it in the dark recesses of your pages – get it right out front.



5. Tying to the above point, packaging means groups of services and/or activities at a specific price. People expect better value in a package. Never, never put a package up on your site without a price to go with it, unless your objective is to frustrate your customers. Writing package ads for the web is the same as doing them for print copy. Keep them simple, use the teaser and hook strategy and show a price that represents fair value.



6. Don’t market products or services that are not directly related to the core values of your business. Create another site for your sub themes. If you’re running a resort and your site has been optimized for “Ontario vacation” type content, your viewers are not going to be interested in sub themes or sideline businesses that are not pertinent to the keyword search that found your site.



7. Over use of "pop-over" advertising – It really bugs people. Don’t do it.



8. Stock photography pics. Many sites have an over abundance of stock photography pictures. It makes your site look phony. The pics are too good and the people in them are too perfect. Hire a good local photographer and use your customers in real life situations. Almost everyone likes their picture taken and would be happy to sign a release for use on your web site.



9. Readable font. Search engines care about font size and so should you, as your customers have to read it too.



10. Pages with no navigation or no way home. Keep your navigation consistent on every page and never lead someone to a page that requires backing up to get home. Html links and a site map are useful at the bottom of every page as they ease navigation for the user and the search engines use them to crawl around your site and index your pages. Remember, Java mouse-over and graphic buttons mean nothing to a search engine.



11. Dead links. Search engines will penalize you for dead links and your customers will think that you don’t care enough to keep your site up to date.



12. Sites that never change. Show me a site that never changes and I’ll show you a site that gets lousy placement. Web sites are communication tools. You don’t want to be showing the same merchandise forever do you? You’re in the resort business - so you are really selling dreams. Keep the creativity coming or they won’t come back.



13. The over use of gratuitous terms on your web site, e.g. "The best resort in Muskoka" – "The finest sand beach in Ontario" etc. Quite often these types of comments are only relative to you and make the viewer suspicious of the claim when they are told that your property has the best of everything. You are better off to give them confidence by telling them your offer and explaining the value and conveying your dedication to making their vacation enjoyable. Truth in advertising counts. You may get them there once but you won’t get them back, if you present your property falsely or provide poor value.