search engine marketing
Where Did All the Cookies Go?
Vizergy | September 19, 2022
By Daisy Tackett Google has been teasing the end of third-party cookies since 2020, but it seems as if they’ve finally decided on a concrete plan. In 2020, Google promised to remove cookies from Chrome by 2022, but was met with complaints and concerns across the board. Now, it seems as if third-party cookies will be absolutely gone from Google Chrome by the second half of 2024. Google Chrome is one of the most popular browsers in the world, capturing more than 60% of the total market with over 2.5 billion users. Over half of all desktops run on Chrome, so this shift means big changes for you. Here’s how this is going to impact the hosp...
Maximizing Your Relationship With OTAs
Tim Lee | January 13, 2020
By Tim Lee The relationship between hotels (particularly major international brands) and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) may sometimes seem an uneasy alliance. Major hotel companies, such as Hilton, Marriott and IHG, are adding policies on price match guarantees to encourage direct bookings and detract from the perceived value of OTAs. Meanwhile, OTAs push even harder for competitive pricing and invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to increase their market share. Due to acquisitions and mergers over the last two decades, most OTA brands are a part of, or work with the two largest players in the space: Bo...
GCommerce Announces Lindley Cotton as President
GCommerce | July 15, 2019
PARK CITY, Utah (July 15, 2019) - GCommerce has announced the ascension of Lindley Cotton to President of the organization. Over her storied career at GCommerce, Mrs. Cotton has been a powerful and insightful voice in hospitality digital marketing. She has crafted award winning campaigns and helped GCommerce clients achieve premium results. Mrs. Cotton started at GCommerce in the Search Engine Marketing department before moving into the Strategic Marketing department followed by the Account Services Department. She quickly rose to become the Director of Account Services. Due to her natural leadership ability and vision, she was prom...
3 Steps for Successful 2019 On-Page SEO for Hotel Websites
GCommerce | April 25, 2019
By Lisa McCreary, Director of Search Engine Marketing, GCommerce Over the years the mission statement for successful on-page SEO for hotel websites remains the same: Make sure to follow best practices to position your website for the greatest chance of visibility in the SERP. Provide a superior user experience that is reflected through highly relevant content, well structured navigation with easy path to book. Search engine optimization continues to evolve. Every year the nuances of the game changes slightly with new technical developments, new announcements or hints from Google and changing competition. Only brands and websites that c...
Back to Basics: Search Engine Marketing
HEBS Digital | March 11, 2019
Search engine marketing (SEM), or buying traffic through paid search listings, is a relatively easy way to drive qualified traffic and more direct bookings to your hotel website. It is used to improve the visibility of your website in search engine results pages (SERPs). SEM is a key advertising initiative, so we're diving into the basics of everything you need to know. What is it? Search engine marketing (SEM) is the process of increasing your website's visibility on search engine results pages. SEM refers specifically to the paid promotion of your website via pay per click (PPC) listings. Appearing above organic content, the goal of S...
Does Search Engine Marketing Actually Work for Hotels?
Larry Mogelonsky | February 7, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Search engine marketing (SEM) can be highly profitable, but only when properly executed and when hoteliers are actively engaged with the people who manage their Google Adwords campaigns to carry out what's needed for true success. As a general manager, this starts by asking three questions to your director of marketing: Can you tell me, unequivocally, that the money that we are spending in SEM is generating better returns than the rate of commission paid to the OTAs? What percentage of our SEM budget goes to buying our own brand name – that is, the 'bottom-of-the-funnel' &n...
Drive Direct Revenue with Paid Search Audience Targeting
GCommerce | October 10, 2017
By Emily Speicher | GCommerce Solutions | Account Manager Audience targeting and its introduction to Search Engine Marketing: As advertisers, we have the option to add specific audience targeting to paid search marketing campaigns. Google's audience targeting was originally only available on display networks and YouTube campaigns, but in May 2017, Google expanded audience targeting to its paid search ad network. For advertisers in the hospitality industry, the in-market audience targeting options include demographics, such as age and gender. Audience targeting for hospitality PPC: Age plays a vital part in marketing for the hotel and ho...
10 Search Engine Marketing Trends Hotels Need To Know In 2017
Lisa McCreary | June 29, 2017
by Lisa McCreary | GCommerce Solutions | Search Marketing Manager The top search engine marketers in the world met over 3 days in Seattle to discuss and present current and future trends within the industry, covering everything from how to obtain position 0 in the SERP to the exciting future of Voice Search and everything in between. Here's a breakdown of what all hoteliers need to know about the present and future of search engine marketing for hotels. 1. ROBOTS ARE TAKING OVER! EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY AND START USING CHATBOTS. It's been proven for many years that live chat on your website boosts conversion rate but many hotels run into ope...
