tris heaword
GDPR Countdown: How Will the New EU Data Protection Laws Affect Hotel Marketing?
Tris Heaword | December 4, 2017
By Tris Heaword Proposed new restrictions to EU data protection laws will soon limit how tech companies such as Facebook and Google collect customer data. As a result, hotels with EU customers could see their own marketing efforts stifled. Set to take place in May 2018, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is designed to provide EU citizens with greater online privacy by limiting how their personal data is collected and used. Under new laws, companies will still be able to collect data in order to offer services that consumers ask for. But using personal data for other purposes won't be permitted unless consumers give thei...
Eye Tracking in 2017 for Google Hotel Searches: Why the Old Rules Don’t Apply
Tris Heaword | March 20, 2017
By Tris Heaword When one of the first eye-tracking studies on Google search engine results pages (SERPs) came out in 2005, researchers from Mediative discovered that there was a distinct pattern to the way people read the pages—what became known as the "Golden Triangle." By 2014 a new eye-tracking study found that this model had shifted, owing to many changes and developments in Google search pages. Instead of the distinct triangle, the heat maps showed an elongated "F," illustrating how users had significantly gotten used to scrolling down SERPs to find what they needed. Below are shots from the two famous studies, with the 2005 ...
How Hotels Can Use Urgency Like the OTAs to Drive Bookings
Tris Heaword | September 26, 2016
By Tris Heaword Many people have a natural tendency to procrastinate, choosing to put things off until the very last minute. But in the world of e-commerce, brands work tirelessly to convince customers that delaying a buying decision isn't a good thing. This is something commonly achieved by creating a sense of urgency. Studies conducted by internet-based research lab MarketingExperiments have found that urgency can have a huge influence on conversion rates. One of their tests resulted in a staggering 992% sales uplift. So why can urgency have such influence on buying behavior? Without it, customers know they can delay a purchase, confi...
