SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS METHODS
LODGING INTERACTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES: 3 OF 7
PARSIPPANY, NJ, NOVEMBER 7, 2005 - In last week's installment The Do's & Don'ts of Search Engine Marketing we discussed ways in which you can check your competitor's website source code to uncover a valuable resource of keywords which can serve as a basis for your own PPC advertising campaign. This week's white paper is focused on providing you with more information related to how you can evaluate your competitor's website to gain a marketing advantage. While there are many "blackhat" tactics used by unscrupulous marketing companies, our commentary is strictly based on ethical search engine marketing tactics and completely above board.
One of the best ways in which to propel your own search engine marketing (SEM) program is to spend your time properly researching what your competitive set might be doing with SEM. While there are many ways to evaluate your competitive landscape, we have amassed a few tools to help you get on your way. These tools will provide insight into how well your competitive set is positioned and how to beat them by being smarter about SEM.
By now you know that one of the most important factors the search engines use in determining your page ranking is based on how many inbound RELEVANT links you have pointing to your hotel's website.
The way the search engines view it, is the more legitimate sites you have linking to you the more relevant your content must be. And since they're all about relevancy, the more links the better off you are. You can use this handy Back Link Analyzer tool to determine how many links your competitor has and also who those links are! Then simply contact each of those websites linking to your competitor's website and request a link to your site wherever appropriate. You can find this tool here: http://www.555webtemplates.com/backlinks-
tool.asp
It's also a good idea to see how well your competitor's website is indexed by the major search engines. By this we mean finding out what their search engine saturation level is. This refers to the number of pages a given search engine has indexed for your competitor and which pages have been activated. You can visit the following website which has a handy tool which allows you to easily find out your website's level of search engine saturation as well as your competitive set websites. You can find this tool here:
http://www.marketleap.com/siteindex/default.htm
To-date we have covered what is Search Engine Marketing; search engine optimization and pay per click. The Do's and Don'ts of Search Engine Marketing and this information on staying ahead of the competition. Our next will take a look at managing the cost of SEM.
In other words, should you do your own SEM or is it wiser to outsource and manage your marketing service provider.
About Lodging Interactive
Lodging Interactive is a leading provider of Internet Marketing Services to the travel and lodging industries. The company provides a portfolio of effective Internet Marketing Services to hundreds of hotels, resorts, timeshares and bed and breakfasts worldwide. We also offer hotelBLAST.com, a self-service email marketing system and MyWebsitePromotions.com, a self-service online promotions marketing system.
Lodging Interactive clients include branded properties such as Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton, Radisson, Crowne Plaza Hotels, Doubletree Hotels, Candlewood Suites, Best Western, Wyndham Hotels plus numerous independent properties. The company is headquartered in Parsippany, NJ and can be reached at 973-402-4970 or by visiting its website at www.LodgingInteractive.com or www.MyWebsitePromotions.com.
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