So what are we going to do now?

My answer is three-fold:

1. Get better about what we’re doing elsewhere
2. Redistribute – believe it or not, there are other low-cost high-efficiency channels out there
3. Reset expectations all around.

The answer above means that we’ll have to work harder in managing more programs as well as putting more work into the actual maintenance of these programs. That’s okay, though, because it has always been known that SSP would eventually cease to exist.

On top of working harder and finding new channels and ways to expand current ones, we’ll have to reset expectations. Our job is to help our clients not only explain the SSP change, but it’s also to help them reset expectations within their organizations if possible. While it’s true that ol’ faithful is leaving us in December, we’re not in a position where we need to cut spend – in fact it becomes even more paramount to solidify our presence in other channels.

The biggest impression I came away with was that online travel has become a game of inches. What I mean by that is that there was a ton of content around tactical ways to improve one’s business; everyone seemed to stay away from broad strategy talk. Naturally there were the typical big picture statistics and market shifts involved, but very little strategy. This tells me that everyone seems to be a little lost as to how to move the needle these days. It’s no secret that the travel industry online, at least over the past four years, has seen the most success, both from a growth and penetration standpoint. That’s starting to change as people travel less and become more focused on travel as a commodity.

It’ll be very interesting to see how travel evolves coming out of this economic recession. One thing’s certain, there needs to be an evolution sooner rather than later. At the rate online travel suppliers are losing business and loyal customers, there’s a huge opportunity for older more traditional channels to see a resurgence – namely old-school travel agents. Gone are the days when everyone shops on an OTA and books supplier direct. Things are changing, and it’s time to adjust.

One of the most exciting aspects of BING, at least for me, was the travel engine platform. The way Microsoft made it sound, advertisers were going to have tons of opportunities to expand sales to the Microsoft travel audience. What we have found in our initial foray is a bit different, though. While it’s true that several of our travel advertisers have seen decent gains within Microsoft search, the more cutting-edge prospects within the travel engine have been tied up by big sponsorship deals among OTAs and larger brand advertisers. Now, I’m certainly not condemning these preliminary sponsorship deals, but I look forward to the day when the spaces open up to the rest of us regular guys who do not possess multi-million dollar sponsorship budgets.

Specifically, I would like to see MSN take a more comprehensive approach to detailing its products to advertisers, rather than relying on potential customers to seek out this information. The entire BING travel space could be revolutionary in a few years, and if they’re going to take on Google, they’re going to have to be more proactive about the specifics. How do I take advantage of the new features…tell me please!

My personal feeling is that it has lost shelf space to things like ‘social marketing,’ which are not nearly as immediate and are much more expensive. So how do we approach local search?

1. Get a comprehensive feed for your brand listing all properties that includes the following information:
   • Physical Address
   • Phone Number
   • Official Property Name
   • Property Page URL
   • Property ID
   • Amenities (if available)
   • Rate Per Night (if available)
2. Submit to your feed to the engines at least once a week, and definitely submit it immediately if there are major changes in the property list. Also be sure to contact your engine rep to see if there is any way they can help accelerate changes and fixes.
3. Utilize a third party aggregator to disseminate your feed throughout other web properties. There are hundreds of outlets for local listings to be shown aside from just the big 3 search engines. There are companies out there who will submit your feed in any and all formats those outlets require for a nominal fee and even report back on traffic and other metrics. Well worth the investment.
4. Monitor on an ongoing monthly basis.

Now all of the above sounds complex, but it’s really not. The result? A much more comprehensive approach to local search that doesn’t break the bank and allows for much greater coverage across many smaller local outlets.

One of our travel clients recently signed on with us to do SEO.  Now keep in mind that this particular client has a very well-established brand and secure market position, so we were going to have to bring EXTRA big value to the table.  Our task from the outset was clear: take SEO and “integrate” it with all other site initiatives to give our client the biggest bang for their buck.  To be fair, the client-side team is excellent and was instrumental in getting this done.  As such, RANGE can’t take all the credit—“Other site initiatives” included copy updates, new page design/implementation and many other projects not strictly related to SEO (rankings and traffic).  Regardless, we knew they were related in this particular situation, and we had to find a way to manage all of them together.

Basically, we got together via the magic of a conference call and divided the labor between the design/copywriting team, the client-side web designers, the client’s account team at Range and Range’s SEO department. We established up front a communication channel and schedule, broke the project up in phases and then got to work.

It sounds pretty intuitive, but the results were almost instant.  Not only did the set-up allow for easier communication between the parties involved, but more importantly it also resulted in better work.  Every design project was SEO-friendly…every SEO project was design-friendly.  As we move ahead into the second quarter of this year, things are rolling along nicely, and the client feels their money is well-spent.  Credit is due all around, but from the RANGE and client side, everyone has just been phenomenal.

So the next time you’re at a loss as to how to position SEO effectively within a larger organization, take it from me, integration can make your life a whole lot easier.